The opening round of the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs will see two of the league’s Sunshine State sides face off, with the Tampa Bay Rowdies hosting Miami FC in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals this Friday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
It won’t be the first time the Rowdies have matched up with Miami in the playoffs. In 2022, the Rowdies knocked off their neighbors from the south 3-1 at Al Lang Stadium in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The playoff history between the Rowdies and Miami goes back even further, though. During their inaugural season in 1975, the original Rowdies dispatched the Miami Toros 3-0 at Tampa Stadium to book their ticket to that year’s NASL Soccer Bowl Final.
Now, with the Rowdies entering the playoffs as the league’s top overall seed and Miami arriving as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, the rivalry is ready for its next playoff chapter. Before that chapter is written, here’s a recap of how the three previous meetings between the two sides this year.
May 16: Rowdies Overwhelm Miami in USL Cup
The Rowdies sent a convincing message in this year’s series against Miami with an overwhelming 4-1 victory when the sides met for the first time in the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup in May.
Midfielder Louis Perez opened the scoring for the Rowdies that night in the 12th minute with a spectacular curling strike from nearly 30 yards out, recording his first goal for the club and giving his side an early advantage. Forward MD Myers took over from there. The New Jersey native scored once just before halftime and again a few minutes after the restart.
Max Schneider added a fourth tally for the Rowdies 68th minute before Miami’s Mason Tunbridge found a consolation goal for the hosts in the 80th minute. The victory that night at Pitbull Stadium moved the Rowdies into the driver’s seat in Group 7 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup and made an emphatic statement against their in-state rivals.
July 25: Micaletto Delivers a Moment to Remember
In July, the stakes shifted to the USL Championship regular season as the Rowdies made their way to Pitbull Stadium for the second time. By that point in the campaign, the Rowdies arrived in South Flordia as the frontrunners for the USL Championship Players’ Shield.
At first, the match looked to be following a similar script as May’s USL Cup meeting, with the Rowdies wasting no time grabbing control. In the 10th minute, MD Myers slipped Russell Cicerone behind Miami’s defensive line, and the veteran forward finished the opportunity to take the early lead. Two minutes later, Myers doubled the advantage. After initiating the move by finding midfielder Sebastian Cruz on the right flank, Myers continued his run into the penalty area and confidently finished Cruz’s return pass to make it 2-0.
The early goals appeared to put the Rowdies in command, but the match changed dramatically before halftime. Miami pulled one back when Arney Rocha converted from the penalty spot in added time, and the Rowdies were reduced to ten men when defender Isaiah LeFlore received his second yellow card just before the halftime whistle.
Despite a resilient effort by the Rowdies to hold off the visitors throughout the second half, Miami capitalized on the advantage. Jürgen Locadia – who moved to Tampa Bay via transfer in September – finished from close range in the 76th minute to level the score at 2-2.
Just as all the momentum appeared to be in Miami’s favor, midfielder Marco Micaletto delivered one of the most memorable moments of the season to turn the tide again. In the 80th minute, Micaletto spotted Miami Goalkeeper Eloy Room well off his line and launched a strike from inside the center circle that sailed over Room and into the net to restore the Rowdies lead.
At the time, Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Cascaito hailed that night as one of the most crucial results of the season up to that point. The willingness “suffer and sacrifice” together for the good of the group, according to Casciato, showcased the type of character a team needs to pull through in difficult moments and ultimately win trophies.
October 3: Miami Strikes Back at Al Lang Stadium
The Rowdies entered the final regular-season meeting against Miami in early October with an opportunity to strengthen their position in the race for the USL Championship Players’ Shield and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. However, Miami delivered a performance showing that, despite their position in the standings, they are side to be reckoned with in the playoffs.
The visitors struck five minutes into the match when Denilson Milanés supplied a curling cross for Arney Rocha, who headed the ball into the bottom corner to give Miami an early lead. The Rowdies came close to answering in the first half when Marco Micaletto forced a save from goalkeeper Felipe Rodriguez, and MD Myers nearly converted the rebound only to see his effort clip the woodwork.
The Rowdies found an equalizer in the 54th minute, as defender Nate Dossantos helped direct a free kick sent in by Micaletto to the far post for Charlie Ostrem to bury at the far post. The deadlock lasted only six minutes, though. After Rowdies Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite made an initial intervention to nullify a counterattack, Miami’s Rodrigo da Costa recovered possession and combined with Rocha before finishing in front of goal to pull ahead once again.
Falling to Miami that night forced the Rowdies to respond with strong results in order to lock up the Players’ Shield in the final weeks of the season. The squad did just that, recording three straight victories to close out the campaign and ensure the road to the USL Championship Final runs through Al Lang Stadium this year. For Miami, their win at Al Lang Stadium is possibly the defining result of their season. Without those three points, they would have just missed out qualifiying for this year’s playoffs.
