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Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Carolina RailHawks

2012 NASL Semifinals - 2nd Leg

Saturday, October 13 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 starting at $12. To receive discounted rate, you must 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 starting at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

2012 Rowdies NASL Playoff T-Shirts
Support the Rowdies and get your 2012 Rowdies NASL Playoffs T-Shirts! They will be available for purchase on Saturday at Al Lang Stadium at our Merchandise Booth! T-Shirts will be $20 and we will only have limited quantities! Make sure to get to Al Lang Stadium early and purchase yours!

Pre-Game
Gates to the stadium open one hour prior to kickoff. Be sure to arrive early to experience the new Rowdies Fan Zone outside the stadium from 5:00-7:00 p.m. The fan zone will include interactive games, food, and much more for the young and old.

Regular Season Records (W-T-L)
Tampa Bay: 12-9-7, 45 points, 2nd place
Carolina: 10-10-8, 40 points, 4th place

Playoff Scenario
With the Rowdies 2-1 win against Carolina last Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in the first leg of the two-leg NASL Semifinals, Tampa Bay will advance to the NASL Finals with a win or tie in the second leg on Saturday October 13 at Al Lang Stadium. If Tampa Bay loses the second leg by one goal at the end of regulation play, the teams will continue playing to decide the series winner starting with two 15-minute halves (no sudden death) of extra time. If the match is still tied after extra time, the series will then be decided by penalty kicks. If the Rowdies lose the second leg by two goals or more, Tampa Bay is eliminated from the 2012 NASL Playoffs.

The winner of this series will advance to the NASL Finals and face the winner of the other semifinal series between San Antonio and Minnesota. The first leg will be played on October 20, while the second leg will be played on October 27.

2012 NASL Coach of the Year, NASL Fair Play Award
The Rowdies earned their second consecutive NASL Fair Play Award on September 27, given annually to the team that compiles the best discipline record during the regular season. On October 4, Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill earned the inaugural 2012 North American Soccer League Coach of the Year Award, given annually to the best coach in NASL as voted by media and soccer writers nationwide.

Series History
Tampa Bay owns a 2-4-5 mark (W-T-L) against Carolina since its return in 2010. The two teams played to a tie in all four meetings during the regular season.

Last Meeting
The Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated Carolina 2-1 in the first leg of the NASL Semifinals last Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Forward Mike Ambersley put the Rowdies up 1-0 in the 63rd minute, after receiving a perfect through pass from midfielder Shane Hill. Carolina’s equalizer came in the 78th minute, off forward Brian Shriver’s penalty kick. Forward Daniel Antoniuk gave the Rowdies the game-winning goal in the 85th minute, after a great feed by midfielder Evans Frimpong.

Rowdies Notes
The second-placed Rowdies finished the regular season in second place with 45 points, posting a 12-9-7 record. The five away victories are tied for most by any team in the league, and the Rowdies have only lost one game at home during the regular season. With last Saturday’s win, Tampa Bay has extended their unbeaten run to seven games

Under head coach Ricky Hill over the last two seasons, the Rowdies have been one of the league’s best at home. Tampa Bay has lost just once at Al Lang Stadium this season, and owns a home regular season mark of 14-9-5 (W-T-L) since the start of the 2011 season. In fact, the Rowdies have lost just twice in their last 20 regular season home games. The Rowdies are unbeaten in their last 10 at home, including five wins.

Forward Daniel Antoniuk leads the Rowdies with eight goals, while forward Mike Ambersley has eight assists, tied for most in the league.

Defender Draymond Washington suffered a meniscal tear earlier in the week and underwent successful surgery. He will be out for a minimum of three months.  

NASL Best XI
On October 9, Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, defender Takuya Yamada and midfielder/forward Luke Mulholland were named part of the 2012 North American Soccer League Best XI Team. With three players each, the Rowdies and the Scorpions are tied for most representatives named to the 2012 NASL Best XI.

Yamada led the league with 2,520 minutes played, starting in all 28 regular season matches and added three goals and adding one assist in the regular season. Mulholland played in 26 matches in the regular season, with 25 starts. He is fourth on the team with five goals, and is tied for second in the squad with five assists.

Attinella finished second in the league with a goals-against average of 1.07. Attinella’s 11 shutouts in the regular season helped the Rowdies give up only 30 goals, tied for second fewest in the NASL. He earned five NASL Defensive Player of the Week awards, 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 five times.

Scouting Carolina
The RailHawks recorded a 3-1 victory over the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday, September 29 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC in the 2012 NASL Quarterfinals.

Midfielder Ty Shipalane led the way for Carolina, scoring twice in the match including the game-winning goal, while midfielder Amir Lowery scored his first goal of the season to push the RailHawks into the semifinals. Strikers forward Abe Thompson scored the only goal for the Strikers.

In the 2012 season the RailHawks finished with 40 points, earning fourth place in the NASL standings. With a record of 10-10-8, they finished third in the league for the fewest losses in the league, behind San Antonio and Tampa Bay with both having only seven losses this season.

Their leading scorer Nick Zimmerman was second in the regular season with 15 goals. Midfielder Mike Palacio led the team with six assists, tied for third in the league. Goalkeeper Ray Burse was fifth in the regular season with 82 saves. Carolina scored 44 goals in the regular season, second-most in the NASL, but allowed a league-high 46 goals, tied with Ft. Lauderdale. The RailHawks finished with a 1-3-1 record in their last five games of the regular season.

Quotable
Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill
“We got a good result in Carolina, but we can’t go into Saturday’s underestimating Carolina,” said Hill. “The team has worked hard this week looking forward to this match, knowing that it is the most important game this season. It is going to be a very tough game, where Carolina will have to come out looking for the victory and we have to be prepared to play our game and impose the rhythm.”

Up Next
If the Rowdies advance to the NASL Finals, Tampa Bay will either host the first leg on October 20 at 7:30pm or the second leg on October 27 at 7:30pm against the winner of San Antonio Scorpions vs. Minnesota Stars.