USL Championship Matchday 11
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Louisville City FC
Saturday, May 30, 7:00 p.m. ET
Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY
League Records
Rowdies: 7-0-3 (3-0-2 on the road), 24 pts, 1st in the East
Louisville: 5-4-1 (3-2-10 at home), 16 pts, 3rd in the East
Watch Party: Join the official Rowdies Watch Party at Colony Grill in Downtown St. Petersburg. Fans wearing Rowdies gear can enjoy discounts on food and drinks.
TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network
Radio: Florida Alumni Radio, 1010 AM
The Tampa Bay Rowdies close out the month of May with a road tilt this Saturday against the winner of the last two USL Championship Players’ Shields, Louisville City FC. This weekend’s matchup at Louisville’s Lynn Family Stadium will be in the national spotlight on CBS Sports Network, as the Rowdies look to knock off the team that has set the standard in the last two regular season campaigns.
For the Rowdies, the club is aiming to continue its stellar start to the season after going unbeaten through the first 10 matches of the regular season and undefeated in 12 matches across all competitions. On the other side, Louisville is hoping to snap a recent skid that has seen them lose three consecutive league matches for the first time since 2023.
Saturday marks the 18th competitive meeting between the Rowdies and Louisville. It’s been a rivalry built on iconic moments when the stakes are highest. The two sides met in the playoffs in four straight seasons from 2019-2022, including three straight Eastern Conference Finals. Louisville has had Tampa Bay’s number in recent years, recording three straight wins in the series.
This year, the Rowdies head to Louisville full of confidence and with a whole roster full of new players looking to leave their mark on one of the USL Championship’s most competitive rivalries. With 24 points earned in the first 10 matches, the Rowdies have matched the points total picked up through the same amount of matches by the team back in 2021 when the Rowdies won their first USL Championship Players’ Shield.
“I don’t think we’re worried about being undefeated,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “We want to go there and try to take the game to them. Louisville have been the top team in league for the last few years now. It’s a great organization obviously, and well coached with Danny Cruz and now Simon Bird. They’ve got really good players, but so do we. We think we can go there and go toe-to-toe with them. That’s what we’re going to do and try to take all three points.”
Perez Keeps Scoring
Midfielder Louis Perez celebrated his 100th career regular season USL Championship appearance last week with a sensational left-footed strike into the back of the net. Perez has now scored in three straight appearances, all of which came during the Rowdies three-match stretch last week as the club prevailed over Miami FC in Round 2 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup and in two regular season contests.
Many Hands Make Light Work
Following last week’s win over Phoenix, the Rowdies have seven players on the roster with at least two goals in league play. The distribution of goal production is a testament to the impressive depth the club has built throughout the squad. Striker MD Myers, who now leads the Rowdies club with three tallies, noted after the Phoenix match that having so many attacking threats across the board helps him get more scoring chances.
“We’ve got so many great players on this team,” said Myers. “When you have multiple weapons on the field, multiple guys can’t defend me. They have to be worried about everybody else. It opens space for me and the other guys around me. It spreads the wealth a little bit.”
Dolabella’s Quick Draw
Pedro Dolabella now holds the distinction of the fastest goal of the 2026 USL Championship season so far. The Brazilian’s tally 70 seconds into last week’s match against Phoenix set the tone for the decisive victory. The fastest goal in the Rowdies Modern Era was notched by former forward JJ Williams 27 seconds into a road matchup against Louisville in October of 2023.
Defensive Standard
All talk heading into the season was about the offensive firepower the Rowdies had assembled in the offseason. The attack has started strong, but it’s been the defensive effort from the whole team that has set the Rowdies apart from the rest of the league so far. Last week, the Rowdies recorded two shutout wins to move to six clean sheets on the year. The club has conceded just five goals through the first ten matches, the fewest goals allowed by any team.
LeFlore Debuts
Last week, defender Isaiah LeFlore became the 19th player to make his Rowdies debut this year. LeFlore arrived in Tampa Bay late last week while most of his new teammates were still making their way back home from a midweek match in New Mexico. The Minnesota native, on loan from Nashville SC, came on as a substitute for the final 24 minutes against Phoenix a day after his first training session with his new squad. LeFlore is no strange to Al Lang Stadium, though. He featured for Detroit City FC in the last year’s regular season finale at Al Lang, scoring the goal that officially eliminated the Rowdies from playoff contention.
Hilton Hits 150
Rowdies Midfielder Lewis Hilton became just the three Rowdies to record 150 regular season USL Championship appearances for the club, following in the footsteps of former teammates Leo Fernandes and Aaron Guillen. Hilton is the longest-serving player on this year’s squad and is now just six appearances away from overtaking Rowdies legend Georgi Hristov for the second most appearances in the club’s Modern Era.
Upcoming Rowdies Milestones
- Rowdies Defender Laurence Wyke (148 appearances) is approaching his 150th career USL Championship regular season appearance.
- Rowdies Midfielder Lewis Hilton (168 appearances) is closing in on Rowdies legend Georgi Hirstov (173) on the club’s Modern Era appearances list. Hristov currently has the second most appearances in the Rowdies Modern Era.
Rowdies Availability Report
OUT: Nigro
QUESTIONABLE: Archer, Cicerone, Leerman, Oliveira
