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The Basics

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Atlanta Silverbacks

Presented by United World Soccer

Saturday, September 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Florida

The match can be seen live online here.

Play-by-Play: Darek Sharp, Color: Winston DuBose

Ticket Information
Tickets are still available, including discounted seats for as low as $10 if you call our sales staff by 12 Noon on Saturday at 813-287-1539. You can also order tickets anytime by emailing tickets@rowdiessoccer.com or online by clicking here. Fans may also purchase tickets at the box office at Al Lang Stadium, which opens at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Pre-Game
Activities inside the Rowdies Fan Zone is both free and open to the public, begin at 5:00 p.m. right outside of the stadium. In addition, Adventure Promotions will have their Gyrosphere set up for fans to experience in the Rowdies Fan Zone.

Records (W-T-L)
Tampa Bay: 11-6-7, 39 points, 2nd place
Atlanta: 5-7-12, 22 points, t7th place

Playoff Berth

The Rowdies host the Atlanta Silverbacks for the last meeting between both teams during the regular season. Tampa Bay defeated the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 3-0 last Saturday at Lockhart Stadium and clinched a spot in the 2012 NASL Playoffs. With the win, Tampa Bay also was awarded the Coastal Cup for the third straight season.

The Rowdies opened up the scoring late in the second half when second half substitute Raphael Cox deflected defender Takuya Yamada’s header into the net in the 78th minute. NASL Defensive Player of the Week Frankie Sanfilippo added to the score in the 82nd minute after a great individual run past the Strikers defense and forward Carl Cort scored the third and final goal in the 90th minute to seal the 3-0 Rowdies victory.

With just four games remaining the Rowdies are now four points behind first place San Antonio, but now stand alone in second place. The Rowdies look to clinch first or second place, in order to earn a first round bye.

Series History
Tampa Bay leads in the 2012 series, 1-2-0 (W-T-L), with the Rowdies defeating Atlanta 3-2 on May 19 at Atlanta Silverback Park. Forward Daniel Antoniuk scored two goals on the night, helping the Rowdies hold off a late comeback by the Silverbacks.

Last Meeting
The Tampa Bay Rowdies played to a scoreless draw against the Silverbacks on August 11 at Al Lang Stadium. At the time, the draw extended the unbeaten streak to five games.

Rowdies Notes
The Rowdies were able to score against Ft. Lauderdale after being scoreless in three straight matches. The game winning goal came in the 78th minute, with newcomer midfielder Raphael Cox scoring his first goal since joining the Rowdies. Defender Takuya Yamada picked up his first assist of the season. Sanfilippo scored his second goal of the year in the 82nd minute, while forward Carl Cort was also able to score his first goal with the Rowdies as he sealed the 3-0 win with his goal in injury time.

Forward Mike Ambersley leads the team with 18 points including a team-high eight assists, which is tied for most in the NASL. His five goals are tied for second on the team.

Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella leads the league with 101 saves, and is fourthin the NASL with a goals against average of 1.17. The Rowdies have scored 32 goals this season, fourth most in the NASL.

Scouting Atlanta
The Silverbacks are currently tied for 7th place in the standings with 22 points, posting an overall record of 5-7-12 (W-T-L). Atlanta’s three road victories are tied for third most in the NASL, and they are currently 3-3-6 on the road. The Silverbacks travelled to play FC Edmonton last Sunday and came away with a 2-0 victory, led by forward Matt Horth, who scored both goals. He leads the team with eight goals overall, tied for fourth in the NASL.

Ciaran O’Brien has a team-high four assists, placing him eighth in the league in that category. Goalkeeper Daniel Illyes is fourth in the league with 84 saves. Atlanta has allowed 43 goals on the season, which is the most goals given up by any team in the NASL.

Quotable

Rowdies Head Coach Ricky Hill

“Atlanta has done really well this year in terms of picking up since halfway through the season. I am hoping our players will be as desperate as Atlanta will be to beat us because Atlanta still has a chance to make the playoffs. If we are not as desperate as they are, then there is a great chance that they could make things very difficult for us and come in and spoil our evening.”

“My focus and my emphasis to the players will be we have to match and better their desperation. If we want to have the three points and there is no way they are going to come here and take the three points away from us. If we get back to the type of football we were playing at the start of the season with moving the ball quickly, being unselfish at various times, but executing correctly with control and precision, we will be on track to earn those three points. If we perform like I said before, we will create opportunities on Saturday night and if we do manage to take advantage of them hopefully we’ll get the win.”

Up Next
The Rowdies travel to play FC Edmonton for the last time in the regular season on Sunday, September 16 at 4:10 p.m. (ET) at Clarke Stadium.