Rhinos should maintain nucleus

See the players Fans can meet the Rhinos for autographs or to be photographed with the the A-League Championship Cup tomorrow from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, 120 E. Main St., at the Riverside Ball room.

By Jeff DiVeronica
Democrat and Chronicle

(Wednesday, October 17, 2001) -- On the return flight from winning the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, Rhinos general manager Chris Economides said: ''This is going to end at some point, you know. We can't win every time.''

Can't they?

On Saturday at Frontier Field, Rochester won its fourth championship in its six years of existence. That's three of the last four A-League titles and the Cup crown. Coach Pat Ercoli's team improved to 4-3 in championship games, including wins in three of its last four.

If fans keep supporting the team the way they have, it will allow the Rhinos to keep their nucleus while still attracting talent to fill holes.

That's the formula Economides and Ercoli have used. Never was that more evident than this season. Four newcomers -- midfielder Stoian Mladenov and defender Kalin Bankov from Minnesota, along with forwards Kirk Wilson and Neathan Gibson -- started the title game, and three of them didn't begin the year with Rochester. The Rhinos received contributions from many while tweaking their lineup until they got it right.

The Rhinos have 11 free agents on their 25-man roster, but expect most to return.

''I think most of the guys will be back,'' said sixth-year midfielder Tommy Tanner, a free agent who is expected back.

The retraction of the indoor soccer league to six teams also should help. Instead of key Rhinos such as Tanner, Scott Schweitzer, Mali Walton and Carlos Zavala pushing their bodies to the limit, now they'll be lighter in the wallet but healthier at the start of camp.

GOALKEEPERS

Veterans Billy Andracki and Pat Onstad and third-year pro Scott Vallow are all under contract and will live in Rochester this winter. With Onstad's broken hand, this season showed the value of having three quality keepers.

Expect the same concerns -- ''We can't keep all three and stay under budget'' -- from management next spring, but with the potential of Vallow, 24, leaving for MLS, keeping all three is key. If some MLS teams offers Vallow a starting job, he'll probably leave. But he'd rather be in Rochester than be an MLS backup.

DEFENDERS

The deepest area on the team has the most free agents (five): Schweitzer, Bill Sedgewick, Michael Kirmse, Fuseini Dauda and Carl Fletcher.

Most are expected back, including starters Schweitzer and Sedgewick. Zavala, Walton and Schweitzer, who is recovering from a partially torn Achilles, aren't expected to play indoor so that should help. Bankov, the other starter with Walton, who took over for Dauda, is also still under contract.

MIDFIELDERS

The only free agents are veterans Tanner, Lenin Steenkamp and Nate Daligcon.

Daligcon gets married in December and he and his fiancee are from Seattle, so he could opt to leave. Steenkamp is facing another knee surgery but had a career year (10 goals, 4 assists) and deserves more than a one-year contract, which he wasn't happy to settle for last spring. He was the team's heart and soul this season.

He could leave for MLS -- he drew interest in August -- if he doesn't receive what he thinks is a fair offer. Mladenov, whose two goals won the title game and who led the team with 10 goals and 10 assists, is under contract for two more years but also might get a look from MLS. However, Steenkamp and Mladenov are foreign players and that hurts their chances.

Reserve Dan Annan and Martin Nash, who played well late in the season, are also under contract.

FORWARDS

Rochester won again without much production during the season, but starters Gibson (3 goals, 1 assist) and Wilson (4-4) were key in the playoffs. Gibson is a free agent and Wilson will be in his option year.

Economides said the team is interested in bringing both back and already has talked about restructuring Wilson's deal. He helped set up both goals in the title game.

Jimmy Tanner (2-1) and John Wolyniec are other free agents. Wolyniec is probably leaving and Tanner played well late and developed nicely. He ''has earned a spot,'' Economides said.

Gabriel Gervais (2-3) showed he could play at this level until an ankle injury cut his playing time, and Jamel Mitchell should be back and probably will produce more than 5 goals and 2 assists with more playing time.