Stefan Defregger scored his 1st goal as Rochester extended its unbeaten streak to 5.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Penfield native Dan Lynd started his third match of the season in goal for Rochester, filling in for Tomas Gomez who was a healthy scratch on Wednesday. Lynd earned his first career win and clean sheet with the 2-0 victory over Toronto FC 2 before 2,148 fans at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Dan Lynd
The Rhinos took advantage of a 26th-minute red card to defeat Eastern Conference basement dwellers. Stefan Defregger notched his 1st goal of the 2017 season, while an own goal by TFC2 solidified the victory. The Rhinos are now unbeaten in their last five matches.
Lynd was put to the test early on multiple occasions, coming up with a big diving save on Aidan Daniels in the 9th minute.
The match was a relative stalemate, with TFC2 having the better of the opportunities until Lynd had to rush out of the box feet first to clear the danger. That clearance went straight to Darius Madison who was about to go on a breakaway when Brandon Onkony pulled him down and was immediately sent off. The Rhinos played with the man advantage for the rest of the match.
From then on, the Rhinos had nearly all of the momentum and plenty of chances.
Defregger had many chances to score during this match. In the 36th minute, Jalen Brown played a fantastic ball across the box that Madison brought down to Defregger who blasted one right at TFC2 goalkeeper Mark Pais.
Just before halftime, Brown got in behind the Reds defense and got a shot on frame which Pais parried away at his near post.
Brandon Beresford nearly got his first goal of the season early in the second half when a great passing move at the top of the box found Beresford who sent a rocket towards the top corner, just missing wide.
The Rhinos finally made the man advantage pay off in the 58th minute, when Kenardo Forbes slid a ball through the middle of the box to Defregger who smashed it into the net. Defregger ran to the corner, took his shirt off, to earn his yellow card, and Rochester had the 1-0 lead it was looking for.
Darius Madison was an absolute force in this match, drawing the red card and nearly finishing several chances. Madison was inches away from several goals, and in the 76th minute, his efforts were directly rewarded. Substitute Jordan Dover; who had just come on a minute earlier, streaked down the right side of the pitch and served a ball into the oncoming Madison. The league will have to review whether the TFC2 defender or Madison’s diving header provided the final touch.
Rochester hits the road for a three-match road trip, starting this Saturday, July 29th at 7PM against the ever-popular FC Cincinnati. This will undoubtedly be the largest crowd the Rhinos play in front of this season, as FCC has already sold over 15,000 tickets for the match. You can watch the match LIVE on ROC Sports Network, WBGT Channel 18 and Digital 46.1, or on the USL YouTube Channel.