Motown Go Down as Rochester Returns

It was a long drive from Morristown, New Jersey to the city of Rochester in Upstate New York (just over 300 miles all-told). Ryan Peterson (right) holds the boots he used to help Motown through to the Third Round with a stoppage-time wonder goal against West Chester United in a First Round replay. Towering center-forward Joe Fala, formerly a Ramapo Roadrunner, is all business in the middle of the frame.

Rochester New York FC are the newest iteration of the Rochester Rhinos, who, in 1999, became the last non-Major League Soccer (MLS) team to win the U.S. Open Cup. This new-old club is part-owned by English Premier League winner and international Jamie Vardy. Competing in the new MLS Next Pro League, RNY FC hope to recapture the glory days of old with a shiny, new rebrand. 

FC Motown take the field at Monroe Community College wearing T-shirts with the message Fight the Fight!! on them.  It’s a message of support for their fallen teammate, Sainclair Tueno, who was struck by a speeding car near Pittsburgh and was on life-support and in a coma at the time of kick-off (he has since passed).

The game develops a physical edge from almost the opening whistle – with every ball contested and every challenge in midfield pushing the boundaries of safe practice. The siren song of a place in the Round of 32 drives both teams to throw caution (and physical safety) to the wind.

As with every game in the U.S. Open Cup, this one needs a winner. If one doesn’t emerge in 90 minutes of play, 30 more minutes of extra-time is added. If further clarification is still required, a penalty shootout is the method of choice. The pressure of the night tells here as Samuel Pompe, one of two Haitian internationals in the Motown squad, screams in frustration after a broken play.

Dolabella opens the scoring in the 21st minute. He latched on to a clever dummy from Gibran Rayo to slot past Motown goalkeeper Greczek. And the Rochester ace celebrates extravagantly.

The local fans, braving a cold and windy gameday, celebrate right along with Dolabella and Co after the opening goal.

The referee would have a lot to say on this particular day – which saw two red cards for Rochester NY FC’s players (and another for a member of the coaching staff). Here captain Lamar Batista picks up the team’s first sending off in the 51st minute.

Rochester played 70 minutes of the game down a man – and the entirety of the 30-minute extra-time session two men down. The huge effort shows here.

Dolabella, the hometown goal hero early, is shown a second red for Rochester in the 85th minute after a flying elbow was spotted by the ref. The game heads into extra-time with Rochester down two men and the score tangled at 2-2.

Most betting folks would have put the house on FC Motown with their hosts depleted by two players, and with a full 30 minutes of extra-time ahead of them. But betting folks blow sure things all the time…

Rochester survived the extra-time with the score still locked at two-all – and they had a secret weapon to bring off the bench exclusively for the shootout. The 24-year-old spot-kick specialist Caique Santos is 6foot6 and seemed to take up the whole of the goal frame after replacing regular keeper Phillip Ejimadu.

With Santos already saving one penalty (and getting booked for leaving his line early on another attempt), FC Motown’s shooters start to feel the heat after missing out on the chance to seal the deal in extra-time.

Santos saves a second spot-kick to send Rochester NY FC through to the Round of 32. Motown, meanwhile, are back on the bus and headed for home with a prize of $25,000 as consolation for reaching the farthest of any of the Open Division amateur teams in this 2022 edition of the Open Cup.

Shootout star Santos – on loan from Brazilian club Vitoria – becomes an instant fan favorite in Rochester with his heroics in the past-match lottery.

Many of the Rochester fans can still remember the Cup-winning swashbuckling of the 1999 Rhinos – and the good vibes were back again in this 2022 Third Round. But they lasted only until the Round of 32, where reigning MLS champions New York City FC spoiled the Upstate party.