The Rochester Rhinos played host to the Puerto Rico Islanders in the first game of the USL First Division playoff semifinals Friday night at PAETEC Park and left with a 2-0 lead heading into the second leg in Bayamon Sunday.

The Islanders had advanced with a first round bye as the Commissioner’s Cup champions and the Rhinos earned their spot with a first round defeat of the Charleston Battery. With the higher seed, the road weary Islanders, who played in a CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday, chose to stay on the road for the first match of this two game aggregate home and home series. The Rhinos, who have had a tough time with Puerto Rico this year (0-2-1), hoped to continue their home field success.

The match was hard fought and contentious from the start. Seventeen fouls and several near misses would mark the half. The Rhinos Ross Smith would begin the card brigade in the 18th minute with a hard challenge that sent former Rhino Johnny Steele to the turf, earning Smith a caution.

An Islander foul just inside the halfway mark would set up the first Rhino opportunity in the 21st minute. The Rochester re-start was sent into the box finding the head of Scott Palguta, who would flick the ball on to Smith for a left-footed volley that would go just wide.

One minute later, Rochester MVP Johnny Menyongar would beat his man down the right wing and send the ball across to Andrew Gregor. Gregor from the left side would then send the ball back across to a streaking Matthew Delicate, who would put the ball just wide.

As the match continued to heat up, tempers would flare in the 36th minute when Puerto Rico’s Edwin Miranda was sent off for an elbow at Rochester’s John Ball. Puerto Rico’s Scott Jones earned a caution for aggressively arguing the Miranda send off.

Rochester would play the rest of the match with a man advantage. The ball would continue to spend the majority of the first half in the Rochester half of the field and the Rhinos would nearly capitalize again in the extra time as Ross Smith’s header would go just wide. The half would come to a close with a nil-nil score.

Both squads would spend the first 15 minutes of the second half feeling each other out in a tentative fashion.

However, Rochester would finally capitalize on the man advantage in the 67th minute. John Ball sent the ball into the box and Menyongar’s challenge for the 50-50 ball would find the right boot of Palguta whose blast from just inside the 18 would force Islander goalkeeper Bill Gaudette to make a tremendous diving save to his right. The rebound stayed in play for the Rhino’s Andrew Gregor, who buried the free ball for a Rochester 1-0 lead.

The goal marked only the third time during Puerto Rico’s 17 game unbeaten streak that they had even trailed during a match. Rochester would add to their lead 15 minutes later as Steve Guppy, who had entered the match in the 67th minute for Ball, sent a pass down the left wing to an overlapping Danny Earls. Earls would beat two defenders and send the ball into the box to Menyongar, who would settle with his left foot, transfer to his right foot, and beat Gaudette from eight yards out for a Rochester 2-0 lead.

The raucous Rhino fan base would be silenced in the 83rd minute, not by an Islander goal, but by a violent collision between Rochester’s Delicate and Puerto Rico’s Nigel Henry. Both players would remain down for nearly 10 minutes before Henry was carted off the field. Delicate was taken to the Rhino locker room.

The match would resume after a nearly 15 minute delay. Less than one minute after the re-start, Rochester’s Tiger Fitzpatrick would be cautioned just outside the Islander 18 yard box setting up a direct kick. Rochester’s Scott Vallow would handle the opportunity for his third save of the match.

With just under three minutes left in the extra time, Puerto Rico’s Scott Jones would earn his second yellow of the match for an intentional hand ball while attempting to keep the ball in the Puerto Rico zone. The referee would show Jones the yellow and then the red sending off the Islander defensemen for the match. Rochester could not capitalize on the two-man advantage and the game would finally end with a Rochester 2-0 victory.

The two teams will test their mettle once again, this time from Juan Ramon Loubriel Satdium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The match will kickoff on Sunday, October 5th at 6:00 pm.