May 8, 2022 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Rochester New York FC News Release
For Pedro Dolabella and the RNY FC team, two weeks was a long time to have to wait to get back on the pitch for a competitive contest.
But that time was not wasted: Rochester used its fortnight to train and prepare for what is going to be its most challenging week of the season (so far), and to set itself up for what looked to be a great opportunity to win its first match outside of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The game plan that Bruno Baltazar and his staff developed for the first of three games in seven days worked nearly to perfection, and now Rochester will head into its biggest game in years with some momentum.
RNY FC picked up three huge points on the road Sunday night, knocking off FC Cincinnati 2 2-1, thanks to goals from April Player of the Month Pedro Dolabella and Milan Vanacker. Rochester had to sweat out the final few minutes after Avionne Flanagan scored in the 87th minute, but it was able to hold off the hosts, and pick up three valuable points.
The victory moves RNY FC up to eighth in the Eastern Conference table on five points, with one or two games in hand on most of the teams around it in the standings, and was the first in the new competition for Rochester in its fifth try.
After a slow start to the contest, Rochester picked up the high press, with Preston Popp leading the line. RNY FC made the hosts pay late in the first half, as Popp’s pressure won the ball up the pitch. Weaving his way through the defense, Popp slid the ball across the box to a wide-open Dolabella, who slid home to make it 1-0 in the 42nd minute.
“We scouted them pretty well about pressing them, and we kind of changed our strategy from the previous games, as we we sitting in the mid block more,” Dolabella said. “This game, we were able to press, and the first goal came out of a pressing moment. We worked on that press throughout the week. Preston is a great presser.
“He did really well stealing…
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