TAMPA, Fla. (July 8, 2017) — In less a heartbreaking but similarly disappointing manner, the Rowdies U23’s fall at home to division leaders SIMA Aguilas by a 3-1 margin.
Tampa Bay found tough sledding once more against the skilled team from Montverde as proper chances were hard to come by and a moment without forward pressure was seldom found.
To start the game out, both teams were having trouble putting true chances on net. Although SIMA consistently held the majority of possession through the first half, their chances were mostly not incredibly dangerous.
The pace of play, additionally, through the first half was incredibly rapid and back and forth as no cards were shown and nearly no fouls were called either way as the referees were intent on letting the teams play it out.
This all changed very suddenly in the 43nd minute when Kendan Anderson knocked in the opening goal of the match. After causing havoc for the opposing keeper while clearing the ball earlier in the half, Anderson cut off a pass from the backline and capitalized on his one-on-one chance against the keeper to give the Rowdies the early lead.
Although the Rowdies began to celebrate their lead that would presumably last through the halftime break, SIMA had other plans.
On the ensuing possession after the goal, SIMA converted to equalize after Bruno Lapa sent a solid cross in the box to Trey Langlois who finished over keeper Christian Knight.
The visitor’s tying score quickly took the wind out of the U23’s sails although heading into the halftime break tied with such a strong opponent.
After the break in action, SIMA picked up right where they had left off. It took less than ten minutes for the central Florida squad to take the lead after Caua Soares sent a beautiful curving ball into the back of the Rowdies net.
From there, it was quite clear that it was SIMA’s game and the Rowdies were simply playing catch up.
As the half continued on, the Rowdies began to play much sloppier soccer than they had in the first half. The home squad began to foul more often and even began to draw the first cards of the match after Preston Kilwien and Pico Espinal were booked for rough challenges in the back half.
Although SIMA dominated possession and were sending plenty of chances on net, the game remained a one goal contest and thus still was within the Rowdies grasp.
The fatal blow to this dream for picking up another consecutive point came in the 79th minute when Joao Ramalho was able to deftly chip Tampa Bay keeper Christian Knight and score the final goal of the match.
Despite a few more cards being handed out and corners awarded to both sides, the score remained 3-1 until the final whistle blew.
The loss was certainly difficult for the U23’s as they had a great deal of confidence after drawing The Villages on the road on Wednesday.
Although the score was undesirable, the Rowdies were able to premiere two new players, Connar Lufkin and Macsen Pritchard, who played quite well in limited time at the end of the game.
Moving forward, the Rowdies will have a much needed day off Sunday before training and taking on IMG on the road on Tuesday night to kick off a busy final week of PDL action.
Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Kendan Anderson – 43rd Minute
SIMA: Trey Langlois – 44th Minute (Assisted by Bruno Lapa)
SIMA: Caua Soares – 54th Minute
SIMA: Joao Ramalho – 79th Minute
Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Preston Kilwien – 53rd Minute
Tampa Bay: Pico Espinal – 75th Minute
SIMA: Yaya Cisse – 84th Minute
Tampa Bay: Tosan Popo – 87th Minute
Starting Lineups
Rowdies U23 XI (4-1-4-1): GK Christian Knight; D Pico Espinal, Gabriel Pfeffer (Macsen Pritchard 88′), Preston Kilwien, Ivan Castro (Caleb George 82′); CDM Gustavo Fernandes (Gabriel Fernandes 68′); M Daniel Ribas (Jordan Day 46′), Noah Franke, Kevin Varela (Trey Jackson 62′), Tosan Popo (Connor Lufkin 87′); F Kendan Anderson
SIMA Aguilas XI (4-3-3): GK Daniel Gagliardi; D Saul Chinchilla (Mauriq Hill 57′), Leonardo Novaes, Justin Malou, Malick Mbaye; M Penn Orji (Joao Ramalho 63′), Caua Soares (Yaya Cisse 82′), Bruno Lapa; F Santiago Patino, Rafael Santos, Trey Langlois (Cristian Palacios 72′)