News

The Basics:
FC Tampa Bay vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Saturday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Florida

Fan Appreciation Night presented by United World Soccer

To order your tickets, call (813) 287-1539 or to order online click here.

You can also purchase tickets at the stadium box office on gameday. The box office opens on gameday at 3:00 p.m.

The first 1,000 fans at the game will receive an official FC Tampa Bay/United World Soccer Rally Towel.

Radio:
1010 Sports
Play-by-Play: Jim Henderson

The match can also be seen live online at www.fctampabay.com

Records (W-T-L):
FC Tampa Bay: 10-8-9, 38 points
Fort Lauderdale: 9-11-7, 38 points
 
2011 Series (W-T-L): 2-1-0
FC Tampa Bay leads the series with two wins and a draw.

Pre-Game Signing:
Rowdies legend and current FC Tampa Bay Technical Director Perry Van Der Beck will sign autographs on the concourse from 6:15-6:45 p.m.

What’s at Stake:
FC Tampa Bay takes on the Strikers in its final regular season match of the season. FC Tampa Bay can secure the third seed in the NASL playoffs with a victory or tie against the Strikers. The two teams are currently tied for third place in the standings, but FC Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker.

FC Tampa Bay has already claimed the Coastal Cup for the second straight season with two victories and a tie against the Strikers this season. In their first meeting on June 29, the two teams played to a 1-1 tie at Lockhart Stadium. Forward Mike Ambersley scored in the 68th minute but Fort Lauderdale’s midfielder Edward Coudet found the back of the net in injury time for the tie. Just five days later FC Tampa Bay scored four goals, tied for its season-high, in a 4-2 victory over the Strikers at Al Lang Stadium as part of Light Up The Bay 7.4. Defender Andres Arango scored his first goal of the year. Midfielder Pascal Millien and forwards Aaron King and Ambersley also scored in the match. FC Tampa Bay returned to Fort Lauderdale for a second time on August 27 with a 2-0 victory over the Strikers. King and Ambersley were credited with the goals.

Notes:
FC Tampa Bay could not break Puerto Rico’s undefeated streak at JRL Stadium Wednesday night. The Islanders ended their regular season with a 1-0 victory thanks to a fifth minute goal from forward Yaikel Perez.

Fort Lauderdale played to a 1-1 draw against the Atlanta Silverbacks last Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium. The match remained scoreless until the 90th minute on Atlanta midfielder Nico Colaluca’s goal. The Strikers answered back immediately with forward Brian Shriver’s goal in the final minutes to tie the game.

Up Next:
FC Tampa Bay hosts its first-ever postseason match next Saturday, October 1 at Al Lang Stadium at 7:30 p.m. FC Tampa Bay will face either FC Edmonton, NSC Minnesota or MLS-bound Montreal Impact in a one-game single-elimination NASL quarterfinal. The winner of the match advances to the NASL semifinals, which begin the following weekend. For more information on the playoffs, click here.