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The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, August 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET

WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina

Fans can watch the match at the Official Away Game Viewing Party at Crowley’s Downtown Grill and Bar (269 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33701).

The match can also be seen live online here.

And be sure to follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesSoccer.

Records (W-T-L)
Tampa Bay: 10-3-6, 33 points, 2nd place
Carolina: 6-6-6, 24 points, 6th place

Streaking Rowdies
Following its 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton on Saturday, Tampa Bay has now won three straight matches and seven of its last eight. Tampa Bay has outscored opponents by a combined score of 15-6 in the last eight games.

Tampa Bay has won two of its last three on the road. The Rowdies have three road wins overall in 2012, tied with San Antonio for most in the league. The Rowdies head to North Carolina for the first time this season and will face Carolina three times in its final nine games, including twice in Cary.

Series History
Tampa Bay owns a 1-1-5 mark (W-T-L) against Carolina since its return in 2010. The two teams played to a tie earlier this season. Tampa Bay’s only win in the series came in 2010, a 2-1 victory at Carolina on May 14.

Last Meeting
The Rowdies played to a 1-1 draw against Carolina on April 18 at Al Lang Stadium. Carolina opened the scoring in the 67th minute on a goal by forward Brian Shriver, but Tampa Bay’s equalizer came quickly as forward Tsuyoshi Yoshitake scored from inside the 6-yard box in the 70th minute.

Rowdies Notes
Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Jeff Attinella was named the North American Soccer League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for the fourth time this season and the sixth time in his career. The four honors are the most by a defensive player in the NASL this season and tied for most overall with San Antonio’s Pablo Campos, who has claimed the offensive award four times. Attinella helped lead Tampa Bay to its fifth consecutive victory at home with a 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton last Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium. Attinella earned his third straight shutout, his sixth overall this season and the 11th clean sheet of his career.

The honor marks the ninth time a Tampa Bay player has received a weekly NASL offensive or defensive award, the most for any team in the league in 2012. The Rowdies claimed the league’s defensive award four times in July, including each of the last three weeks.

Tampa Bay extended its current shutout streak to more than 315 minutes as the Rowdies have not allowed a goal since the 45th minute at Minnesota on July 12.

Forward Daniel Antoniuk had his first game-winning goal of the season last Saturday against FC Edmonton. He is tied for the team lead with six goals, placing him tied for fifth in the league. Antoniuk is second on the team with 15 points.

With the assist on Antoniuk's game-winner against FC Edmonton, forward Mike Ambersley has picked up at least one point in six straight matches. With seven assists overall, he leads the team and is second in the NASL.

Scouting Carolina
The RailHawks currently sit in sixth place in the NASL standings with 24 points. The RailHawks lost 8-0 on the road at league leaders San Antonio on Saturday night.

Forward Nick Zimmerman is third in the NASL with nine goals. Goalkeeper Ray Burse is fifth in the league with 58 saves.

Carolina has scored 29 goals this season, third-most in the league, but it has allowed 34 goals, which is tied for the second-most given up in the NASL.

Quotable
Rowdies Head Coach Ricky Hill
“Carolina is on a very nice streak, outside of last Saturday's result, as they have won several games in a short period of time. Unfortunately for Carolina, they were on the wrong end of a pretty high score line against San Antonio. We know that it is a rare occurrence. We know that at home they have been very good throughout the season and that now more than ever they are anxiously awaiting this Saturday’s game. We know it is going to be an extremely tough game because the manager will be looking for a reaction from all of his players. We know that if we do not go in there prepared and ready to play, we could be in for a very difficult night.”

Up Next
Tampa Bay returns home to face Atlanta on Saturday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. The third annual Rowdies Buick/GMC Celebrity game will take place at halftime. For tickets, call 813-287-1539 or click here.