The Rochester Raging Rhinos will open their 12^th season as a part of the United Soccer Leagues First Division tonight, as they visit the Puerto Rico Islanders for an 8:00 p.m. match in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The April 13^th start marks the earliest start to a season for the Rhinos since 2005, when they opened on April 30^th in Vancouver. The contest will be broadcast live on wysl1040.com with "Soccer Sam" Fantuzzo doing play-by-play and Rhinos Executive Vice President Matthew Ford taking care of the color commentary. The match will also be aired live on USL Live, the USL's new Internet video streaming medium. Visit USLlive.com for more information.

Last season, the Rhinos went 1-0-1 against the Islanders. The Rhinos picked up a 1-0 victory in Puerto Rico in the second game of the season, before playing to a 1-1 draw at PAETEC Park on August 26^th. Rochester has never lost to Puerto Rico at home, but is 3-2-0 on the Islanders' home turf.

The Rhinos open their regular season after going 3-2-0 during their 2007 preseason. The Rhinos began their spring training with two straight losses two MLS squads. On March 22^nd, they fell to the Los Angeles Galaxy by a 3-2 score. The Rhinos built a 2-0 lead heading into halftime, but three Galaxy goals in the second half sank their brilliant first half effort. Two days later, the Rhinos were upended by FC Dallas by a 2-0 score. The Rhinos quickly found the winning touch, however, as they went on to finish their preseason run with three straight wins, two against USL First Division opponents. The Rhinos ran past Miami FC before defeating rival Montreal Impact, 3-1 on March 29^th. A 5-0 win over Colgate University at PAETEC Park on April 6^th completed the Rhinos' preseason schedule.

Two Rhinos, defender Nate Craft and midfielder John Ball, will not participate in the team's opening weekend, as they are currently competing in the Major Indoor Soccer League postseason with the Detroit Ignition and Chicago Storm, respectively. Craft helped lead the Ignition to the MISL regular season title and earned MISL All-Rookie Team honors for his defensive efforts with the team.

Rochester returns 15 members of its 2006 roster this season, and has so far added eight new faces to its squad. The Rhinos announced today their newest signing, as midfielder Kevin Burns has agreed to a one-year contract with the team.

The Greenfield, Ind., native was selected by the Columbus Crew in the fourth round (50^th overall) of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft and spent a brief spell with the team during their preseason in early February. After being released by the Crew, Burns joined the Rhinos' preseason combine in Boca Raton, Fla., and was one of four participants to be selected to join the Rhinos for the rest of their preseason.

Burns played four seasons at the University of Connecticut, where he graduated with a degree in psychology in May 2006. The skilled midfielder registered four goals and eight assists in 65 games over his four-year career with the Huskies. As a high school senior at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was named Best Attacking Player and was named to the U.S. Under-18 National Team.

Puerto Rico finished the 2006 regular season with a 10-10-8 record, which earned it the sixth and final spot in the USL First Division postseason. The Charleston Battery got the better of the Islanders in the opening round of the playoffs, as they won the aggregate goal series by a 3-2 score.

The Rhinos will next head to Miami for a match against Miami FC on Sunday, April 15^th. The match, which is slated to kick-off at 6:00 p.m. at Tropical Park Stadium, will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040 AM, wysl1040.com and USL Live.