TAMPA, Fla. (June 8, 2017)—The Tampa Bay Rowdies U23s and The Villages SC combined to put up an American football score Thursday afternoon in USL PDL action, with The Villages winning 8-3 in a wild match.
Tampa Bay’s Kevin Varela and The Villages’ Matthieu LeRoux each scored hat tricks, with LeRoux adding a fourth goal to his tally late. Carlos Araujo, Gabriel Torres (2) and William Hopfner also netted goals for The Villages.
“We weren’t too sharp and a bit too casual,” said U23 Head Coach Keith Fulk. “They took advantage of every chance they got in front of goal, while we did not. Hopefully we can learn from this and turn the light switch on once we step on the field.”
The Rowdies started the match on the front foot, taking a lead on a Varela penalty kick in the 10th minute, but the lead was short-lived as the visitors took complete control of the match from there.
By the 21st minute, The Village had equalized and then subsequently taken the lead. Two more goals in the 41st and 44th minutes sent the match into the break at 4-1.
The Villages picked up the second half where they started the first, scoring in the 46th and 59th minutes to extend their lead to 6-1.
Varela netted his second of the day on an assist from Mac Curran in the 62nd to cut the Rowdies’ deficit to 6-2, but LeRoux finished his hat trick in the 66th to make it 7-2.
Curran fed Varela again in the 68th minute to finish Varela’s hat trick, but the match had long since been decided.
“Varela has been doing very well since he joined us,” said Fulk. “He’s been a pleasure to coach. He listens and is coachable and attacks the goal whenever he gets the chance.”
LeRoux finished the scoring in the 87th minute to make the score 8-3.
Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Kevin Varela – 10th minute (penalty kick)
The Villages: Matthieu LeRoux – 14th minute
The Villages: Carlos Araujo – 21st minute
The Villages: Gabriel Torres – 41st minute
The Villages: Gabriel Torres – 44th minute
The Villages: Matthieu LeRoux – 46th minute
The Villages: William Hopfner – 59th minute
Rowdies: Kevin Varela – 62nd minute
The Villages: Matthieu LeRoux – 66th minute
Rowdies: Kevin Varela – 68th minute
The Villages: Matthieu LeRoux – 87th minute
Caution Summary
The Villages: Alcides Thomas – 45th minute
Starting Lineups
Rowdies U23 XI (4-3-3): GK Chris Morrish (Christian Knight 55′); D Caleb George (Jordan Day 46′), Ryan Gallagher, Preston Kilwien (Gabriel Fernandes 55′), Ivan Castro; M Andrew Samuels, Morgan Hackworth, Kevin Varela; F Kendan Anderson (Morgan Shepherd 36′), Arion Sobers-Assue (Mac Curran 55′), Tosan Popo (Trey Jackson 69′)
The Villages SC (4-4-2): GK Igor Luczensky (Timothy McGlynn 79′); D Danilo Dias, Yago Lopes (Jackie Kay 64′), Heitor DeMelo (Kyle Nelson 53′), Gabriel Torres; M Dusan Stankovic (Paulo Souza 42′), Alcides Thomas (Christopher Wilkinson 61′), Roberto DeLima, William Hopfner (Micah Day 79′); F Matthieu LeRoux, Carlos Araujo
