Rhinos, Lilley have history with Harrisburg

The first-place Rhinos (13-1-8) can become the first USL team to clinch a playoff berth this season if they beat Harrisburg on Saturday night at Sahlen's Stadium and ninth-place Charlotte loses or ties in its matchup at home against sixth-place Pittsburgh.

Harrisburg, meanwhile, needs wins to get into playoff position. The top six teams make the playoffs and the City Islanders (9-8-4) are in seventh with 31 points, one behind Pittsburgh. But it won't come easy. The seeds of the Rhinos rivalry with the Harrisburg were actually planted when Bob Lilley's family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania when Rochester's fourth-year coach was in eighth grade.

That has been his home base ever since.

Lilley, whose USL Hall-of-Fame coaching career includes stops in Montreal and Vancouver, cut short his pro playing career in 1997 to become the first and only head coach in the history of the Hershey Wildcats. Other than a 1-0 upset in a 2001 second-round U.S. Open Cup match in Rochester, the Rhinos always got the best of the rivalry. In fact, the last match in Hershey's history came later that season in Rochester when the Rhinos won the A-League Championship Game, 2-0.

The franchise, owned by Hershey Entertainment, folded a few days later.

The City Islanders were born a few years later, joining the USL in 2004.

"I don't look at them any different than any other team," Lilley said.

Bill Becher has been their head coach the whole time. Harrisburg's brightest moments have been winning the USL Second Division title in 2007 and finishing as USL First Division runner-up in 2011, its first season after moving up from USL-2. That 2011 playoff run included a wild, 2-1 upset of Lilley's Rhinos in Rochester in a physical semifinal match that saw Becher's ejection after a heated exchanged with officials headed into halftime.

Each team had a player ejected early in the first half and Hershey had another sent off in the 42nd minute. The Rhinos tried to rally from a 2-0 hole but couldn't.

Harrisburg dominated regular-season play, too, winning six of seven matches through 2013. But since Lilley, 49, returned to the Rochester sideline last year after a two-year hiatus following 2010 and 2011 here, the Rhinos are 1-0-2 against Harrisburg. That includes a 1-1 tie in Pennsylvania on June 19 when Christian Volesky's 87th-minute goal stole a tie for the visitors. Rochester also eliminated Harrisburg in a third-round Open Cup match on May 28 in overtime, 3-1, behind two goals from rookie forward Asani Samuels. The Rhinos won despite playing a man down the final 80 minutes.

JDIVERON@DemocratandChronicle.com

www.Twitter.com/@RocDevo

Harrisburg at Rhinos

Matchup: First-place Rochester (13-1-8) vs. seventh-place Harrisburg (9-8-4) in USL soccer.

When/where: 7:05 p.m. Saturday/Sahlen's Stadium.

Tickets: From $8.

This season: The Rhinos won 3-1 in a Cup match and tied 1-1 in a regular-season match at Harrisburg.

Series: Harrisburg leads, 6-2-2.

Next: Saint Louis at Rhinos, 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 30.