The two teams drew 0-0 in St. Louis on July 5.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Rhinos (9-5-8; 35 points) finish their two-match homestand vs. St. Louis FC on Saturday, Aug. 26. It’s Bark in the Park Night presented by Foodlink. Kickoff is set for 6:05 pm, gates open at 4:45 pm.
The two teams drew 0-0 in St. Louis in a rescheduled match on July 5. Rochester outshot STLFC, 16-3, and led in corners 10-0, but couldn’t come out of Missouri with all 3 points.
St. Louis FC faces the Tulsa Roughnecks from the USL Western Conference on Wednesday night before traveling to Rochester for their third match in a rough 5-match stretch over a 15-day period. They go into tomorrow’s match vs. Tulsa 12th in the USL Eastern Conference with a 7-10-5 record (26 points) and a -11 goal differential (23 goals for / 34 goals against).
STLFC midfielder Octavio Guzman; who has appeared in 19 matches and has 2 goals and 2 assists, will be out for 4-6 weeks after undergoing successful knee surgery.
Three former Rhinos are on the St. Louis FC squad: goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, midfielder and 2015 team MVP Tony Walls, and forward Christian Volesky.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Christian Volesky – Volesky leads STLFC in goals (4), assists (2), shots (16), and chances created (14). Volesky spent two years with the Rhinos, leading Rochester to the 2015 USL Championship with a team-high 8 goals and 3 assists in his rookie season. Last season, he led the Rhinos with 10 goals and also added 4 assists. He returns to Rochester for the first time.
STRENGTHS
Recent Big Win
St. Louis FC won a huge match over 4th-placed Tampa Bay Rowdies, 4-3, coming from behind after jumping out to a 2-0 lead within 5 minutes. Konrad Plewa scored in the 89th-minute to give the club a dramatic win at home, but more importantly, they showed the ability to score goals.
WEAKNESSES
Shots? Goals? Defense?
St. Louis comes into tomorrow’s match vs. Tulsa with the second-lowest shot total in the USL with 201 over their 22 matches. STLFC is tied for the fifth-lowest goal-scoring output in the league with 23, while also conceding the third-most goals in the Eastern Conference with 34. At one point in the season, STLFC scored just 5 goals over a 10-match span.
Road Woes
STLFC have only taken 9 of a possible 33 points on the road (2-6-3) this season. This will be the first of a 3-match road trip over the next week, with St. Louis going north to Toronto and Ottawa afterward.