March 14, 2006

http://aleague.uslsoccer.com/home/124333.html

Onandi Lowe will provide Miami FC with an enormous talent and a player that is used to the USL 1st Division after his time with the Rhinos, Montreal Impact, and the Richmond Kickers.

The question of who will do the dirty work to get the ball to Onandi's feet and how long Onandi remains happy and productive remain to be seen.

Lowe was probably the most talented player to ever put on a Rhinos jersey. He was also one of the highest maintanence players ever in Rhinos history. It will be interesting to see what type of response Onandi gets in his return to Rochester.

Hopefully he'll miss Dan Stebbins so much that he won't be effective offensively versus the Rhinos.

Other Ex-Rhinos with new homes in the USL 1st Division

Onandi Lowe is far from the only ex-Rhino to sign with a USL 1st Division team this offseason. Here are some of the others:

2005 Rhinos MVP Kirk Wilson signed a two year deal with the Montreal Impact early in the offseason.

The Charleston Battery acquired 2005 Rhinos back up goalkeeper Dusty Hudock in a trade that landed the Rhinos Charleston's 1st round pick in the 2006 USL 1st Division Collegeiate Draft. The pick was used to select Duke's Danny Kramer.

Charleston also signed ex-Rhino F/MF Ian Fuller. Ian finished the 2005 season with the Vancouver Whitecaps after being traded by the Rhinos early in the 2005 season.

The Virginia Beach Mariners have signed two ex-Rhinos this offseason: MF Pato Aguilera and F Greg Simmonds. Pato spent the 2005 season as a member of the crowded Rhinos midfield. Simmonds had been with the Charleston Battery in 2004 and 2005.

Stay tuned for further ex-Rhino signings. Players like Bill Sedgewick, Craig Demmin, and Shawn Tsakiris are likely to sign with teams in the near future.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.