June 18, 2007
First it was the US defeating Panama 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the Gold Cup Semis vs Canada.
Then it was the Rhinos Women defeating the Vermont Lady Voltage 4-1 on Saturday night.
Also on Saturday night, Abby Wambach scored both US goals as the USWNT defeated China 2-0 in Cleveland.
Then on Sunday night the Rhinos defeated the Charleston Battery 5-2 and moved into first place in the USL 1st Division.
You can nitpick with any of the four wins. Whether it was the US letting a 10-man Panama squad get back into the game with an 85th minute goal and having to sweat out the final five minutes and stoppage time, the US Women not being able to break through with a goal in the first half, the Rhinos Women having issues when the subs started rolling off the bench, or some of the defensive breakdowns in the Rhinos win over Charleston.
But, I look back on the weekend and think that it can't get much better than this. 4 games, 4 wins, and the Rhinos wins were both convincing and highly entertaining.
Whomever has jumped off of the Rhinos bandwagon and wasn't at the game last night, well, they missed one heck of an entertaining game. Hamed Diallo's near miss off the crossbar in the first half may have been even prettier than his goal in the second half. Early season whipping boy Matthew Delicate continued his scoring tear with his 6th goal in 7 games (and his 5th of the USL 1st Division season), along with setting up Diallo's gamewinning goal. John Ball steps off a plane from Spain on Saturday night and scores a goal in only 3 minutes of playing time. Coach Calloway's only other sub, Rey Martinez, also scored to ice the game and send everyone home happy.
And after the game you could feel the buzz as the postgame meet and greet on the field with the players was packed more than any home match this season.
Now if the Rhinos could only bottle that feeling and spread it around.......................
David Beckham had a pretty good weekend as well
Beckham will come to the LA Galaxy with a new addition to his trophy case after Real Madrid finished a major comeback and secured the La Liga title over the weekend.
But, I wonder how bad the left ankle sprain that caused Becks to leave the match is............
If the Rhinos are still searching for some help
Perhaps they can take a look at Joe Zewe should his four day trial with the Chicago Fire not bear fruit.
Although, will fellow Nittany Lion Chad Severs give a glowing review of the Rhinos to Zewe?
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, 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.
