RHINO
DROPPINGS
July 28, 2004
Last time out:
Do you really want to discuss it, or do you just want to look at some stats?
Stats? Good.
Here we go.
- The Rhinos have been outscored 13 to 3
over their last six league matches (13, by the way, is the number of goals Pat
Onstad allowed over their entire season in 1998 and 1999).
- No Rhinos forward has earned an assist
in over a month (Carrieri to Wilson on June 26).
- No Rhinos forward has scored a goal in
over five weeks (Carrieri on June 19).
- In two matches, the Rhinos couldn't
score one goal against Virginia Beach's porous defense, which previously had
allowed over a goal-and-a-half per 90 (more than even last-place Charleston,
against whom the Rhinos managed one goal).
- The combined score of the last three
Rhinos matches in Virginia Beach? 10-0 in favor of the Mariners.
- Rhinos forwards are now way below
soccer's equivalent of the Mendoza Line, averaging less than one goal per match
(0.700). Let's call it the Ercoli
Line.
- The Rhinos haven't scored multiple
goals in a match in 10 games. The
longest previous streak was only five games (1997 and 2002).
- Two losses in a row might not seem
like the end of the world, but it's the longest losing streak since 1997, when
the Rhinos lost eight straight.
- The Rhinos haven't allowed seven goals
over a two-match span since July 1997 (and that included a 6-1 lynching
in Montreal). July 1997 was also
the last time Rochester lost this many games in one month. The 1997 similarities don't end there, either.
The 2004 Rhinos entered July with a 10-1-2 record, which is eerily
similar to the 1997 version and their 10-0-4 mark.
- The Rhinos' goal differential is now
just +4, which is the lowest of all A-League teams with winning records.
- Hope making the playoffs doesn't come
down to a goal differential tiebreaker against Richmond (there's a decent chance
the two teams could be battling for the last of four conference playoff spots),
because that would make Ercoli's quote about the score not mattering seem really
dumb. Well, you know...even dumber
than usual.
- A Fox SportsWorld color commentator,
whose knowledge of Rhinos soccer could fill Billy Sedgewick's shampoo bottle,
knows that Lenin Steenkamp's passes are the equivalent of a handoff to the other
team.
Next up. Since Rochester seems to
bring their A-game against stronger opponents, maybe we'll see some decent
soccer this weekend. Rochester
hosts Minnesota on Friday and then travels to Syracuse on Sunday. Those two
teams have, combined, nine wins in a row. Then
again, if you believe in that theory, the Rhinos will totally shit the bed
against Chucktown in the US Open Cup next Wednesday.
The RD would almost prefer they face a tough MLS team instead. Apparently, that's the only thing that motivates them these
days.
In
the Thunder, Rochester will be facing the league's best goalkeeper, Joe Warren.
He's tops in both shutouts (12) and GAA (0.378).
That doesn't exactly translate into a whole lot of good news since the
Rhinos couldn't score on a blindfolded Soccer Sam. On the plus side, Minnesota hasn't exactly lit the world
afire on the road this year, and their top scorer is named Melvin.
Still, the Thunder are in the thick of a five-team playoff scramble in
the Western Conference and certainly won't be a pushover.
Plus, we think they still hold a grudge.
.
 |
| Tail of the
Tape |
 |
|
 |
| 12-1-7 |
Record |
10-3-4 |
| 7-0-2 (home) |
|
0-3-2 (away) |
| 2-0-0 |
Non-Conference Record |
2-0-0 |
| 0-0-0 (home) |
|
0-0-0 (away) |
| 1.20 |
GFA |
1.29 |
| 1.55 (home) |
|
0.20 (away) |
| 1.00 |
GAA |
0.41 |
| 0.33 (home) |
|
0.60 (away) |
| 0.20 |
Goal Differential |
0.88 |
| 1.22 (home) |
|
<0.40> (away) |
| 2 losses |
Streak |
4 wins |
| 1 win (home) |
|
1 loss |
| 5-0-5 |
Last 10 matches |
7-0-3 |
| 8-0-2 (home) |
|
1-4-5 (away) |
| 3-1-1 |
Head-to-Head |
1-1-3 |
| 1-0-1 (home) |
|
1-0-1 (away) |
| 10-2-9 |
July Record* |
9-1-4 |
| 8-2-2 (home) |
|
1-0-0 (away) |
| 11-3-10 |
Friday Record* |
12-0-5 |
| 8-2-5 (home) |
|
6-0-5 (away) |
| 2-1-3 |
July/Friday Record* |
3-0-1 |
| 2-1-2 (home) |
|
0-0-0 (away) |
|
|
|
|
* - since 2002 |
|
It's
tough to know what to expect from a Rhinos/S-Dogs skirmish. Statistically, the
two teams are fairly evenly matched, but the way Rochester has been playing on
the road lately, it's hard to imagine anything other than a punishing Syracuse
win. A draw would be a great
result. And, hey – does Yari
still refuse to play on the green carpet? That could be a pretty huge factor.
|
| Tail of the
Tape |
|
|
 |
| 12-1-7 |
Record |
9-3-7 |
| 5-1-5 (away) |
|
4-2-3 (home) |
| 10-1-7 |
Conference Record |
9-3-5 |
| 3-1-5 (away) |
|
4-2-3 (home) |
| 1.20 |
GFA |
1.21 |
| 0.90 (away) |
|
1.22 (home) |
| 1.00 |
GAA |
1.00 |
| 1.54 (away) |
|
0.88 (home) |
| 0.20 |
Goal Differential |
0.21 |
| <0.64> (away) |
|
0.34 (home) |
| 2 losses |
Streak |
5 wins |
| 2 losses (away) |
|
2 wins (home) |
| 5-0-5 |
Last 10 matches |
6-1-3 |
| 5-0-5 (away) |
|
5-2-3 (home) |
| 2-2-2 |
Head-to-Head |
2-2-2 |
| 1-1-1 (away) |
|
1-1-1 (home) |
| 9-3-4 |
August Record* |
3-2-3 |
| 3-2-3 (away) |
|
3-0-2 (home) |
| 8-3-4 |
Sunday Record* |
1-1-1 |
| 5-1-3 (away) |
|
0-0-0 (home) |
| 1-1-0 |
August/Sunday Record* |
0-0-1 |
| 0-0-0 (away) |
|
0-0-0 (home) |
|
|
|
|
* - since 2002 |
|
Charleston
has knocked off their fair share of MLS foes in the USOC (DC United once, and
the MetroStars twice – and they took Colorado to overtime in 2002) and came
within one match of meeting Rochester in the 1999 Cup finals when they lost to
the Rapids in the Hurricane Doubleheader down in Virginia Beach.
Here's a crazy little fact: The Rhinos have never beaten an A-League team
at Frontier Field. Here's a crazy
little fact follow-up: In the 33 combined USOC matches played by Rochester and
Charleston, only three have featured other A-League teams (the lone Rhinos' loss
at Frontier was to Hershey in 2002). Greg
Simmonds is still, despite only playing three times in the Battery's last nine
matches, the team's leading scorer (4+2=10) and among the league's leaders in
shots. Rochester and Charleston
have never met in the USOC, but the Rhinos hold a commanding 9-1-1 record
against the Battery, and a 4-1-0 advantage at Frontier (6-2-0 if you count
post-season).
|
| Tail of the
Tape |
|
|
 |
| 12-0-8 |
USOC Record |
9-3-6 |
| 9-0-3 (home) |
|
5-1-3 (home) |
| 2.00 |
USOC GFA |
1.33 |
| 1.91 (home) |
|
1.11 (home) |
| 1.50 |
USOC GAA |
1.00 |
| 1.00 (home) |
|
0.88 (home) |
| 0.55 |
USOC Goal Differential |
0.33 |
| 0.91 (home) |
|
0.22 (home) |
| 2 wins |
USOC Streak |
2 losses |
| 3 wins (home) |
|
1 loss (home) |
| 6-0-4 |
USOC Last 10 matches |
6-0-4 |
| 7-0-3 (home) |
|
6-1-3 (home) |
Prediction: A
1-0 win against the Thunder, a 2-0 loss in Syracuse, and a humiliating defeat at
the hands of Charleston in the USOC (it's all they have to play for this year),
via either a golden goal or penalty kicks after lots and lots of scoreless
minutes.
Around the A-League. Who's hot?
How about Minnesota (four wins in a row), Syracuse (five wins in a row),
and Vancouver (three wins in a row, and 4-1-0 in their last five)? Who's not? Well,
Edmonton, natch (six losses in a row until Monday's win vs. Toronto), but also
Calgary (five losses in a row), Atlanta (two losses in a row after a 10-match
winning streak) and Charleston (so lousy, it's cruel to mention it). And –
what the hell –
Rochester should be in there, too.
Where have you gone, Andy Restrepo?
Eddie Sebrango had a goal and an assist in Montreal's 2-0 win over Calgary last
week. Sebrango has scored in the
Impact's last three, and in four of their last six.
He and the Impact were joined this weekend by ex-Montreal forward Chris
Lemiere, one of many expatriates from the sinking ship now knows as Edmonton FC.
Syracuse's fifth win in a row (against
Charleston) featured an opposing goal from Gabe Valencia, but the winner came
from Atlanta castoff Attila Vendagh (his second in just four appearances with
the S-Dawgs). Rene Rivas hasn't
received a yellow card in three matches, but that didn't stop Scott Schweitzer
from leading a post-match brawl involving players and fans.
The RD is assuming Charleston fights out of frustration, while
Syracuse does it because...well, because they're Syracuse.
MLS update. John Wolyniec scored
the winner in the MetroStars' 2-1 victory over Chicago.
The Metros are 5-0-0 when Woly scores, 7-1-1 when he plays 90, and 0-4-5
when he doesn't.
Diego "Don't call me that"
Gutierrez picked up his fifth caution in his last six starts in Kansas City's
2-2 draw against Los Angeles.
Perek
Belleh suited up for New England but did not play in their 2-2 draw in San Jose.
Miscellaneous
droppings:
We're looking for ideas here at RD headquarters.
If you can think of some fun weekly addition we can add to our coverage,
drop us a line at rhinodroppings@sick-boy.com.