Rochester, after a 15 day break are on the road for a 5pm Mother's Day Matchup versus FC Cincinnati 2. Rochester still sits bottom table, one point behind Cincinnati 2 and Chicago Fire 2, with a game in hand on each. Before we jump into the recent form of each, lets examine the benefits of the 15 day break.
The largest benefit of the 15-day break entails, an opportunity for head coach Bruno Baltazar to further instill his vision and system into the players. While this is done traditionally in the preseason, Rochester did not have that luxury, as Baltazar arrived in Rochester just a mere three days before the season started. Rochester also didn't play much preseason scrimmages, as the only one of note being against St. Bonaventure's Men's Soccer team, who finished with just 4 wins this past season. On top of this make-up preseason break, Rochester hopefully got more healthy over the break, as Will Inalien and Edward Williams both picked up knocks in recent matches
FC Cincinnati 2 Recent Form:
FC Cincinnati 2 comes in on a 3-game slide, outscored in the last three matches by a combined 8-4 difference. Cincinnati 2 also comes in tied for the worst defense in the conference, conceding 11 goals in 5 games.
Rochester New York FC Recent Form:
Rochester New York FC as discussed earlier comes off a 15-day break. The last game Rochester played was on 4/23/22 in a 3-2 loss to NYC FC II, that saw Rochester concede the winner in injury time. For a recap on that game Click Here. Before that game, Rochester enjoyed a 3-game unbeaten spell with two wins in the U.S. Open Cup, and a shoot-out win against Chicago Fire 2.
Players to watch:
FC Cincinnati 2's striker Arquímides Ordóñez, Cincinnati 2's leading scorer with two goals in four games, aims to add to his total on Sunday. Ordóñez, a 18-year-old homegrown player for parent club FC Cincinnati, has made six appearances in his career for the club.
Looking to contain him will be Rochester New York FC's captain CB Lamar Batista. Batista who comes in to the game, with the most interceptions and highest duel win % of anyone on the team.
Prediction:
Rochester NY FC 2: FC Cincinnati II 1: Rochester wins!
The fresh legs of Rochester should be able to exploit one of the worst defenses in the MLSNP. Look for Rochester to look more comfortable in attack and defense with the added time to prepare and practice for this match.
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