The Tampa Bay Rowdies needed all three points against in-state foes Sporting JAX on Saturday night to secure their spot in the knockout rounds of the Prinx Tires USL Cup, and they got just that. Sebastian Cruz recorded a goal and an assist while MD Myers continued his hot streak with another tally to give the Rowdies a 2-0 win at Hodges Stadium.
Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato was away from the team during the week while he continued his U.S. Soccer Pro License course in Chicago, but the squad didn’t seem to miss a step against Jacksonville. The entire Rowdies technical staff stepped up in his absense, preparing the players throughout the week for the opportunity the clinch a berth into the Quarterfinals of the tournament and extend the club’s unbeaten run to 14 matches in all competitions.
“I want to say well done to the staff for preparing the team this week while I was in Chicago on my Pro License. They made sure we didn’t miss a beat in our buildup to this game,” said Casciato. “Getting this job done tonight is exactly what we spoke about before the game. We obviously want to win a trophy. This would be a great trophy for us to win, but that trophy doesn’t exist for us if we don’t win here tonight. So this puts us one step closer towards it. Now we can start to look at Charleston on Wednesday.”
The Rowdies looked in control from the start against their in-state foes, putting them under pressure with a few scoring opportunities in the early stages and holding a considerable edge in possession throughout the night.
MD Myers was only a couple inches away from nabbing the opening goal 30 minutes into the match when his header off a corner-kick delivered from teammate Louis Perez clipped the crossbar to stay out of the net.
Cruz finally broke through for Tampa Bay five minutes later with an assist from wingback Charlie Ostrem. Midfielder Marco Micaletto helped launch the scoring sequence with a deft one-touch pass to spring Ostrem down the left wing. Ostrem took the pass in stride, driving forward before sending a cross into the box for a streaking Cruz to convert into the back of the net.
“The goal was all Charlie,” Cruz said following the match. “It was a great ball from Charlie. He put it in a perfect place for me to just tap it in one time… We feel good (clinching a spot in the Quarterfinals), but we know it’s just one part of our goal.”
The Rowdies struck again with seconds to go before the halftime whistle. Cruz threaded a perfectly-weighted pass through two defenders, allowing Myers to sprint forward into the final third for a one-on-one opportunity against goalkeeper Jake McGuire. Myers made the most of the chance, slotting a slow strike past McGuire into the bottom right corner for his seventh goal in all competitions this year.
“The amount of control that we had and the way we took our chances in the first half to go into halftime up two-nil was exactly what we wanted to do,” said Casciato. “That allowed us to manage the rest of the game pretty well.”
Tampa Bay went scoreless in the second half, but not for lack of trying. Substitute Evan Conway forced McGuire into one difficult save and sent another shot into the left post in the second half.
Jacksonville finished the night with just two total shot attempts, none of which were on frame. The Rowdies have now recorded four straight shutout victories across all competitions, with nine total shutouts in 2026.
“The guys have bought into what we’ve tried to do in terms of keeping pressure on the opposition’s back line so they can’t build a rhythm, and then defending our box as if their life depends on it,” said Casciato. “I’ve been really pleased with all of the guys from back to front, really, in terms of their commitment to keeping clean sheets and making us hard to beat.”
The Rowdies have one more Prinx Tires USL Cup group match left to play — a July 11 home matchup versus FC Naples — before they find who they will meet in the Quarterfinals in August. In their immediate future, though, the Rowdies have back-to-back league matchups at home. This week, the Rowdies are set to host the Charleston Battery to decide the No Quarter Derby on Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. before taking on Hartford Athletic at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 13.
“Right now, we’re just focused on Charleston on Wednesday,” said Cruz. “We want to get that win on Wednesday. We tied them last time, so we’re hoping to get that win, especially at Al Lang in front of our fans.”
Scoring Summary
TBR – Cruz (Ostrem), 35’
TBR – Myers (Cruz), 45+2’
Caution Summary
JAX – Jääskeläinen (Yellow Card), 20’
TBR – Perez (Yellow Card), 31’
JAX – Kuzain (Yellow Card), 55′
JAX – Gomez (Yellow Card), 57′
Stats Summar TBR / JAX
Shots: 16 / 2
Shots on Goal: 5 / 0
Saves: 0 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 3
Fouls Conceded: 20 / 18
Offside: 3 / 3
Possession: 56.9 / 43.1
Lineups
TBR: Pack, Rodriguez, Wyke (Leerman, 54’), Schaefer, Dossantos, Ostrem, Cruz (Oliveira, 66’), Schneider (Vivi, 73’), Perez (Dolabella, 46’), Micaletto, Myers (Conway, 46’)
TBR Bench: Pack, Kachurak, Leerman, LeFlore, Dolabella, Oliveira, Vivi, Cicerone, Conway
JAX: McGuire, Ackwei, Dudley, Gomez, Rito (Neville, 57’), Kuzain (Elias, 79’), Soumaoro, Evans, Rose (Granitur, 58’), Jääskeläinen (Reid, 57’), Sadlier (Underwood, 66’)
JAX Bench: Olivares, Neville, Pedder, Rossiter, Elias, Underwood, Granitur, Reid
