Bulgarian Stoian Mladenov scored two second-half goals to lead the Rochester Rhinos to the A-League title with a 2-0 win over Hershey Oct. 13 before a crowd of 13,692 in Rochester, N.Y. Mladenov was one of three midseason acquisitions to spark a late run by the Rhinos, who become the first A-League team to defend its title since Seattle in 1996. Mladenov and countryman Kalin Bankov came over from Minnesota, which had played Rochester in the last three A-League finals. South African Neathan Gibson joined the Rhinos after being dropped by MLS’s Colorado Rapids and had goals in the second leg of the Rhinos’ quarterfinal series and both legs of the semifinals. Oct. 13 in Rochester, N.Y. Rochester 2 Hershey 0. Goals: Mladenov (Nash) 63, Mladenov (J.Tanner) 88. Rochester — Vallow, Sedgewick, Bankov, Schweitzer, Walton, Daligcon (Zavala, 58), Mladenov, Nash, Steenkamp, Wilson, Gibson (J.Tanner, 71). Hershey — Busch, Henning, Kopp, Henry, Marinos (Ferry, 70), Evans, Ze Roberto, Watson (Miller, 57), Swords (Williams, 81), Feniger, Klein. Referee: Eric Simmons. Att.: 13,692.