News

With the Stars win at Heroes Park in San Antonio on Sunday, Tampa Bay will travel to Minnesota to play the first leg of the NASL Soccer Bowl on Saturday, October 20. The match will be played at the National Sport Center in Blaine, Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Rowdies will then host the Stars in the second leg of the NASL Soccer Bowl on Saturday, October 27 at Al Lang Stadium in Downtown St. Petersburg, with kick off at 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota began their road to the NASL Soccer Bowl with a 2-1 win at Puerto Rico on Sept. 30 in the quarterfinal round.  In the 2012 NASL Semifinals, Minnesota played to a 0-0 draw at home against San Antonio in the first leg, while defeating the Scorpions in the second leg 2-1 advancing to the finals on an aggregate score of 2-1.

With 35 points, the Stars finished in sixth place in the regular season posting an 8-11-9 record. Minnesota gave up only 33 goals this season, fourth fewest in the league. Forward Amani Walker leads the team in both goals and assists, scoring seven goals and picking up five assists.

Defender Kyle Altman captained the Stars to their second consecutive NASL Soccer Bowl, as they defeated Ft. Lauderdale in the 2011 edition. Altman was elected as part of the NASL Best XI, as he logged 1700 minutes for the team this season.

Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel finished fifth in the league with a goals against average of 1.20 and is sixth in the league with 77 saves. The Stars are 3-4-1 in their last eight games played.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies played to a 3-3 draw against Carolina on Saturday night, advancing to the NASL Soccer Bowl on an aggregate score of 5-4. The Rowdies are now unbeaten in their last eight games, and are also unbeaten in 17 of their last 19 games.

The Rowdies will host Minnesota in the second leg of the NASL Soccer Bowl on Saturday, October 27 at Al Lang Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available starting at $12. For more information and for discounted tickets, call our front office at 813.287.1539 or log on to RowdiesSoccer.com!