Doherty Soccer is an independent site that covers the Rochester Rhinos and US Soccer. The following article is one half of a two part article on the strengths, weaknesses, players to watch and storylines for tonight's game. For the rest, visit Doherty Soccer.

Strengths:
The team is very strong in defense.

Mark Pallo, of Rhino Pit, wrote the following article to appear on the Brotherly Game. Rhino Pit is an independent site that has covered the Rochester Rhinos since 1996.

The Rochester Rhinos are no strangers when it comes to competing against MLS clubs in U.S. Open Cup play. Their 1999 USOC title win over the Colorado Rapids is an accomplishment that still remains sweet and special within the Rochester soccer community.

In case you missed it, here's what happened over the weekend for New England's NPSL teams.

Saturday, May 26

In their first road game in franchise history, the Rhode Island Reds were rudely greeted by the New York Red Bulls in a 6-0 loss at New Jersey Institue of Technology in Newark.

Last night's Lamar Hunt US Open Cup results left the Rochester Rhinos as the Philadelphia Union's opponent in the third round of the 2012 edition of the long running competition.

The Rhinos beat fellow New York club the Brooklyn Italians 3-0 to advance forward in the USOC. The United Soccer Leagues PRO team will now face the Union at PPL Park on May 29, the first every home game in the USOC for Philadelphia.

Photo: Courtesy of Harrisburg City Islanders

The Union will host Rochester Rhinos in the third round of the US Open Cup this Tuesday after the USL PRO team defeated NPSL side Brooklyn Italians 3–0 in second round play. The Rhino's are the only non-MLS team to win the Cup since the start of MLS in 1996, defeating Colorado Rapids 2–0 for the championship in 1999.

The U.S. Open Cup often brings about surprise results, and Tuesday's second-round of the new-look tournament was no different.

Three amateur sides are alive after pulling second-round upsets of USL Pro clubs. USASA club Cal FC, coached by Eric Wynalda, got two more goals from former UCSB and U.

CRANSTON, R.I. Paulo Mendes scored the first goal in Rhode Island Reds history in Friday's 1-1 draw to FC New York.

Mendes' 41st minute tally tied it after Cemil Turin put New York on the board in the 8th minute. The 1-1 draw also marked the first point collected by the Reds, who dropped a 1-0 in their inaugural game last week against the Brooklyn Italians.

PSP is pleased to welcome Paul Konneh, president of Junior Lone Star FC. Paul will be providing match previews, match recaps, and other newss about the Philadelphia-based National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) club. In his first post, Paul previews Friday's season opener away against the Lehigh Valley's FC Sonic.

The Revolution will enter the 99th edition of the U.S. Open Cup tournament on May 29th and will either play the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) or the Long Island Rough Riders (PDL) in the third round.

U.S. Soccer released the Open Cup brackets for the third round, which set the fixture dates for all 16 eligible MLS clubs, on Tuesday.

MLS teams have a better idea of who they'll be playing when they enter the U.S. Open Cup in the third round.

U.S. Soccer released the draw of possible matches for the third round, with the completion of the first round taking place on Tuesday. Unlike in past years, the host sites for the third-round games were determined by random coin flip as opposed to a bidding process, giving every team an equal shot at hosting a match.

The first round of the U.S. Open Cup is in the books, with 16 amateur teams advancing to the second round, when NASL and USL Pro sides enter the competition under the tournament's new format.

From Tuesday's first-round results, Pacific Northwest sides Kitsap Pumas and the Portland Timbers' U-23 team both fell, with amateur side Cal FC, coached by Eric Wynalda, knocking off Kitsap 3-1 behind two goals from former UCSB and U.

It was a puddle that the Portland Phoenix simply could not paddle out of.

After sinking into a 3-0 hole, the Phoenix scored twice in the final 10 minutes but ultimately fell short 3-2 to the Brooklyn Italians (PSL) in a rain-soaked U.S. Open Cup qualifier at Deering High School in Portland, Maine.

Three more clubs in the Northeast Division of the PDL Eastern Conference opened their seasons this weekend, and Seacoast United secured 4 points from two matches (Friday and Sunday) to take their perch at the top of the table. Here's what went down:

Western Mass. Pioneers 1 - 2 Seacoast United Phantoms

The Phantoms are on a roll after this weekend.

The Rhode Island Reds suffered a hard-fought 1-0 loss to the Brooklyn Italians in their NPSL debut on Saturday.

CRANSTON, R.I. Jakeem Johnson spoiled the Reds' NPSL debut when he scored the game's lone goal to give the Brooklyn Italians a 1-0 win at Cranston Stadium on Saturday.

Johnson spent much of the match knocking on the door before his 74th minute strike.

The Reds hosted preseason tryouts in Seekonk, Mass. with the hope of finding players hungry to contribute during the team's inaugural season. (Photo: Rhode Island Reds FC)

After a three-year hiatus, semi-pro soccer officially returns to the Ocean State on Saturday when the expansion Rhode Island Reds FC kick off their inaugural season against the Brooklyn Italians at Cranston Stadium.

It's believed that MPS Portland Phoenix will be the first club from Maine to play in the 98-year-old U.S. Open Cup tournament when it hosts the Brooklyn Italians for a first round tie on May 15. (Photo: MPS Portland Phoenix)

By virtue of its first-place divisional finish in 2011, it is believed that MPS Portland Phoenix will be the first club from Maine to participate in U.

The U.S. Open Cup format has changed immensely from past editions, and the pairings for the first two rounds of the tournament have been released.

The first round, which will be played in two weeks, contains all amateur teams from PDL, NPSL, USASA and U.S. Club Soccer, and the matchups are based on regional and geographical location.

Round 2 results were delayed a day thanks to a lightning storm in Madison which forced the Chicago Fire PDL team and the Madison 56ers to replay their match this afternoon. The Fire win continues the trend this tournament of a lack of upsets. The only team that can plausibly claim to have beaten a team in the higher division is USASA's New York Pancyprian Freedoms, who beat the NPSL's Brooklyn Italians in round one.

Once again after two full months of qualifying matches from Major League Soccer all the way down to the National Premier Soccer League, twenty-three spots along with seventeen automatic entrants have been filled for the 2011 Edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

A historical moment came to NPSL as they were allowed four spots, one per conference to enter the first round when they would normally enter thru US Adult Soccer Association qualifying.