7/31/06
| U.S. Open Cup Preview: Revs at Rochester Rhinos |
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The Revs will take a break from their MLS schedule to face the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the fourth round of the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
| Revs 2010/2011 Training Top |
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The Revolution enter the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, as the team travels to Rochester, N.Y., to take on the Raging Rhinos at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2 at the Rhinos’ new PAETEC Park.
Wednesday’s game will be the third time New England has faced the Rhinos, and the second time in the U.S. Open Cup.
In 2003, the Revolution edged Rochester 2-1 at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass., behind first-half goals from Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman to advance to the quarterfinals of the Open Cup. The teams faced off again in 2004 in the third round of the Open Cup, as the Rhinos advanced on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes of regulation play and a pair of scoreless 15-minute overtime periods. Pat Noonan scored for the Revolution in the game’s seventh minute, but New England ultimately lost 3-1 on penalty kicks as Twellman was the only Revs able to net his spot kick.
The two sides also met in an in-season friendly in 2002, which ended in a 1-1 draw after Daniel Hernandez scored a second-half equalizer for the Revs.
The Open Cup match comes after the Revs’ 1-1 draw at Kansas City on Saturday, July 29. The Wizards went ahead early when Josh Wolff jumped on a rebound resulting from a corner kick and knocked the ball into the net in the 12th minute. Despite several chances, New England could not score the equalizer until the teams were deep into second-half stoppage time. In the 95th minute, Steve Ralston received a pass from Clint Dempsey inside the penalty area and slotted home with his left foot to tie the game. It was Ralston’s second stoppage-time goal this season and his fifth overall.
Rochester advanced to the fourth round match after defeating the New Hampshire Phantoms, 5-1 on July 12. The Rhinos’ scoring threats include Matthew Delicâte, who has seven goals and two assists this season and is tied for fifth place in goals and points in the United Soccer Leagues 1st Division (USL), and John Ball, who has four goals and one assist. Aaran Lines and Scott Palguta each have three assists. Scott Vallow, the team’s goalkeeper, has 57 saves in 17 games while allowing only 14 goals, good for an astounding 0.82 goals against average. Former Revs forward Connally Edozien also plays for the Rhinos, and scored Rochester’s fourth goal against New Hampshire.
The Rhinos find themselves tied for second in the USL 1st Division, trailing only the Montreal Impact. The team has scored 24 goals while allowing only 14, and only two of those goals allowed have come on the road.
This will be the seventh time that the Revolution competes in the U.S. Open Cup. The tournament began in 1914 and is the oldest soccer cup competition in America. It is a single elimination venue where both amateur and professional teams match up in an eight-round bracket. Since entering U.S. Open Cup play in 1996, New England is 5-5-1 overall.
The Revolution’s best run in the tournament was in 2001, when the team made it all the way to the finals, only to fall 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy on a stoppage-time goal.
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