photo by Christian Ramierez

The Rochester Rhinos are looking to rebound from a home defeat to the City Islanders against Antigua Barracudas FC on Wednesday, July 4^th 2012 at 8PM in Sahlen’s Stadium.  While the Rochester Rhinos dropped three points at home for only the second time this season, they remain in third place in the USL PRO table.  Antigua is currently tied with Dayton at the bottom of the table, but they took a huge step to turn their season around with a 1:0 victory over second place Charleston last weekend.

Rhinos right winger JC Banks has emerged as a league MVP candidate entering the last two months of the season.  He scored Rochester’s only goal in their 2:1 loss on Saturday night.  Banks has four goals and six assists in the USL PRO this season.  He leads the league in assists (6), is tied for third in points (14), and is tied for ninth in the league in goals entering the match.  In his first two seasons with the Rhinos he has had a goal or an assist in 16 matches, and Rochester is 13-1-2 in those matches.

“JC has been our most consistent attacking threat this season.”  Rhinos coach Jesse Myers said.  “He can run at defenders or get in behind the defense on the flank.  He has the ability to either finish a chance himself, or set-up a team mate.  He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now, and the best from him may be still to come.”

The Rochester Rhinos remained in third place in the USL PRO table despite their loss to Harrisburg.  Top of the table Orlando City dropped four points with draws in Pittsburgh and Dayton while second place Charleston suffered a shock defeat to bottom of the table Antigua.  The Rochester Rhinos are five points behind Charleston and three points ahead of fourth place Wilmington.  The Rhinos are eight points clear of the sixth and final playoff spot with nine matches left to play.

“Our goal to start the season was to qualify for the playoffs, and to be healthy when they started.”  Myers said.  “We’re working (Isaac) Kissi and Drew (Cost) back into the line-up after injuries, and we’ve got three more guys who are working their way back to fitness.  We’re grinding out results right now, but we’ve got the talent and veteran leadership to figure things out.”

Antigua Barracudas FC won their biggest victory of the 2012 USL PRO season with a 1:0 result over second place Charleston on Sunday night.  Peter Byer scored the game winning goal off of an assist from Quinton Griffith.  Keita DeCastro faced seven shots and made six saves in keeping the clean sheet.  The victory ended an eight game losing streak.  The Barracudas were outscored 19 to one during the streak, and they were shut out seven times.

Wednesday night will be the Rochester Rhinos Independence Day celebration in Sahlen’s Stadium.  98.9FM The Buzz will be doing a remote live from the stadium where they will be giving away two concert tickets.  The Rhinos pre-game ceremony will feature a color guard.  There will be a military tribute on the stadium scoreboard’s big screen using pictures that family and friends have contributed to the Rhinos front office.  Victor Silva will be singing the National Anthem.  Silva is a long-time resident and Rochester Rhinos fan who recently completed the citizenship process.  After the match the City of Rochester invites fans to stay downtown and view their fireworks display.

Tickets are still available by calling 585.454.KICK, visiting rhinossoccer.com, or by visiting any Ticket Master Retail location.

For further information, contact the Rhinos Communications Office at (585) 454-KICK