Rochester takes on the New York Red Bulls 2 late Saturday afternoon.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Rhinos (7-3-8; 32 points) travel to Montclair, N.J. for a 4 pm contest Saturday against New York Red Bulls 2 at MSU Soccer Park. This is the second match in Rochester’s current three-match road trip.
The Rhinos and NYRB2 battled to a 2-2 draw earlier this season in the Capelli Sport Stadium home-opener. Rochester leads the all-time series 3-0-6, with the two sides drawing three times last season by 0-0, 0-0, and 1-1 scorelines.
NYRB2 come into the match with a 7-11-3 record (24 pts) with a -10 goal differential (29 for/39 against). They temporarily hold the 8th and final playoff spot, with nearly the entire bottom of the conference within two points of catching Red Bulls 2.
PLAYER TO WATCH
24-year-old Vincent Bezecourt has been an absolute force in his second USL season, already having made USL Team of the Week on four occasions. He leads NYRB2 with 6 goals and a USL-leading 8 assists.
STRENGTHS
Possession: The Rhinos most likely will sit back and absorb much of the Red Bulls 2 attack, which is averaging 56% possession in all matches this season, and have the most active passer in the league in Arun Basuljevic.
Goals: NYRB2 have scored 29 goals this season, 4th-best in the Eastern conference. Amazingly, 17 of their goals have been taken with the left foot. Leading goal-scorer Brandon Allen (9) has been loaned to Minnesota United of the Major League Soccer.
WEAKNESS
Defense: NYRB2 have given up an Eastern Conference-worst 39 goals this season in 21 matches – a total of 1.86 goals per game. They have given up 3 or more goals in a whopping 6 matches this season (the Rhinos have only done this once, a 5-0 loss to Charleston.)