Rochester defeats FC Motown, 3-0, to advance to the Third Round.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Rhinos comfortably set aside amateur opposition FC Motown in a 3-0 victory in the US Open Cup Second Round match on Wednesday night at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Sofiane Tergou struck first, just two minutes into his 2017 debut, off a pass from Jochen Graf. Tergou arrived at camp late after a long indoor season with the Baltimore Blast that culminated in his 2nd-straight MASL championship.
Just five minutes later, Graf got on the scoresheet himself, burying a Jalen Brown pass through the legs of the FC Motown keeper to give the Rhinos a 2-0 lead. This pairing may sound familiar, as the two hooked up in similar fashion in the 88th-minute of the Rhinos season-opening win. This lead was never in question.
The next 78 minutes of the match were a stalemate in which the Rhinos controlled possession, with Motown giving Rochester ample space to operate. The Rhinos ended the game with 55% of the possession and a 12-5 shot advantage.
Rochester finished the match off in the 85th-minute when Wal Fall split two defenders to play the ball into Antonio Correia; making his professional debut, who got in on goal and fired a shot at the keeper. He parried the ball directly into Rayane Boukemia’s path, who finished into the empty net for his first professional goal.
Rochester goalkeeper Kyle Morton made one save and got the clean sheet in his professional debut.
It was a day to remember for many of the Samuel Edoung-Biyo fans as well. He came off the bench to make his professional debut as he paid to participate in the open tryouts back in December, and his dream of playing professionally came true on this night.
The Rhinos will play another amateur team, GPS Omens of Massachussets in the Third Round of the US Open Cup on May 31 at Capelli Sport Stadium.
The next home match for the Rhinos is Sunday, May 21 as the Rhinos face the Richmond Kickers on Soccer Mom Appreciation Night.