Hooligans in Rochester Have a Ball
By: Shane Badger
The Rochester chapter of the American Outlaws (AO) sponsored the first annual Western New York Soccer Supporters Ball, held at Matt Wambach's infamous Back Nine Grill in Rochester, New York Saturday evening.

On frame with Soccer Sam
By: Shane Badger
If you want to know anything about soccer in Rochester there is one guy to speak to Salvatore Fantauzzo ( Soccer Sam). From his early beginnings until now he has built a legacy of promoting the game of soccer in the US. Now as CEO/Founder of the Rochester Lancers he is creating new legends.

Date Opponent Time 4/7 at Charlotte Eagles 7:00 pm 4/15 vs. Wilmington Hammerheads 6:00 pm 4/21 at Richmond Kickers 7:00 pm 4/28 vs. Richmond Kickers 7:30 pm 5/5 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds 7:30 pm 5/11 at Antigua Barracuda FC 7:00 pm 5/13 at Antigua Barracuda FC 4:30 pm 5/24 vs.

Richmond Kickers News Release:
RICHMOND, VA – (Wednesday, January 11, 2012) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the 2012 professional schedule, opening their 20th Anniversary season against longtime rival Charleston Battery on Saturday, April 7 at 5:00 p.m. As one of the three longest tenured professional soccer clubs in the United States, the Kickers will celebrate 20 years alongside the Battery and the Charlotte Eagles in 2012.

I love to see the MLS passion pouring in from these new ports of call. Devoted fans from Toronto, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle and, going a little further back, Salt Lake City, have done wonders to energize Major League Soccer, now going into its 17th season.

And plenty of new fans from older markets are adding more air to the MLS baloon, too.

Good afternoon! It's birthday time here at The Viper's Nest. Today, I'd like to wish a very Happy, Chuffed & Over The Moon Birthday to the one and only Matt Conroy (aka Who Shot Sam) of The Viper's Nest fame, of Talking Bull fame and of Once A Metro fame. Besides being a brilliant man (a Harvard educated bloke, no less), Matt's one of the greatest guys I know.

By Shane Badger
The Rochester Lancers took their motto "Honoring our past, Building the future" to the extreme in their home opener Saturday, bringing back original team members, unveiling their retro logo on the field, and even dropping their first home game just as they did 44 years ago.

If soccer in the US is to reach its fullest potential, helping the sport grow in disadvantaged urban areas is essential. While US Soccer has begun to recognize this need, volunteers have long been laying the foundation for such efforts. As PSP readers know, the Philadelphia-area has a admirable tradition of volunteer-led urban soccer programs.

The Philadelphia Union announced on Friday afternoon the signing of goalkeeper Kerry "Chase" Harrison. Harrison joins the Union from the Harrisburg City Islanders.

The signing comes after news of the concussion suffered by Union back-up goalkeeper Thorne Holder during a reserve league match against Columbus Crew on Sunday.

The Rochester Lancers announced the signing of their first player. Doug Miller, the former Rochester Rhinos player and indoor soccer legend has signed with the Rochester Lancers Indoor Soccer Team.
"Doug is probably the best indoor player I have ever played with," Head Coach Billy Andracki said.

After a five tumultuous months in the USL Pro, only two teams remain.

The Wilmington Hammerheads capped off their regular-season American Division title with a comfortable 3-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers. They'll be joined in the final by the Harrisburg City Islanders, who knocked off top-seeded Rochester in a thrilling 2-1 win.

All of at the PSP hope that all of you, yours and all of your stuff made it through Hurricane Irene safe and sound.

Union

RSL's Kyle Beckerman will not join the US team for the Costa Rica friendly on Friday but will stay in Salt Lake City for Saturday's match against the Union.

With the rescheduled New England game meaning the Union will play three games in seven days—Real Salt Lake (A), New England (H) and Portland (H)—Chris Vito writes in the Delco Times that it is time for the Union to get some points.

The Harrisburg City Islanders, a United Soccer Leagues (USL) PRO level affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, managed to overcome great odds to secure a place in the USL PRO Final, by beating the Rochester Rhinos in the National Division Final 2-1.

Stephen Basso scored in the sixth minute to give the Islanders an 1-0 lead, aided by a Rhino defender who deflected the shot.

The Seattle Sounders would host the U.S. Open Cup final for a second straight year if they beat FC Dallas on Tuesday. The game would be held at CenturyLink Field on Oct. 4 and will be played against the winner of the Chicago Fire-Richmond Kickers semifinal.

Either finals matchup would be intriguing, even if the Sounders would be considered prohibitive favorites.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

The quarterfinals of the USL Pro playoffs passed with only a marginal upset over the course of the weekend.

The Wilmington Hammerheads' late-season hot streak did them little good in the end as they succumbed on penalty kicks to early-season favorite Richmond.

J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) played a major role as the Rochester Rhinos routed the visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds 4-0 in a United Soccer Leagues PRO National Division semifinal Friday night.

Banks helped set up the first two goals as the top-seeded Rhinos (13-8-4) completed their season-long dominance of the fourth-seeded Riverhounds (7-12-6).

Jeff DeVeronica of the DemocratAndChronicle.com has reported that the Roshester Lancers have named Billy Andracki as their Head Coach.
Andracki is listed on the Rochester Rhinos website as an Assistant Coach.
The Lancers have Player combine & tryouts are scheduled for August 20-21, 2011.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

With a week to go in the USL Pro regular season, the playoff picture is clearing up.

The National Division has its playoff participants settled following the Pittsburgh Riverhounds' 2-2 draw with the Charlotte Eagles. Pittsburgh will be joined in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Blues, Harrisburg City Islanders and the Rochester Rhinos.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

After holding a dominating lead going into its nearly three week break, Orlando City S.C. finds itself with a serious contender breathing down its neck.

The Wilmington Hammerheads won twice over the weekend in convincing fashion to put themselves within three points of the American Division Leaders.

It's the end of another era as the Chicago Fire traded Dasan Robinson to Toronto FC in exchange for right back Dan Gargan and a 2nd Round Draft pick. Coincidentally the American defender was originally acquired in the 2nd Round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft being selected 22nd overall. Robinson enjoyed his best years in 2006 and 2007 playing in 23 matches each year while being a critical part of the 2006 U.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

With Orlando City off until the middle of August, it's now or never for the Richmond Kickers and the Wilmington Hammerheads to mount a challenge on the American Division regular-season title. The results were mixed over the weekend with neither team making significant progress or falling completely out of the picture.

The Rochester Rhinos clinched a playoff berth for the 16th consecutive year by beating the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the USL PRO Game of the Week last Friday night. Here are the highlights:

After seven games in seven weeks, I have a break this weekend and will get back after it for the stretch run and the playoffs starting August 5 in Wilmington.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Week 15 passed without any major changes, and with the conclusion of the USL Pro season now only a month away, that'll suit Orlando City just fine.

Orlando still holds a comfortable nine-point lead in the American Division and faces a long vacation before the home stretch.

Even though the mighty Bolton Wanderers lost 1-0 to FC Tampa Bay thanks to a couple of hits off the post and some frankly phenomenal goalkeeping from the Tampa youngsters in net, Trotters fans have little to worry about. The men in white will attempt to prove this on Sunday when they head back to Orlando to face Orlando City Soccer Club.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Just as it looked like Orlando City is poised to run away with the American Division, the mid-season leaders go winless over a weekend.

In a move that is becoming all too common among division leaders, Orlando gained just one point from two games over the weekend with a scoreless draw against the woeful Dayton Dutch Lions and a 1-0 loss to the Charleston Battery.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

There was no shortage of action during the holiday weekend as the USL Pro packed 10 games into four days.

Despite the glut of games, everything is pretty much as it was in the races for the division titles as Orlando City padded its massive lead in the American Division and Rochester clings to a three-point lead over on the National side.

It was a dry day in Chicago for once but it was raining goals at Toyota Park in yesterday's Reserves League game. The previously undefeated FC Dallas Reserves fell 5-0. Orr Barouch got a pair of goals while Cristian Nazarit pulled down a hat trick. The Chicago Fire Reserves took first place in the Central/Mountain Division with the convincing victory.

RE

Courtesy ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

Amid the hype surrounding D.C. United's blockbuster acquisition of Dwayne De Rosario on Monday, the club's trade with San Jose for center back Brandon McDonald a few hours earlier largely flew under the radar.

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that they have waived rookie midfielder Davis Paul. Frank Klopas said, "We want to thank Davis for his contributions to the Chicago Fire and wish him the best of luck in his next venture". Everyone here at Hot Time In Old Town does the same. Davis Paul is a great guy who works hard and is a creative individual.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

If the rest of the American Division isn't careful, Orlando City could wrap up the division title before the end of July.

A couple of weekend wins saw Orlando City move 10 points clear of the Richmond Kickers. Richmond does have three games in hand but a scoreless draw with FC New York highlights the early-season leaders inconsistent form.

The bottom line is that Diego Chaves scored a goal in the 37th minute of play and the Chicago Fire defeated the Rochester Rhinos 1-0 in the 3rd Round of the U.S. Open Cup last night. You the fan deserve more of a recap than that but I'm not sure the game itself does. If you missed the game, it looks like USL Live might put it in their Archived Games at some point.

The Chicago Fire endured a slow start and defeated the USL Pro's Rochester Rhinos, 1-0, on Tuesday in a third-round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.
Fire forward Diego Chaves netted the game's lone goal as Chicago advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 kicks off tonight with eight MLS teams in action across the country.

There are some quality rivalries being sparked, such as the all-LA pre-quarterfinal and the Kitsap Pumas-Seattle Sounders tilt.

Here is a rundown of tonight's matches:

TONIGHT'S U.

Frank Klopas is rolling the dice a little bit by having a starting XI of the following:

Sean Johnson; Bratislav Ristic, Josip Mikulic, Dasan Robinson, Pari Pantazopoulos; Gabriel Ferrari, Michael Videira, Daniel Paladini, Corben Bone; Diego Chaves, Cristian Nazarit

I am sympathetic to injuries and rest but this is a lot of new parts that aren't used to each other.

USOC: Chicago Fire vs. Rochester Rhinos Watch Party

Don't forget to head out to Ginger's Ale House at 3801 N. Ashland for the USOC Watch Party. The game kicks-off tonight at 6:35 PM CST and there will be TVs, sound, and Section 8ers a plenty.

Catch the game streaming live online at Chicago-Fire.com and talk about it live here as it happens. First kick is scheduled for 6:35 CDT.

Fire v Rhinos US Open Cup

The search for that elusive 5th U.S. Open Cup championship continues tonight when the Chicago Fire kick-off against the Rochester Rhinos at 6:35 PM CST at Sahlen's Stadium. In order to get some insider perspective on the Rochester Rhinos, we turn to Jeff Di Veronica of Devo's Direct Kicks. Jeff's answers will add to the picture but the overall landscape is the Fire face a very tough opponent in Rochester.

Diego Chaves -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire take a short detour from their MLS slate when they take on the USL Pro's Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday in third-round action of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, N.

Kitsap Sun Offers Their View Of What Could Have Been In Sounders v Pumas

It should be noted that the Rochester Rhinos did outbid an MLS side this year, and other non-MLS teams have done so in the past as well.

J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) came through in the clutch Saturday night.

The rookie forward scored the game's lone goal in the 90th minute, giving the host Rochester Rhinos a 1-0 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions in a USL Pro match.