The Rochester Rhinos women battled hard without their top scorer, but two direct-kick goals from Ottawa’s Leah Robinson proved to be the difference in the Rhinos’ 3-1 loss to the Fury Saturday afternoon.
On both of her goals — one in the 45th minute, the other in the 75th — Robinson lofted perfectly placed shots just out of reach of Rochester goalkeeper Joy McKenzie.
“They were nice shots,” said McKenzie, who nevertheless almost deflected the first one.
Rochester forward Jacquie Lacek agreed.
“We did all we could defensively to stop them, but they were great shots on (Robinson’s) part,” Lacek said.
Still, the Rhinos played well against the undefeated Fury, which leads the USL W-League’s Northern Division.
“We had an excellent first half,” Lacek said. “We moved the ball and held possession well.”
Added McKenzie: “We dictated a lot of the play. Ottawa is a very good team, but we kept up with them.”
The Rhinos played without their leading scorer, forward Gretchen Miller, who was out of town on a family vacation. Lacek said Brittany Kinmond, Marci Pasenello and Tiffany Ebner bolstered the Rochester attack in Miller’s absence.
“They stepped in and filled that role,” she said.
In fact, Ebner scored Rochester’s lone goal in the 62nd minute. The Rhinos entered halftime trailing 2-0, but Ebner’s score pulled them within one and shifted the momentum to the Rhinos’ favor.
However, Robinson’s second goal effectively ended Rochester’s hopes of a comeback.
With the loss, the Rhinos fall to 3-6-0, totaling nine points. They travel to Toronto to face the Lynx on Wednesday before hosting Hamilton Friday. They finish out the regular season with four matches in nine days before hosting the W-League championships over the first weekend in August.
