Rochester New York FC

Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.

Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to start the 2008 season. RNY is the only non-MLS team to have won the U.S. Open Cup since the league's formation.

RNY FC most recently played in the 2017 USL season in the second tier of the United States soccer league system, followed by a four-year hiatus. They returned to play on March 25, 2022 in the inaugural game of the third division MLS Next Pro league.

History

1996–2017

Rochester Raging Rhinos was founded in 1996 and played in the now-defunct original A-League until it merged with the USISL for the 1997 season, creating the new A-League. After reaching the championship game in 1996 they won their first league championship in 1998.

In 1999 the club made it to the final of the U.S. Open Cup, where they defeated MLS club Colorado Rapids 2–0, becoming the first team from outside MLS to win the national cup since MLS's inception. This win was followed by two further A-League titles in 2000 and 2001.

A year after the A-League's renaming to the USL First Division in 2005, the Rhinos moved into the newly completed PAETEC Park, a 13,768-seat soccer-specific stadium now known as Marina Auto Stadium, and again made the championship game. the Rhinos were considered a candidate to be an expansion team at the MLS level when PAETEC Park was in the planning stages.

The team was declared insolvent in 2008 after defaulting on their stadium agreement, and PAETEC Park was seized by the city of Rochester. After a brief search for a new owner and investor who could improve the team's financial outlook, in March 2008 the club was taken over by Utica businessman Rob Clark.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Рочестер Райнос (russian)