Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps men suffered their second straight defeat in Rochester on Saturday evening, as the Rhinos came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 victory at PAETEC Park.

In a classic tale of two halves, Vancouver created history in the first minute. Striker Nicholas Addlery became the modern-day Whitecaps fastest-ever goalscorer after finding the back of Rochester's net in just 10 seconds. The strike is 14 seconds faster than Martin Nash's goal that came in a 2-1 win over Colorado Foxes on August 23, 1995, and is the fastest goal to be scored in a regular season contest by the club. However, Peter Lorimer still holds the distinction of scoring the fastest Whitecaps goal of all time during the North American Soccer League days. The former Leeds United player took just four seconds to score the winner in a 1-0 friendly win over Swedish club Malmö at Empire Stadium on March 28, 1982.

Where Vancouver looked the brighter of the two sides in the opening 45 minutes, Rochester dramatically turned the game on its head with three second-half goals. The Whitecaps looked far from their best defensively in all three instances that they conceded goals. Former Whitecaps playmaker Ze Roberto struck the Rhinos' equalizer and third goal, while Johnny Menyongar's fine finish midway through the second half proved to be the winner. As a result, Rochester claim two wins out of three from their Canadian foes this season in the USL First Division.

Having been delighted with his side's performance in beating Major League Soccer club Toronto FC in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Canada Day, Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson named an unchanged side for their final regular-season meeting with Rochester. Rhinos head coach Darren Tilley, meanwhile, made two changes to the side that lost 3-1 at Charleston Battery last Saturday. Defenders Tenywa Bonseu and Ross Smith replaced the suspended Alfonso Loera and Canadian youngster Evan Milward in the home side's starting XI.

On a gorgeous and sunny summer's evening in The Flower City, it was the Whitecaps – who were dressed in their away kit of all blue – that made a sensational start to the game right from the kickoff.

Rochester started the game, with the ball going back to Ze Roberto. The Brazilian's wayward square ball allowed Justin Moose to intercept and attack the Rhinos backline. With space in front of him, the speedy winger slipped a fine ball into the path of Addlery before the Jamaican striker struck first-time past Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow for the fastest goal in modern-day Whitecaps history.

The strike came from the visitors' high pressure play that seemed to catch Rochester off-guard, with the Upstate New York club having anticipated a more conservative approach from Thordarson's men following last month's result at PAETEC Park.

If anything, the goal brought a bright and open spell of play, with Rochester responding just as well to going behind, while Vancouver looked full of energy in their efforts to close down the Rhinos players when not in possession.

On 12 minutes, Rochester striker Mauricio Salles – who scored two goals in last month's game between these two clubs – rolled a tame free-kick effort wide of Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly's goal.

The high energy from both sides also brought an untidy and competitive spell of play through the middle stages of the first half, with Vancouver creating a decent chance for Addlery on 26 minutes, but his close-range header from Valente's cross on the left was blocked away.

Valente was in on the Whitecaps next chance. The midfielder played an inswinging corner from the right into the Rhinos box on 31 minutes, but midfielder Steve Kindel's volley from the edge of the box flew high and wide of Vallow's goal. A minute later, Addlery headed a fine Takashi Hirano cross from the left right at the Rhinos number one.

Rochester's best chance of the half came on 34 minutes, as Menyongar struck a shot just wide of Nolly's near post after Tiger Fitzpatrick found the Liberian forward in the Whitecaps box with a forward pass.

Chances were traded before the break, with Valente striking a low drive right at the diving Vallow on 43 minutes, while at the other end, Smith saw his header from Steve Guppy's cross fly wide of the target a minute later, as Vancouver took a one-goal lead into halftime.

As the floodlights replaced the summer sunshine for the start of the second half, it was Rochester that got one back on their visitors by stunning Vancouver with a quick goal right after the restart, and in the cruelest of fashions from a former Whitecaps player.

On 46 minutes, poor Vancouver defending saw Kindel be dispossessed by Luke Kreamalmeyer on the edge of the Vancouver box. The former Portland Timbers man found Ze Roberto facing goal with his lay-off, and the Brazilian's low shot beat the diving Nolly to pull the Rhinos level at 1-1.

Disappointed to be back on level terms, the Whitecaps then had a glorious chance to regain the lead on 48 minutes. Valente's cross from the left saw Vallow spill a rebound and allow Eduardo Sebrango to strike the ball goalward, but only to see his effort blocked. The rebound then fell to an unmarked Addlery, but with the goal at his mercy, the forward's shot sailed high over Vallow's crossbar and out for a goal kick.

With the exception of that early Whitecaps opportunity, Rochester looked the far better team in the second half, with Salles looking particularly dangerous for the home side. On 53 minutes, Nolly did well to save the Brazilian's close-range header from a looping cross before the Whitecaps number one made another fine stop to deny the South American's well driven shot just before the hour mark.

With Rochester in the ascendancy, Thordarson changed his attack pairing by bringing in Jason Jordan and new signing Charles Gbeke for Addlery and Sebrango, while Diaz Kambere replaced Hirano at left fullback.

The substitutions brought little change to flow of play, as Rochester crafted a fine second goal on 71 minutes. Salles fed Danny Earls down the left flank before the Irishman's outswinging cross found an unmarked Menyongar streaking into the Whitecaps box. The West African hit-man struck his first-time effort past a frozen Nolly on the goal line for 2-1.

Based on the amount of pressure that the Whitecaps endured in the second half, Rochester would have felt aggrieved to be leading the match. However, the game remained open and entertaining, with Vancouver continuing to press forward in search of an equalizer, though Jordan's strike on 85 minutes flew right into the arms of Vallow. Two minutes later, Menyongar nearly chipped in his second goal of the game after Rhinos substitute Rey Martinez caused Nolly to make a less than sufficient clearance on the edge of his box.

Any hopes that Vancouver had of a comeback ended in the dying stages, as another piece of poor defending allowed Ze Roberto to score a second goal against his old club. Kambere's poor back pass to Nolly saw him concede possession and allow the Brazilian to neatly chip the ball over the Whitecaps keeper's head and into the goal for 3-1.

It could have been worse for Thordarson's men in time added on, as Guppy was unlucky not to hit the target with a low drive that flashed across the face of Nolly's goal and out for a goal kick.


The final whistle confirmed a remarkable comeback by the Rhinos, who were second best for much of the first half, but looked a transformed side after the break. On the other side of the ball, Vancouver's defensive errors in the three second-half goals they conceded were alarming to say the least, as the Whitecaps suffered their fourth league defeat of 2008. Saturday's result also saw the Whitecaps lose ground on USL-1 leaders Charleston, as the Battery's 1-0 home win over defending league champions Seattle Sounders took them four points clear at the top of the standings.

Whitecaps assistant coach Todd Wawrousek was naturally disappointed by Saturday's events. "We committed some major errors in concentration at the wrong moments, which conceded all three goals," Wawrousek told whitecapsfc.com. "I thought we looked mentally tired tonight, but we are not looking to use that as an excuse. We know what the challenges are on the road and we have to do a better job of dealing with that. In fairness to Rochester, I thought they played well in both wins against us, as they capitalized on errors that we were making. They were determined to get three points tonight, and we couldn't raise our gears to meet them. We need to play at a higher level more consistently, as there has been too much inconsistency going on with our group."

The Whitecaps will want to bounce back from Saturday's defeat by finishing their Nutrilite Canadian Championship campaign in positive fashion when they host Toronto FC at Swangard Stadium on Wednesday night. The match will be the first of four consecutive games at home for Vancouver. Rochester, meanwhile, will play the second match of a three-game home stand next Friday when Seattle pay a visit to PAETEC Park.

Goal Summaries
VAN – 1' - Nicholas Addlery (Justin Moose)
Addlery scored the fastest goal in modern-day Whitecaps history, taking just 23 seconds to convert Moose's fine through ball first-time for an early Whitecaps lead.

ROC – 46' - Ze Roberto (Luke Kreamalmeyer)
Kreamalmeyer dispossesses Vancouver midfielder Steve Kindel on the edge of the Whitecaps box before setting up Ze Roberto to hit a low shot past a diving Jay Nolly for 1-1.

ROC – 71' - Johnny Menyonger (Danny Earls)
Earls curled a fine outswinging cross from the left flank, where Menyongar came streaking into the Whitecaps box unmarked to finish first-time past a frozen Nolly on the goal line.

ROC – 89' - Ze Roberto (Rey Martinez)
Diaz Kambere's back pass to Nolly saw him concede possession to the home side, with Ze Roberto allowed to chip the ball over the Whitecaps keeper and into the empty net.

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 8 – Rochester 13
Saves: Vancouver 3 – Rochester 3
Fouls: Vancouver 10 – Rochester 9
Offsides: Vancouver 2 – Rochester 2
Corners: Vancouver 4 – Rochester 9

Cautions:
Vancouver: Justin Moose 38’, Alfredo Valente 58’, Charles Gbeke 76’
Rochester: Tenywa Bonseu 9’

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 2.Jeff Clarke, 15.Omar Jarun, 22.Takashi Hirano (28.Diaz Kambere 69'), 24.Lyle Martin; 7.Martin Nash, 8.Steve Kindel, 9.Alfredo Valente (23.Vicente Arze 66'), 25.Justin Moose (27.Stefan Leslie 82’); 11.Nicholas Addlery (26.Jason Jordan 62’), 16.Eduardo Sebrango (32.Charles Gbeke 66')

Subs not used: 77.Srdjan Djekanovic, 6.Luca Bellisomo

Rochester Rhinos
24.Scott Vallow; 16.Danny Earls, 17.Scott Palguta, 18.Ross Smith, 27.Tenywa Bonseu (2.Nate Craft 89’); 4.Luke Kreamalmeyer (9.Matthew Delicate 68’), 6.Tiger Fitzpatrick, 7.Steve Guppy, 10.Johnny Menyongar, 15.Ze Roberto; 8.Mauricio Salles (35.Rey Martinez 84’)

Subs not used: 32.Chase Harrison, 3.Leigh Sembaluk, 5.Juan Pablo Reyes, 11.Hamed Diallo, 21.Evan Milward