ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Apr. 28, 2026) – The United Soccer League announced today the Team of the Round for Round 1 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup, with Tampa Bay Rowdies Forward Karsen Henderlong earning a spot following his brace to lift the club to a 2-0 win over Sarasota Paradise.
Henderlong netted a goal in each half of Tampa Bay’s cup contest with Sarasota at Al Lang Stadium, opening the scoring around the half hour mark with a rebound finish before sealing the result in the second half with a left-footed strike sent between the keeper and the near post.
The tallies against Sarasota were Henderlong’s first for the Rowdies since he joined the club in the offseason. Henderlong is the sixth player to register multiple goals for the Rowdies across all competitions this year.
“It’s a great feeling to score in front of our fans at home and get the job done,” said Henderlong. “For me personally, to score goals is what I came here to do. To be able to do that and, more importantly, to get the win as a team is just awesome.”
Thanks to Henderlong’s brace, the Rowdies ended the first round of the Prinx Tires USL Cup sitting first in Group 7 by virtue of a tiebreaker over Miami FC, who knocked off Sporting JAX 1-0 in their opening match of the tournament. The Rowdies are set to face Miami in Round 2 of the competition in South Florida on Saturday, May 16.
The Rowdies resume league action this Saturday as the only undefeated team left in the USL Championship. They host Indy Eleven, a club Henderlong knows well. A native of Indiana, Henderlong spent the 2024 season with the club during his first year as a professional. Prior to that, he helped Indiana University reach the NCAA College Cup Final during his senior year of college.
Prinx Tires USL Cup Team of the Round – Round 1
GK – Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC
D – Isaiah Foster, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
D – Nicolás Cardona, El Paso Locomotive FC
D – Gabriel Alves, Brooklyn FC
M – Marcus Epps, Lexington SC
M – Enzo Martínez, Charlotte Independence
M – Dylan Borczak, Union Omaha
M – Blake Bowen, Corpus Christi FC
F – Arturo Rodríguez, Sacramento Republic FC
F – Trevor Amann, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
F – Karsen Henderlong, Tampa Bay Rowdies
Coach – Vincenzo Candela, Union Omaha
Bench – Alex Sutton (SAR), Tony Alfaro (ELP), Joey Akpunonu (CHS), Tyler Wolff (SAC), Teddy Baker (KNX), Mayele Malango (SAC), Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. (BKN)
