ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Rhinos saw two valuable home points go out the window as they tied Ottawa Fury FC, 1-1, in a United Soccer League match at Capelli Sport Stadium Saturday night.

Still, the Rhinos moved up to third place in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining in the regular season.

The visitors converted a second-half penalty kick to equalize.

Despite the draw, Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley still was pleased with his team’s play as the hosts dominated the match.

“I thought it was one of our better performances of the year,” he said. “We pressured high up the field, we didn’t sit back on our one goal lead. Nine times out of ten we win that match. We have a tough road ahead of us, and if we play like we did tonight, good things will happen.”

Christiano Francois’ goal in the 19th minute boosted Rochester into a 1-0 lead.

After a poor clearance, Jalen Brown collected the ball about 25 yards out and chipped it to Ryan James on the right wing. James ran to the endline and sent the ball into the penalty area. The goalkeeper was caught hanging on his near-post as Francois, the shortest player on the field, headed the ball home.

Ottawa equalized in the 71st minute as Steevan Dos Santos converted a penalty kick. Andrae Campbell carried the ball down the left wing and was fouled by James and was judged to be inside the box. Dos Santos sent goalkeeper Dan Lynd the other way for his team-leading eighth goal this season. Dos Santos scored in his fifth consecutive game, a Fury team record.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.