Two first half goals lead the Rochester Rhinos past Saint Louis FC 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Sahlen’s Stadium.
With the loss, Saint Louis falls to 6-11-8 (26 pts.), while Rochester moves to 15-1-8 (53 pts.) on the season.
“The first half was a struggle as we got away from our game plan,” Head Coach Dale Schilly said. “Once again we were punished on a couple of mistakes.”
The hosts started the scoring off early after a turnover in the midfield led to a Rochester goal in the 4th minute. Kenardo Forbes forced the turnover and connected with Colin Rolfe at the top of the box. Rolfe’s shot split the legs of defender James Musa and was low past Alec Kann to put the Rhinos up 1-0.
Rochester continued the attack and notched a second goal off a header from Tony Walls in the 35th minute. Forbes’s delivery off a corner kick found Walls at the far post who was able to put it low to the back of the net.
Saint Louis struggled to find rhythm on the offensive end with just four shots on the afternoon.
The visitors best chance came when late substitute Bryan Ciesiulka fired a shot off his own volley only to have goalkeeper Brandon Miller tip it over the crossbar.
“We had a good response in the second half,” Schilly added. “But their size, experience and organization were too much. The guys continued to fight through the second half, but those two goals did us in.”
Next up, Saint Louis FC will travel to face the Harrisburg City Islanders next Sunday, September 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM at Skyline Sports Complex.
