You cannot be serious! Rhinos bounce back with big road win at L.A.
That intro I used - "You cannot be serious!" - is something that makes me smile and something I've been using regularly on Twitter this year when Rhinos rookie goalkeeper John McCarthy does something good. He's Johnny Mac or, excuse me, @jmacdaddy77 on Twitter. But I grew up in the era of the Tennis Brat, the great John McEnroe and if you've never seen his rant at a linesman click this link. McEnroe had such a hair-trigger temper. You know how so many people watch NASCAR because they want to see the next crash. That was why, in part, folks loved watching McEnroe. When would his next tantrum take place and what would set him off? All of this is a late-night, I'm-tired-and-rambling lead into my blog to say that it's quite remarkable that these Rhinos lost 3-2 at home on Saturday to a previously winless Pittsburgh team and then flew across the country and manned-up to beat the most potent attack in USL PRO, the L.A. Galaxy II, 2-1. Rochester rode a ninth-minute goal from Johnny Mendoza, who stuck in a pretty classy finish on a one-timed shot inside the near post after a good pass by Alex Dixon, into the lead, then made it 2-0 when JC Banks slid a little pass to Dixon, who scored his third goal this season to make it 2-0 in the 29th minute. L.A. pulled one back in the 75th minute, making it 2-1, and it also nearly scored in the 66th minute but defender Pat McMahon headed clear a ball that was going in. Why the "You Cannot Be Serious!" reference here? It makes no sense, these last two Rhinos results, but that's the way it's going to be with a young team. Coach Bob Lilley asked for his guys to start doing the little things it takes to win and that happened late on Wednesday night. After being nicked for three goals on Saturday, McCarthy won on Wednesday to go to 4-1-3. Not a bad bounce back from his first pro loss and he got some solid play from the guys in front of him, too.
Next up is a 3-6-2 Arizona United team on Saturday night before Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup showdown with D.C. United. Losing on Saturday to an Arizona club that lost on Wednesday to Dayton would be a disappointment and negate Wednesday's upset, so the Rhinos have to show up and start playing with more consistency. If they do that, I won't be shocked by some of these topsy-turvy results and that means I won't have to reference, "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!" much again.
FLASH LOSE AT HOUSTON: The up and down results continued on Wednesday with the Western New York Flash, too. After hammering defending NWSL champion Portland 5-0 on Friday, they lost on Wednesday at the expansion Houston Dash. Here's more on that.
CUP STARTS, LANCERS OFFER CHANCE FOR $2,014: The World Cup starts Thursday in Brazil and the Rochester Lancers are giving fans a chance to win big. They're running a contest to win $2,014. Click here for all the details, then put your thinking cap on to pick a bunch of winners.