Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) at D.C. United (MLS)
Maryland Soccerplex - Boyds, MD | 7:30 p.m.

Other Preview Stories: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Washington Post,

Washington Times, D.C. United, USLSoccer.com

Video Previews: John DiRaimondo, Boyzzz Khumalo

ROAD TO THE SEMIFINALS

Rochester nearly saw their tournament end with their very first match. The Rhinos needed a 90th minute goal from Tai Atieno to send their match with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to extra time, and eventually to a penalty kick tiebreaker.

The Rhinos reached the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division. Tai Atieno and Andrew Gregor scored in the second half to give Rochester a 2-0 lead. Jamie Watson was able to cut the lead in ahlf in the 72nd minute, but the Rhinos held on for their first semifinal appearance since the 1999 Open Cup championship run.

In the second round, the Rhinos needed extra time to dispatch the Cleveland City Stars 2-1. Once again Rochester tied the match late (Ryan Heins 82’), but Kenny Bertz scored in extra time to avoid the penalty shootout.

It was back to penalty kicks in the Rhino’s third round game against the Columbus Crew. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first half through Ty Harden, Columbus leveled the score just minutes later, and the score stood through full time and extra time. Rochester went on to convert all five of their penalty kicks, while Duncan Oughton, the Crew goal scorer, was the only Crew player to fail to convert.

D.C. United’s opened their 2008 Open Cup against the Ocean City Barons of the PDL, and the game turned out to be tougher then they expected. Fielding a lineup with mostly bench players D.C. was forced to bring in a few starters as reinforcements in the second half. Two of those subs, Christian Gomez and Ange N’Silu, scored both of D.C. goals to put an end to the upset scare.

D.C. also played a USL-2 opponent in the quarterfinals, the Harrisburg City Islanders. D.C, avenged the Islanders 2007 Open Cup upset with a 2-1 win. Boyzzz Khumalo and Andrew Jackson scored early goals to put D.C, in front 2-0. Harrisburg were reduced to ten men when Mo Odur was sent off in the 50th minute.

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CONNECTIONS

While there are no players on either roster who have spent time with their opponents, D.C.’s Jamie Moreno and D.C. goalkeeper coach Mark Sampson played in United’s 1996 and 2000 Open Cup games versus Rochester. Sampson started both games in goal for D.C. and posted a clean sheet each time.

Moreno scored goals in both games. In the 1996 final, he added D.C.’s third goal in the 89th minute, and gave D.C. a 2-0 lead in the 59th minute in 2000.

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PREVIOUS MEETINGS

D.C. and Rochester have met three times in Open Cup play, and all the results have been in favor of United.

The firdt meeting was in the 1996 U.S. Open Cup Final. Raul Diaz Arce opened the scoring in the 45th minute, and Eddie Pope and Jamie Moreno added to the total in the second half.

1996 U.S. Open Cup Final

October 30, 1996 - RFK Stadium - Washington, D.C.

D.C. United 3-0 Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos

D.C. United - Raul Diaz Arce 45’, Eddie Pope 63’, Jamie Moreno 89’

D.C. United - Mark Simpson, Clint Peay (David Vaudreuil 46’), Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos

(Erik Imler 71’), Mario Gori, Ritchie Williams, John Maessner (Tony Sanneh 46’), John Harkes

(Brian Kamler 66’), Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce (Steve Rammel 74’), Jaime Moreno

Rochester - Bill Andracki, Fuseini Dauda, Yuri Smotrich, Rene Rivass, Gustavo Villagra,

Henry Gutierrez, Tommy Tanner, Yogi McKay (Darrell Stuart 46’), Lenin Steenkamp,

Doug Miller Hector Marinaro (Chris Kennell 46’)

Cautions - Richie Williams, D.C. United 72’, Eddie Pope, D.C. United 72’, Fuseini Dauda, Rochester 77’

Att - 7,234  Referee - Esse Baharast

Their third round match in 2000 saw D.C. gain some revenge for the 1999 elimination at the hands of Rochester, as Chris Albright gave D.C. a 1-0 halftime lead, and scored again with a minute remaining. Moreno added a goal in between, and Marco Etcheverry assisted on all three goals.

2000 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round

July 26, 2000 - RFK Stadium - Washington, D.C.

D.C. United 3-0 Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos

D.C. United - Chris Albright 12’ (Etcheverry), Jaime Moreno 59’ (Etcheverry, Diaz Arce), Chris Albright 89’ (Etcheverry, Moreno)

Match Reports - mlsnet.com  soccertimes.com

Lineups

D.C. United - Mark Simpson, Geoff Aunger, Carey Talley, Carlos Llamosa, Jeff Agoos,

Chris Albright, Marco Etcheverry, Richie Williams, Bobby Convey (Eric Denton 82’),

Jaime Moreno, Raul Diaz Arce

Rochester - Scott Vallow, Mike Kirmse, Craig Demmin, Scott Schweitzer, Carlos Zavala,

Tommy Tanner, Lenin Steenkamp, John Ball (Nate Daligcon 70’), Martin Nash,

Eduardo Sebrango (Onandi Lowe 53’), Yari Allnut (Bill Sedgewick 60’)

Cautions - Lenin Steenkamp, Rochester 63’, Bill Sedgewick, Rochester 74’

Match Stats

Shots - D.C. 14, Rochester 8

Saves - D.C. 2, Rochester 5

Corners - D.C. 9, Rochester 3

Fouls - D.C. 15, Rochester 18

Offside - D.C. 2, Rochester 2

Att - 3,186  Referees - Gerrie Corrie & Noel Kenny  Linesmen - Nathan Clement & Robert Fereday

*Two referees used as a FIFA experiment

The final cup meeting took place in last years tournament, and D.C. came out on top yet again, 2-0. Marc Burch scored both goals on free kicks.

2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round

July 1, 2008 - Maryland SoccerPlex - Boyds, Maryland

D.C. United - Marc Burch 78’ 85’

Match Reports - DCUnited.com, Washington Post, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Video Highlights (Access United)

Rochester Rhinos -- Scott Vallow, Nate Craft, Tenywa Bonseu (Rey Angel Martinez 86’),

Scott Palguta, John Ball, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Danny Earls (Hamed Diallo 82’), Tiger Fitzpatrick,

John Menyonger (Matthew Delicate 59’), Ze Roberto, Mauricio Salles,

Substitutes Not Used: Harrison Chase, Alfonso Loera, Juan Pablo Reyes

D.C. United -- Zach Wells, Pat Carroll (Domenic Mediate 78), Gonzalo Martinez (Craig Thompson 46’),

Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Quavas Kirk, Rod Dyachenko, Dan Stratford (Clyde Simms 46’),

Ryan Cordeiro, Francis Doe, Luciano Emilio (Fred 46’),

Substitutes Not Used: Dane Murphy, James Thorpe, Mike Zaher

Cautions - Tenywa Bonseu, Rochester79’, Tiger Fitzpatrick, Rochester 84’, Mauricio Salles, Rochester 90’

Game Stats

Total shots  - D.C. 11, Rochester 7

Shots on goal - D.C. 7, Rochester 1

Fouls - D.C. 7, Rochester 15

Offside - D.C. 5, Rochester 1

Corner kicks - D.C. 7, Rochester 0

Saves - D.C. 1, Rochester 5

Att - 2,752  Referee - Mark Kadlecik  Linesmen - Jason Callum; Rob Fereday  4th official - John Schmitz
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PLAYERS NOT AVAILABLE

D.C. United

Injuries

OUT: MF Brandon Barklage (anterior cruciate ligament tear)

Gold Cup

FW Santino Quaranta

Rochester

Injuries

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OPEN CUP HISTORY

D.C. United

2 Championships (1996, 2008)

Overall: 22-7-3 (PK: 1-2), 65 GF 29 GA

vs. USL-1: 10-2-1 (PK: 1-0) 28 GF 10 GA

D.C. United U.S. Open Cup Results

The two-time Open Cup winning D.C. United have made a reputation of going deep in the Open Cup.  Six of their eleven appearances have ended with either at the semifinals or final. D.C. United have only dropped three Open Cup games to lower division opponents, all three times (1999, 2004 & 2007) were the only occasions they exited the tournament after one match.

Washington D.C. clubs in the Semifinals

1987 - Club Espana 3-0 Mean Green (Dallas)

1996 - D.C. United 2-0 Dallas Burn

1997 - D.C. United 2-1 San Francisco Bay Seals

2001 - D.C. United 0-2 New England Revolution

2003 - D.C. United 2-3 MetroStars

2006 - D.C. United 0-3 Chicago Fire

2008 - D.C. United 3-1 Charleston Battery

Rochester Rhinos

1 Championship (1999)
Overall: 23-10-4 (PK: 3-2), 66 GF 46 GA

vs. MLS: 7-8-4 (2-0 PK), 27 GF 30 GA

Rochester clubs in the Semifinals

1996 - Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-0 Colorado Rapids

1999 - Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-2 Columbus Crew

Rochester Rhinos Open Cup Results

Played as Rochester Raging Rhinos 1996-2007

1996 2r - vs. Ft. Myers/Naples Manatees (USISL Premier), 2-0 QF - vs. Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS), 4-3(aet) SF - vs. Colorado Rapids (MLS), 3-0 F - vs. DC United (MLS), 0-3 1997 2r - vs. Mid Michigan Bucks (PDL), 3-2(aet) 3r - vs. Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS), 0-1 1998 2r - vs. Western Mass Pioneers (D3), 3-1 3r - vs. Columbus Crew (MLS), 1-2 (aet) 1999 2r - New York Freedoms (PDL), 2-1(aet) 3r - vs. Chicago Fire (MLS), 1-0 QF - vs. Dallas Burn (MLS), 2-1(aet) SF - vs. Columbus Crew (MLS), 3-2 F - vs. Colorado Rapids (MLS), 2-0 2000 2r - vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (A-Lg), 2-1 3r - vs. DC United (MLS), 0-3 2001 2r - vs. Hershey Wildcats (A-Lg), 0-1 2002 2r - Des Moines Menace (PDL), 3-2 (aet) 3r - vs. Kansas City Wizards (MLS), 2-3 (aet)

2003 3r - vs. New Hampshire Phantoms (PSL), 4-1 4r - vs. New England Revolution (MLS), 1-2 2004 3r - vs. Chicago Fire Reserves (PDL), 1-0 4r - vs. New England Revolution (MLS), 1-1 (PKW, 3-1) QF - vs. Charleston Battery (A-Lg), 0-1 2005 3r - vs. Virginia Beach Mariners (USL-1), 2-1 4r - vs. MetroStars (MLS), 3-1 QF - vs. Chicago Fire (MLS), 1-1 (5-4 PKL) 2006 3r - vs. New Hampshire Phantoms (USL-2), 5-1 4r - vs. New England Revolution (MLS), 0-0 (PKL 4-5) 2007 1r - vs. Long Island Rough Riders (PDL), 1-0 2r - vs. Western Mass Pioneers (USL-2), 2-1 (aet) 3r - vs. New England Revolution (MLS), 2-4 2008 1r - vs. RWB Adria (USASA), 2-1 (aet) 2r - vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2), 3-0 3r - vs. DC United (MLS), 0-2 2009 1r - vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-2), 1-1 (PKW) 2r - vs. Cleveland City Stars (USL-1), 2-1 (aet) 3r - vs. Columbus Crew (MLS), 1-1 (PKW) QF - vs. Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2), 2-1

The Rhinos kicked off their run to the 1996 final by hosting the Ft. Myers Manatees at Frontier Field. Rochester won the game 2-0 on goals from Lenin Steenkamp and Hector Marinaro. The score could have been worse, as the Rhinos out shot the Manatees 20-5, and Ft. Myers played most of the second half a man down after a player received his second yellow card.

September 4, 1996 - Quarterfinal - D.C. United vs. Carolina Dynamo

The first ever Open Cup game for D.C. United’s was a bit of a homecoming. The match was played at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia, where D.C. manager Bruce Arena and many United players spent time at the University of Virginia. D.C. won the match on a pair of Steve Rammell goals in the second half, but the game was marked by heated tempers and confrontations between the two teams which ended with Untied’s Richie Williams being sent off in the 89th minute.

September 7, 1996 - Quarterfinal - Rochester vs. Tampa Bay Mutiny

This was the game that put the Rhinos on the Open Cup map. Rochester jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead on goals from Henry Gutierrez and Doug Miller. The Rhinos held that lead until the 80th minute, when a flurry of goals was unleashed by both teams. Tampa’s Roy Lassiter scored in the 80th minute on an Evans Wise assist. Rochester went up 3-1 on Doug Miller’s goal two minutes later. Tampa pulled a goal back on Carlos Valderrama’s penalty kick in the 85th minute. A minute later Lassiter assisted Wise to tie the game at 3-3. With eight minutes remaining in extra time, substitute Chris Kennell scores the sudden-death game winning goal.

October 12, 1996 - Semifinal - Rochester vs. Colorado Rapids

Rochester’s semifinal match in 1996 turned out to be a bit less dramatic. Lenin Steenkamp gave the rhinos a 1-0 halftime lead with a Hector Marinaro assisted goal in the 32nd minute. Rochester doubled their advantage in the 56th minute through a Henry Gutrierrez-assisted Doug Miller goal. Marinaro helped on Millers second goal on the game in the 85th minute to erase all hopes of a Colorado comeback.

October 27, 1996 - Semifinal - D.C. United vs. Dallas Burn

Just a week after winning the inaugural MSL Cup, D.C. traveled to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for their semifinal game against the Burn. Jamie Moreno scored both goals in the 12th and 83rd minutes. Dallas’s Rene Ortiz and Brandon Pollard nearly collided trying to divert the ball from Marco Etcheverry, and Moreno was there to put a 14 yard shot past Burn goalkeeper Mark Dodd for a 1-0 lead. Moreno’s second goal came as Dallas was pushing forward for an equalizer.

October 30, 1996 - U.S. Open Cup Final

Just three days after United vanquished Dallas in the semifinals, D.C. United stopped cold the giant-killing spree of the Rochester Raging Rhinos. The first half nearly ended scoreless, but Raul Diaz Arce scored just before the break. United wouldn’t have to wait quite as long in the second half to double their lead, as Eddie Pope scored in the 63rd minute. Jamie Moreno added the final goal with a 15-yard shot in the 89th minute. The win marked two consecutive Open Cup titles for a number of players who were also with the Richmond Kickers for their 1995 Open Cup championship. The irony of all this is that D.C. United was not even in the Open Cup picture from the beginning. They only entered to take the place of the Los Angeles Galaxy, who withdrew due to schedule congestion!

	Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2009 Semifinal
3R - Won 2-0 vs. Ocean City (PDL)	2009 LHUSOC Results	1R - Drew 1-1 vs. Pittsburgh (USL-2)
QF - Won 2-1 vs. Harrisburg (USL-2)		(advanced on PKs, 4-2)
		2R - Won 2-1 (aet) vs. Cleveland (USL-1)
		3R - Drew 1-1 vs. Columbus (MLS)
		(advanced on PKs, 4-3)
		QF - Won 2-1 vs. Wilmington (USL-2)
Major League Soccer	League	USL First Division
6-3-9, 27 pts. 29 GF 26 FA	Record	7-5-5, 26 pts. 19 GF 15 GA
2nd in MLS Eastern Conference	League Standing	5th in USL First Division
7/4 - Drew 1-1 at Columbus (MLS)	Last Three Games	7/10 - Drew 0-0 vs. Puerto Rico (USL-1)
7/7 - Won 2-1 vs. Harrisburgh (USOC)		7/15 - Drew 0-0 vs. Montreal(USL-1)
7/18 Won 3-1 vs. Colorado (MLS)		7/18 - Drew 1-1 vs. Charleston (USL-1)
Luciano Emilio & Jamie Moreno, 6	Top Goalscorer	Johnny Menyongar, 6
Santino Quaranta, 6	Assist Leader	John Ball, 4
Josh Wicks 900 min., 1.40 GAA	Goalkeeper	Scott Vallow, 877 min. 1.23 GAA Timothy Miela, 635 min. 0.41 GAA