By Rochester Rhinos,

***IF HOSTING***

Eastern Conference Finals: Saturday, Novemer 4th @ 6:05PM

USL Cup Final: Monday, November 13th @ 9:00PM



***Tickets will be made available shortly after confirmation of home match***



The 4th-seeded Rochester Rhinos knocked off the #5 Charlotte Independence 2-1 on Saturday after extra time to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Rochester travels to face the top-seeded Louisville City FC for the 3rd time in under 6 weeks. Their September 20th match ended 2-1 in favor of Louisville after they were given a penalty kick in the closing seconds. The September 30th match in Rochester finished 0-0 in a tightly-contested midfield battle.

The two teams are even in the all-time regular-season series at 2-2-2, and in 2015, the Rhinos defeated Louisville 1-0 in the USL Eastern Conference Final en route to their 4th title. Former defender Vassilios Apostolopoulos netted the only goal to send Rochester to the USL Cup, where they would defeat LA Galaxy II 2-1 in extra time.

The Rhinos are three wins away from winning their 5th league championship and 6th title overall. The best part? Rochester can still come home to host both the Eastern Conference Finals & the USL Cup, but they’ll need some help along the way. Here’s who to root for in order to make that happen.

Eastern Conference Semifinals:

The Rhinos can host NYRB II in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#4 Rochester Rhinos @ #1 Louisville City FC - Saturday, October 28th @ 7:30PM

#7 New York Red Bulls II @ #3 Tampa Bay Rowdies - Saturday, October 28th @ 7:30PM

The defending champion New York Red Bulls II showed they still have plenty of fight in them, advancing to the Conference Semis after a 4-0 upset at the #2 Charleston Battery.

NYRB II may currently be Rochester’s biggest rivals. The two teams are the last two USL Cup Champions and they have knocked eachother out on their way to their respective titles. This season kept the fire burning, with the teams splitting the series 1-1-1 in three of the Rhinos grittiest matches.

The two teams played to an entertaining 2-2 draw in the Rhinos home opener, as Joe Farrell headed home the equalizer in the dying seconds of the match.

The second match would end up going NYRB II’s way, as they triumphed 2-1 in a very chippy match that saw Farrell sent off just before halftime after he picked up his second yellow card. A pair of red cards issued to Kenardo Forbes and Arun Basuljevic in the 82nd-minute for violent conduct left both teams without key playmakers in the midfield for the next three matches.

Rochester and Kenardo Forbes would get the last laugh, as a 2-1 win gave the Rhinos their 3rd straight win heading into the postseason, but more importantly, guaranteed them the #4 seed and a home playoff match. Forbes would net the match winner in the 68th-minute.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies are enjoying their first season back in the USL, earning a 3-seed along the way. They knocked off FC Cincinnati 3-0 last weekend to advance and improve their blistering home form to 12-1-4 on the year.

Rochester was able to be one of the few teams this year to take points at Al Lang Stadium, earning a 1-1 draw after Jochen Graf’s early goal was canceled out by a Joe Cole effort. The Rhinos were outpossessed 69-31% this season; their biggest possession disadvantage of the season.

The Rhinos defeated Tampa Bay 1-0 just 2 ½ weeks prior, where they took all 3 points despite being outpossessed in that matchup 59-41%. Wal Fall’s goal in the 27th minute was the difference in a mostly defensive match.

Western Conference Semifinals:

The Rhinos can host either Sacramento Republic FC or OKC Energy FC in the USL Cup. #4 Swope Park Rangers would have the right to host, as they accumulated more total points than Rochester.

#8 Sacramento Republic FC @ #4 Swope Park Rangers - Saturday, October 28th @ 5:00PM

#6 OKC Energy FC @ #2 San Antonio FC - Saturday, October 28th @ 9:30PM

#1 Real Monarchs SLC; who won the USL Regular Season title with 67 points with a 20-5-7 record, were upset in penalty kicks by #8 Sacramento Republic FC 1-1 (3-1 pen). Ironically, Sacramento was upset as a #1 seed in penalties in last season’s Western Conference Quarterfinals.

#4 Swope Park Rangers found themselves on the right side of an absolutely thrilling contest, defeating #5 Phoenix Rising FC 4-2 on penalties after finishing extra time at 1-1. The two sides finished regulation scoreless, with Phoenix opening the scoring in the 99th-minute through former Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. SPR was saved in the 109th-minute, when Amer Didic headed home a crucial equalizer.

#3 Reno 1868 FC set numerous USL goal-scoring records this season, yet were stymied by #6 OKC’s C.J. Cochran - who made five saves en route to the Energy’s 1-0 upset victory.

#2 San Antonio FC survived a major scare, defeating the #7 Tulsa Roughnecks 2-1 via a last-second penalty in the 94th minute after being behind until just after the hour mark. Despite the scare, SAFC’s offense was on fire, outshooting Tulsa 22-11.