ST. PETERSBURG. Fla. – Russell Cicerone and MD Myers each notched a second-half brace to help the Tampa Bay Rowdies erase a three-goal deficit and complete an epic 5-4 victory over Eastern Conference rivals Louisville CIty FC on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.
“This is why we’re top of the league right now,” said Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “Because we have great players who, when their backs are against the wall, they know how to respond. They can suffer, they can sacrifice together. They can be knocked down, but they know how to get themselves back up again. That’s a great quality for a team to have. That’s going to take us a long way.”
After a balanced opening 20 minutes, the visitors jumped out in front with three goals in the span of just 8 minutes. Striker Jansen Wilson was the first to find the back of the net, collecting and depositing a rebound following an initial save from Rowdies Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite on a long-range shot from Jake Morris. Chris Donovan doubled Louisville’s lead four minutes later, converting a pass from teammate Evan Davila to the near post.
Morris then put an exclamation on Louisville’s first half showing with a blast from distance straight into the top left corner in the 29th minute.
“There wasn’t enough intensity,” said Casciato. “We didn’t mark in the box on a couple of occasions. We really pride ourselves on our defending in the box, and if we don’t want to do that, we’re going to concede cheap goals, which is what we did.”
For the second time in a month, the Rowdies found themselves down three goals heading into the halftime break at home. Saturday’s first 45 minutes against Louisville felt similar to the club’s 4-1 defeat against Lexington SC back on July 4. This time, though, the Rowdies were determined to get back into the game.
“We’ve been in this position before,” said Myers. “We were down three goals against Lexington and kind of didn’t respond how we wanted to. We saw tonight’s second half as an opportunity. Go out and win this half, get that first goal and good things will happen. We know we can score goals, and they come in bunches.”
Tampa Bay’s first tally in the comeback effort came just three minutes into the second half. Midfielder Louis Perez helped kickstart the scoring sequence with a pass over Louisville’s back from his own defensive end, playing Cicerone into space between two defenders. Cicerone capitalized on the chance by burying a one-time finish off the underside of the crossbar to best goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux.
With one under their belt, the Rowdies surged forward to nab another only three minutes later when midfielder Marco Micaletto released a curling effort from the left edge of the box that made its way into the top right corner.
Myers then capped off Tampa Bay’s three-goal run over six minutes with his own goal in the 54th minute. The Rowdies leading scorer put his side back on level terms with a rebound effort after his initial attempt was blocked.
“We know what we can do,” said Myers. “We can score three goals, four goals, five goals in a half. You kind of reset at halftime and get a couple beautiful goals from Russell and Marco. Those kind of give you that energy to keep pushing.”
Louisville regained the lead in the 63rd minute, though, as Morris guided a low strike from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner of Tampa Bay’s goal.
In the 86th minute, Cicerone looked to even things up again with a free kick from outside Louisville’s box blasted onto frame, but Fauroux managed to parry it away from danger. Cicerone wouldn’t be denied again a minute later, though. The veteran attacker notched his second of the night and sixth of the season by cutting inside from the left flank before delivering a curling effort into the far corner of the goal.
“We changed some things up a little bit and I was able to find the ball in spaces I’m a little bit more comfortable in,” said Cicerone. “I think of myself as a leader on this team and one of our top players. You need top players to pull through, and all over the field we did that in the second half.”
Myers gave the Rowdies their first lead of the night just before the 90th minute. Defender Charlie Ostrem offered the assist on the winning goal, sending a pass into the center of the box for Myers to trap before turning and firing into the back of the net. Myers now leads the Rowdies with 11 goals across all competitions, while Ostrem leads the club with seven assists on the season.
“I just wanted to get in a position to maybe redirect it,” said Myers. “Charlie kind of put it on the ground and I realized I can get a touch, maybe turn the guy. The touch ended up being perfect. I know where I am on the field, know where the goal is, and I just slotted it right into the corner. It was instincts at that point. When you have one goal already, it kind of comes a little easier, a little calmer.”
The victory keeps the Rowdies eight points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, leading second-place Charleston. The club also maintains their four-point lead in the race for the USL Championship Players’ Shield.
“We just wanted to beat Louisville tonight,” said Casciato. “We’ve got 21 new players this year. When I came in last year, we were bottom of the league. The progress that we’ve made is pretty incredible. These players have just been fantastic. So, let’s not get carried away with ourselves. If at the end of the season, we’re in contention, great. We want to enjoy tonight, learn from it, and then look forward to Orange County.”
Next up, the Rowdies travel across the country to take on the frontrunners in the Western Conference and the team chasing them for the Players’ Shield, Orange County SC on Saturday, August 8 at 10 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
LOU – Wilson, 21’
LOU – Donovan (Davila), 25’
LOU – Morris, 29’
TBR – Cicerone (Perez), 48’
TBR – Micaletto (Ostrem), 51’
TBR – Myers, 54’
LOU – Morris (Davila), 63’
TBR – Cicerone (Hilton), 87’
TBR – Myers, (Ostrem), 89’
Caution Summary
LOU – Davila (Yellow Card), 43’
Stats Summary: TBR / LOU
Shots: 21 / 11
Shots on Goal: 9 / 8
Saves: 4 / 4
Corner Kicks: 5 / 2
Fouls Conceded: 8 / 13
Offside: 2 / 4
Possession: 65.4 / 34.6
Lineups
TBR: Waite, Nigro (Wyke, 61’), Leerman (Hilton, 28’), Dossantos, Ostrem, Schneider, Cruz, Perez (Dolabella, 61’), Micaletto (Acoff, 69’), Cicerone, Myers (Henderlong, 90+12’)
TBR Bench: Pack, Acoff, Wyke, Dolabella, Hilton, Conway, Henderlong
LOU: Fauroux, Totsch, Lambert (Huerman, 90+12’), Adams, McFadden (Perez, 59’), Duncan, E. Davila (Moguel, 59’) Morris (Duke, 75’), Akale, Donovan (Showunmi, 59’), Wilson (Serrano, 80’)
LOU Bench: Faundez, Moguel, Perz, Showumi, Duke, Serrano, Huerman
