ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 2, 2016) – An otherworldly effort from Jacksonville goalkeeper Sean Lewis limited the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a frustrating single point on the opening night of the NASL Fall Season with a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd of 7,690 fans at Al Lang Stadium.
Lewis made 10 saves in his first start of the year for the Armada FC to spurn double-digit scoring chances for the Rowdies.
Jacksonville took a lead in the 12th minute through Zach Steinberger, but the Rowdies equalized less than a minute later via Georgi Hristov to level the match.
“I thought we played outstanding between both boxes and you saw some of the chances that we had,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We just were nowhere near clinical enough. We could’ve had three or four goals tonight, so I have mixed emotions.”
Falling behind early to Steinberger’s goal seemed to be the kick the Rowdies needed to come alive.
From that moment on, the Rowdies thoroughly dominated the match and were unfortunate not to score and win by multiple goals.
Michael Nanchoff and Juan Guerra each had shots saved in the 35th minute, including a wonderful palm by Lewis to deflect a Guerra chip out for a corner.
As it turned out, Lewis was just getting started.
Lewis was on the scene again in the 43rd minute, racing off his line to beat Nanchoff to a loose ball in the Armada FC’s 18-yard box and send the match into the halftime break even at 1-1.
In the second half, it was more of the same.
A 52nd minute save on Nanchoff’s shot eventually rebounded to Hristov, who fed to Eric Avila, but Avila’s smash of a goal was waived off due to offside.
In the 61st minute, Kalif Alhassan lasered a shot from outside the box that appeared destined to go into the top corner of the net, only for Lewis to intervene at full stretch and make a diving save.
“It’s disappointing to come out with a draw,” Avila said. “We tried to control the game but didn’t put it away and this is what happened. We came away with a draw. When you don’t put it away, nothing else matters. … It’s disappointing on our end because we played the game well, but finishing was our problem. We liked that we created the chances, but now we need to put them away.”
By the end of the night, Lewis had amassed double-digit saves. In comparison, Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens needed to make just one.
Tampa Bay was forced to play with a new lineup due to the absence of midfielder Joe Cole, who was unavailable due to a family matter. Walter Ramirez made his first start of the season at left back and Tampa Bay had to use two of its three subs to replace center backs Tamika Mkandawire and Neill Collins due to injury.
Still, the back line held and secured a point for the Rowdies on an otherwise frustrating night.
“It’s frustrating that we couldn’t get a second goal,” Campbell said. “At the minute, I’m a bit downbeat because we have to win games when we play like that.”
Up next, the Rowdies head to Carolina to take on the RailHawks next Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park before returning home for back-to-back home games against Puerto Rico FC and the New York Cosmos on July 16 and 23, respectively.
Scoring Summary
Armada: Zach Steinberger (assisted by Mechack Jérôme) – 12th minute
Rowdies: Georgi Hristove (assisted by Darnell King) – 13th minute
Caution Summary
Armada: Tyler Ruthven – 45th minute
Armada: Beto Navarro – 75th minute
Armada: Lucas Scaglia – 90th minute
Rowdies: Juan Guerra – 90th minute
Starting XI
Rowdies (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, D Tamika Mkandawire (Stefan Antonijevic 45′), D Neill Collins (Justin Chavez 73′), D Walter Ramirez; M Juan Guerra, M Michael Nanchoff (Tommy Heinemann 72′), M Junior Burgos; F Eric Avila, F Georgi Hristov, F Kalif Alhassan
Jacksonville Armada FC (4-3-3): GK Sean Lews; D Mechack Jérôme, D Beto Navarro, D Tyler Ruthven, D Anthony Wallace; M Patrick Otte (Matt Bahner 53′), M Kevan George, M Zach Steinberger; F Pascal Millien (Alex Dixon 64′), F Charles Eloundou (Lucas Scaglia 83′), F Junior Sandoval
