ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 25, 2018) — With three clean sheets in six matches to start the season, Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Cody Mizell is off to a hot start to his second stint at Al Lang Stadium.
The 26-year old American goalkeeper signed with the Rowdies in 2014 as a very young goalkeeper and spent most of the year trying to fight his way up a congested depth chart that included Matt Pickens, Ryan Thompson and Diego Restrepo, who recovered from an injury late in the year.
His chances on the field were limited and didn’t always go the way he would’ve hoped. He conceded a total of 11 goals in four matches between league and U.S. Open Cup play.
But he was young and he was always learning.
“Looking back at it now, it was a fantastic learning experience for me,” Mizell said. “I learned a lot from Matt Pickens that year. Little things not just about how you train, but the certain days you do certain things so that you’re ready for the weekend. Matt taught me more than he even knew he was teaching me.”
Mizell departed the Rowdies after that season for Iceland, where he played 19 matches for Fram. He came back to the United States in 2016 and had two great seasons with the Charlotte Independence. In two years in North Carolina, Mizell played 45 matches and went on loan to the Colorado Rapids, where was offered another great chance to learn.
“Last year, I spent time with Colorado and learned things from Tim Howard and Zac MacMath,” he said. “They’re two totally different styles of goalkeepers and they’re different from Matt, but you pick up things about how to train, prepare, eat from all of them. It’s those little things that outsiders don’t really understand that make a big difference.”
Armed with all that knowledge and playing experience, Mizell return to Tampa Bay this winter a different player.
Only two players (Georgi Hristov and Tamika Mkandawire) remain from Mizell’s first season with the Rowdies and a lot about the club has changed in the three years he was away, but he said it still felt right to come back.
“This club is unbelievable the way they do things,” Mizell said. “It’s a totally different club from when I was here the first time. We have a great set up and I love it. I love the weather, the atmosphere, the history of the Rowdies. It’s all first class.”
On the field, Rowdies fans can’t have asked for much more from Mizell this season. In three home games, Tampa Bay is yet to concede a goal and has outscored opponents 9-0.
With three straight USL matches away from home, it’s time for Tampa Bay to bring that success on the road. After winning their first road match of the year, the Rowdies have dropped two straight, including a 5-0 defeat against the New York Red Bulls II.
“I hate to say it, but I think losing 5-0 to was a wake-up call for us,” Mizell said. “That will only help us moving forward. It’ll make us change our mentality as a group, not just one through 11 on the field, but one through 24 on the roster. We know we’re good at home, but now we have to bring that mentality on the road. It may not be pretty, but starting now, we’ll do whatever it takes to win a game. It may take six goals, it may only take one. We may have five percent possession, we may have 99 percent possession, it doesn’t matter. We have to get a result.”
