# 2015 Rochester Rhinos season

The 2015 Rochester Rhinos season was the club's twentieth season. It was the Rhinos fifth-consecutive year in the third tier of American soccer, playing in the United Soccer League Eastern Conference. The Rhinos finished the regular season in first place, clinching the #1 seed and home field advantage in the 2015 USL Playoffs. The Rhinos won the USL Championship, the club's 5th overall, by defeating LA Galaxy II 2–1 after extra time.

## Background

The Rhinos debuted a new commemorative logo to be used during the 2015 season celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the club's founding.
The Rhinos started the season on a record nineteen game undefeated streak, after finishing the prior season in 6th place.

## Competitions
### USL
#### Standings (Eastern Conference)

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Rochester Rhinos (C, X) | 28 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 40 | 15 | +25 | 61 | Conference semi-finals |
| 2 | Louisville City FC | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 55 | 34 | +21 | 48 | Conference semi-finals |
| 3 | Charleston Battery | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 46 | First round |
| 4 | New York Red Bulls II | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 42 | First round |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 28 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 41 | First round |
| 6 | Richmond Kickers | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 41 | First round |
| 7 | Charlotte Independence | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 40 | |
| 8 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 39 | |
| 9 | Saint Louis FC | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 33 | |
| 10 | FC Montreal | 28 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 28 | |
| 11 | Toronto FC II | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 23 | |
| 12 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 28 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 22 | 42 | −20 | 19 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 6, 2015. Source: USL

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Stadium | A | A | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W |

#### USL Playoffs

| First round | First round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | USL Championship | USL Championship |
| | | October 3 | October 3 | | | | | |
| | | #1 Rochester Rhinos | 2 | | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | #1 Rochester Rhinos | 2 | | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | #4 New York Red Bulls II | 0 | | | | |
| #4 New York Red Bulls II (a.e.t.) | 4 | #4 New York Red Bulls II | 0 | | | | |
| #4 New York Red Bulls II (a.e.t.) | 4 | | | | October 10 | October 10 | | |
| #5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2 | | | | October 10 | October 10 | |
| #5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2 | | | | #1 Rochester Rhinos | 1 | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | | | | #1 Rochester Rhinos | 1 | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | | | #2 Louisville City FC | 0 | |
| #3 Charleston Battery (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | #2 Louisville City FC | 0 | |
| #3 Charleston Battery (a.e.t.) | 2 | October 3 | October 3 | | | | | |
| #6 Richmond Kickers | 1 | October 3 | October 3 | | | | |
| #6 Richmond Kickers | 1 | #2 Louisville City FC (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | |
| | | #3 Charleston Battery | 0 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | October 16 | October 16 |
| | | | | | | | | #1 Rochester Rhinos (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | #5 LA Galaxy II | 1 |
| | | October 3 | October 3 | | | | | | |
| | | #1 Orange County Blues FC | 0 | | | | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | #1 Orange County Blues FC | 0 | | | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | #5 LA Galaxy II | 2 | | | | | | |
| #4 Sacramento Republic FC | 0 | #5 LA Galaxy II | 2 | | | | | | |
| #4 Sacramento Republic FC | 0 | | | | October 11 | October 11 | | | |
| #5 LA Galaxy II | 1 | | | | October 11 | October 11 | | | |
| #5 LA Galaxy II | 1 | | | | #5 LA Galaxy II | 2 | | | |
| September 25 | September 25 | | | | | #5 LA Galaxy II | 2 | | |
| September 25 | September 25 | | | | #2 Oklahoma City Energy FC | 1 | |
| #3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 2 | | | | #2 Oklahoma City Energy FC | 1 | |
| #3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 2 | October 4 | October 4 | | | | | |
| #6 Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 0 | October 4 | October 4 | | | | |
| #6 Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 0 | #2 Oklahoma City Energy FC (p) | 2 (4) | | | | |
| | | #3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 2 (3) | | | | |

#### Playoff Results

Championship Game MVP: Asani Samuels

### U.S. Open Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Regular Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |

### Top scorers

| Position | Nation | Number | Name | USL Pro | U.S. Open Cup | Total |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Nation | Number | Name | USL Pro | USL Pro | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Playoffs | Playoffs | Total (USSF Total) | Total (USSF Total) |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 41 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 1 | — | — |

## Roster

as of April 28, 2015
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Adam Grinwis | United States |
| 2 | MF | Marcos Ugarte | United States |
| 3 | MF | Alex Dixon | United States |
| 4 | DF | Sean Totsch | United States |
| 5 | DF | Vassilios Apostolopoulos | Greece |
| 6 | MF | Christian Silva | United States |
| 7 | DF | Onua Thomas Obasi | England |
| 8 | FW | Christian Volesky | United States |
| 9 | FW | Colin Rolfe | United States |
| 10 | FW | Steevan Humberto Fortes dos Santos | Cape Verde |
| 11 | MF | Jonny Mendoza | United States |
| 12 | FW | Asani Samuels | Jamaica |
| 13 | MF | Mike Garzi | United States |
| 15 | DF | Pat McMahon | United States |
| 16 | MF | Drew Ruggles | United States |
| 18 | DF | Grant Van De Casteele | United States |
| 20 | DF | Tony Walls | United States |
| 21 | MF | Kenardo Forbes | Jamaica |
| 22 | DF | Julian Ringhof | Germany |
| 27 | GK | Sean Murdoch | Scotland |
| 29 | MF | Tyler Rudy | United States |
| 33 | GK | Brandon Miller | United States |
| 92 | FW | Timi Mulgrew | United States |

### Technical Staff

as of May 30, 2015
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Bob Lilley |
| Assistant coach | Georgios Kyriazis |
| Goalkeeping coach | Gavin McInerny |
| Head Trainer | Doug Graham |