LAUDERHILL, Fla. (July 1, 2017) — For the third straight game, the Rowdies U23’s left the pitch with heartbreak and frustration instead of jubilation.
Though initially seeming like a rather favorable match up, Palm Beach Suns FC proved an incredibly formidable foe for the squad from Tampa Bay as they defeated the Rowdies 4-2 on Saturday.
Opening up the final month of the season, in which the Rowdies have only four (or possibly five depending on a possible Tropics rematch) games remaining, the U23’s were properly outplayed.
From the starting whistle, the U23’s had a few strong chances and looked prime to be the side that struck first at Central Broward Regional Park.
With that being said, it was the Suns who scored first off a free kick fed by Rielee Moshin to striker Luke Ferreira. Though initially not thought to be starting today, Moshin made his presence known all match long.
Only ten minutes later Moshin got a score of his own after dribbling a few men on the Tampa Bay backline and finessing a perfect shot past the diving Christian Knight.
It was after that when U23’s coach Keith Fulk decided he’d seen enough from much of the starting XI and made a triple substitution including swapping starting keeper Christian Knight for Sean Caufield.
Following the substitution the Rowdies pressed hard for at least one scoring strike in the first half but couldn’t effectively possess the ball and were closed off quickly by Suns defenders.
After the halftime break, it seemed like the Rowdies, as they had all season long, were ready to flip a switch and turn up the pressure on the opposing backline. This was actually the case once more only it didn’t last long.
Following an already impressive first half, Rielee Moshin was in the middle of scoring once more feeding a perfect long ball to his attacking partner Luke Ferreira who extended the lead to three goals.
Despite the efforts of Morgan Hackworth and Kevin Varela, the Rowdies were continually kept from net by the strong Suns defense.
This changed in the 72nd minute when a Gabriel Pfeffer header off a Kevin Varela corner kick suddenly breathed life into the Tampa Bay squad putting them on the board and energizing the XI on the field.
This momentum was quickly cut short, however, as the Suns answered right back off a fluke goal that ricocheted off the blocking foot of Preston Kilwien and over the head of Sean Caufield.
Though Gabriel Pfeffer got yet another goal off a headed corner just a few minutes later thanks to a Tosan Popo feed, it was clear that the Rowdies had run out of time.
Following a flurry of referee’s penmanship, including a double red card to Palm Beach’s Gabriel Amda and the Rowdies’ Ivan Castro, the final whistle blew and the Rowdies packed back up for the long bus ride back to Tampa.
Thankfully for the Rowdies, the South Florida Surf also dropped their match today against The Villages SC which keeps the Rowdies ahead by a few points in the division table.
Although it wasn’t the easiest of games for himself or the rest of the squad, Morgan Hackworth finished off the final game of his U23 season as strongly as he began it. Playing solid minutes and contributing well both offensively and defensively, Hackworth’s presence will be missed in the final few games as he returns to Akron to train will his college team.
Moving forward, the Rowdies are off through the fourth and return July 5th to take on The Villages SC on the road at 6:00pm.
Scoring Summary
Palm Beach: Luke Ferreira – 15th Minute (Assisted by Rielee Moshin)
Palm Beach: Rielee Moshin – 26th Minute
Palm Beach: Luke Ferreira – 51st Minute (Assisted by Rielee Moshin)
Tampa Bay: Gabriel Pfeffer – 72nd Minute (Assisted by Kevin Varela)
Palm Beach: Gabriel Amda – 77th Minute (Assisted by Richard Comer)
Tampa Bay: Gabriel Pfeffer – 81st Minute (Assisted by Tosan Popo)
Caution Summary
Palm Beach: Alberto Diaz – 16th Minute
Tampa Bay: Pico Espinal – 17th Minute
Palm Beach: Luke Ferreira – 28th Minute
Palm Beach: Clark Mortell – 49th Minute
Tampa Bay: Ivan Castro – 53rd Minute
Tampa Bay: Gonzalo Rodriguez – 78th Minute
Palm Beach: Rielee Moshin – 90th Minute
Palm Beach: Gabriel Amda – 90th Minute (Red Card)
Tampa Bay: Ivan Castro – 90th Minute (Second Yellow -> Red)
Starting Lineups
Rowdies U23 XI (4-4-2): GK Christian Knight (Sean Caufield 36′); D Jordan Day (Ivan Castro 36′), Andre Lowe (Gustavo Fernandes 46′), Gabriel Pfeffer, Pico Espinal (Preston Kilwien 36′); M Daniel Ribas, Morgan Hackworth, Melvin Boateng (Mac Curran 70′), Noah Franke (Gonzalo Rodriguez 52′); F Kevin Varela, Tosan Popo
Palm Beach Suns FC XI (4-4-2): GK Nathaniel Himes; D Chris Rodriguez, Matt McLennon, Rielee Moshin, Clark Mortell; M Franco Guglielmucci, Camillo Casanova, Alberto Diaz, Richard Comer; F Gabriel Almeida, Luke Ferreira (Gabriel Amda 65′)
