Goalkeeper: The Rhinos brought Tomas Gomez on board last offseason, and the former Georgetown goalkeeper made a strong immediate impression. After spending his first professional season with the San Jose Earthquakes, Gomez outdueled Adam Grinwis for the starting role, and claimed the USL Golden Glove with a 0.69 goals-against average. Dan Lynd returns to the side, while Kyle Morton joined the club this offseason, as backup.

Defense: The Rhinos’ strong work ethic defensively continued to shine through, but above that rose the play of rookie center back Joe Farrell, who earned All-League Second Team honors. Farrell also was a finalist for Rookie of the Year after notching five goals and one assist in addition to his solid work at the back. The Rhinos also return Bradley Kamdem, and added Jordan Dover and former Orange County center back Ryan Felix to mitigate the departure of Sean Totsch (Louisville City FC).

Midfield: The core of the Rhinos’ midfield returns, with Mike Garzi and Ryan James both coming off seasons where they logged more than 2,100 minutes, and the dynamic two-way play of Wal Fall potentially set to produce more in the way of end product this season. Kenardo Forbes’ return is also welcome after the Jamaican had three goals and four assists a season ago. The Rhinos also picked up Stefan Defregger after he recorded four assists for Wilmington a season ago.

Forward: The Rhinos saw both Christian Volesky (Saint Louis FC) and Steevan Dos Santos (Ottawa Fury FC) depart this offseason, with the duo having combined for 18 goals and eight assists a season ago. The Rhinos have added another forward from Cape Verde in Antonio Correia to try and help fill the void, while former Reading United AC and Kitsap Pumas forward Darius Madison also joined the club after competing in the PDL last season. Jalen Brown, a 2017 MLS SuperDraft selection by New York City FC, and another former Reading player in Rayane Boukemia also join the Rhinos to start their pro careers.