Rhinos' Trotman killed in auto accident

MickeyTrotman He played in 11 games, starting eight, for the Rhinos. Game Day Matchup: No. 4 seed Rochester (17-7-4) plays the No. 8 Milwaukee Rampage (16-11-3) in Game 1 of the A-League semifinals. When/where: 5 p.m. today at Milwaukee County Sports Complex, Franklin, Wis. Radio: WYSL-AM (1040), WBER-FM (90.5). Format: Team with most goals after two games advances to the Oct. 13 title game. Game 2: 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Frontier Field. Other semifinal: No. 2 Hershey defeats No. 3 Vancouver 4-0 in last night's other game.

By Jeff DiVeronica
Democrat and Chronicle

(Thursday, October 4, 2001) -- To honor victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Rhinos wear an American flag on their jerseys and a black armband.

But tragedy hit much closer to home yesterday.

First-year Rochester forward Mickey Trotman, 26, died in a car accident in Arima, Trinidad, in the wee hours of yesterday morning. He was in his hometown training with the Trinidad & Tobago national team for Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Honduras.

Trotman's death prompted the A-League to postpone Game 1 of yesterday's playoff semifinal series in Milwaukee between the Rhinos and Rampage. It has been rescheduled for 5 p.m. today. Game 2 is still at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Frontier Field. The league said it was done out of respect for Trotman and to give players and coaches time to grieve.

"It'll be tough trying to get on with a soccer game when there are so many more important things," said defender Mali Walton, one of Trotman's closest friends on the Rhinos.

"It's another eye-opener -- at any moment our lives can be taken away."

Walton isn't in Milwaukee because of a hamstring injury. From the team's hotel, defender Scott Schweitzer said he wouldn't have been emotionally ready to play.

"No way," he said. "It wouldn't have been right. Hopefully when we do play we'll play for Mickey."

Coach Pat Ercoli said his team already has spoken of dedicating a championship run to Trotman, who formerly played in Major League Soccer with Dallas and Miami and last year with Joe Public, a first-division team in Trinidad & Tobago.

"We lost a family member and whenever a family loses someone they come closer together," forward Jamel Mitchell said. "Hopefully we'll win that trophy as a tribute to him."

Trotman, 5-feet-9, 185 pounds, played in 11 Rhinos games and started eight (one assist).

He missed 10 games because of national team duty. That, and his inability to finish scoring chances kept him out of the lineup most of the season. His last appearance was Aug. 19. Because he was recalled by Trinidad, he wouldn't have been with the Rhinos in Milwaukee. But he trained with them through last week.

According to Associated Press reports, Trotman went directly from the airport in Port-of-Spain Tuesday night to practice with Trinidad's team at Hasley Crawford Stadium in preparation for Sunday's World Cup qualifier.

After having dinner with the team, he left for his hometown of Arima, in east Trinidad. After visiting his aunt, the car that he was driving slammed into a light pole at about 1:45 a.m. yesterday morning on Pinto Road in Arima, near his mother's home.

Trotman and his younger brother Stefan were killed instantly, said their mother, Mary Trotman.

Friends Troy Hernandez and Tessa Moses died later at a hospital. The other person in the car -- Trotman's brother Kenyon -- was being treated at a hospital for a broken leg.

Former Rhinos MVP Craig Demmin, who is also from Arima, said Pinto is a "small and winding road, not very wide." Demmin called Ercoli at 6 a.m. to tell him about Trotman.

Demmin played this year for Tampa Bay (MLS) but spent a week in September training in Rochester. When the Rhinos left for a trip and Trotman didn't make the travel roster, they worked out together.

"Finishing and passing and 1 v. 1," said Demmin, 31, who met Trotman 14 years ago and urged him to come to Rochester. "I was impressed because he was working so hard."

You would never have guessed Trotman didn't play much, teammates said. "He was a great guy, always in a good mood. He just loved playing soccer," Schweitzer said.

"There wasn't a mean bone in his body," Walton said.