July 11, 2001

If you don’t think the third-place Rhinos (5-2-3, 10 goals) are in bad shape, you’re knee-deep in de Nile. Some fans will argue, saying the team had problems early last season, but still got it together. Well, let’s compare the team’s performance thus far in 2001 with the last three seasons before we get carried away.

In mid-July 1998, the Rhinos were in first place with a 14-0-1 record and 32 goals. Mid-July 1999 saw the record (12-0-2) and production (26 goals) slip a bit, but the team still sat atop its division. This time last year, when fans were in a panic and calling for Coach Pat Ercoli’s head, the team was still in first place, even though its record (8-1-5) and scoring (21 goals) had plummeted.

Twenty-one goals in 14 matches? Those numbers sound downright dreamy now. Granted, the 2000 Rhinos played a handful more games than the 2001 version, but this year’s team would have to score 11 goals in its next four contests to equal last year’s numbers. And at the pace the current Rhinos are on, 11 would be a lot for the rest of this year’s campaign.

The 1-0 US Open Cup loss to Hershey was demoralizing (it was the team’s first at Frontier since 8/20/00), but not entirely surprising, considering the political turmoil that surrounded the game. The Score doesn’t want to use the word “fix,” but the refs all had chocolate bars in their back pockets. The USSF really wanted Hershey to win, setting up a third-round doubleheader against DC United (along with the Kickers-Wolves Cup match) in Richmond, so the refs had little choice but to go along with the alleged swindle. Of course, Ercoli’s subs only made it easier to throw the match. Keep in mind his name is an anagram for “Retail Cop,” and judging from his coaching style, retail cop could be a better vocational option.

Then Rochester lost weekend contests against ex-D3 side Charlotte and the Central Conference leading powerhouse the Richmond Kickers. A loss to the latter would be understandable, but dropping both was unimaginable. The ultimate insult is that Richmond rested most of its regulars because of an upcoming Cup battle against Connecticut (seven of their starting XI were rested). When Rochester took a 1-0 lead, the Kickers put in their first-string striker, who promptly scored twice against the floundering Rhinos.

The key to winning is a consistent lineup. Kansas City won the MLS Cup last year starting the same 11 guys for the majority of the season. San Jose is leading its division by doing the same thing this season. Constant tinkering disrupts a team’s chemistry and makes it look desperate. Ercoli has started six different forward combinations over the Rhinos’ 10 league matches. Is it that surprising nobody can find the back of the net? And what happened to fan-favorite Steve Butcher, who saw action off the bench in the first six games this season? Not only has he been passed over for the newer (and less experienced) Jimmy Tanner, he’s also fallen behind defender Gabriel Gervais in the forward rotation.

A defender? At forward? The Score is just as confused as you are. This gaffe also meant there wasn’t a solid stopper on the bench when Rochester took the lead against Richmond (Bill Sedgewick was injured against Charlotte). Thank God the team got rid of Andrew Restrepo and picked up a guy (Stoian Mladenov) who has seen action in exactly one match. Mladenov, the heir-apparent to Nate Daligcon’s “weakest link” midfield position, hasn’t played because of visa problems, which seems odd because he never had any trouble when he was with Minnesota. In fact, he played so often for the Thunder this season he still ranks seventh in total minutes played, despite being a Rhino for the last four matches.

The Score’s suggestion for the next road trip: let Butcher take Ercoli’s seat on the bus.

Read the last issue of The Score here.