HARRISBURG, Penn. (May 4, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies lost 3-0 to Penn FC on Friday night at FNB Field in Harrisburg. Former Rowdies forward Tommy Heinemann netted a second-half brace, helping Penn FC earn the three points.
“We gave up three shocking goals,” said Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell. “We did not mark the opposition well in the box and it showed with today’s loss. I am looking for our players to step it up next week and stand up for what this club stands for.”
The home team got on the board early on in the match when Kyle Venter headed home a free kick by midfielder Jerry Ortiz. His header caught Rowdies goalkeeper Cody Mizell going the other way and he was unable to keep it out of the net.
Heinemann, who played for the Rowdies in 2015, almost doubled the lead for the home team in the 30th minute, but defender Hunter Gorskie made an impressive recovery run to poke the ball away and clear the danger.
In the 36th minute, midfielder Jack Blake had the best chance of the first half for the Rowdies. After finding his way to the end of a Marcel Schäfer cross, the English midfielder ripped a shot from just inside the 18-yard box, but it would be deflected out for a corner kick.
The Rowdies created several chances off set pieces, but Penn FC was able to block several shots to help Peiser keep a shutout after 45 minutes.
Heinemann would put the match away with two early second-half goals, both coming off headers.
The first of two came in the 57th minute, when Heinemann soared over Gorskie and powered a header past a diving Mizell.
Just three minutes later, the St. Louis native made it 3-0 off another header, this time beating defender Zac Portillos at the far post.
“They put the match away in three minutes,” said Campbell. “We had countless opportunities but didn’t hit the target once. They capitalized on every chance they had. It’s unacceptable.”
The Rowdies had several chances to inch closer to Penn FC on the score sheet, but never were able to beat a very stout home defense.
Tampa Bay continues its road trip next Saturday, visiting the Richmond Kickers. They’ll then return home on Saturday, May 19 to face the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Al Lang Stadium.
Scoring Summary
Penn: Kyle Venter – 11th minute (assisted by Jerry Ortiz)
Penn: Tommy Heinemann – 57th minute (assisted by Freddie Opoku)
Penn: Tommy Heinemann – 60th minute (assisted by Pedro Galvao)
Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Kyle Curinga – 3rd minute
Penn: Tommy Heinemann – 25th minute
Penn: Dan Metzger – 31st minute
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Cody Mizell; D Kyle Curinga, Hunter Gorskie, Neill Collins, Zac Portillos; M Jack Blake (Joe Cole 62′), Lance Rozeboom, Marcel Schäfer; F Junior Flemmings (Jochen Graf 78′), Georgi Hristov (c), Sebastian Guenzatti (Leo Fernandes 62′)
Penn FC XI (4-25-1): GK Romuald Peiser; D Marco Franco, Pedro Galvao, Kyle Venter, Harri Hawkins; M Miguel Jaime, Richard Menjivar, Jerry Ortiz (Aaron Dennis 57′), Dan Metzger (Mauro Eustaquio 81′), Freddie Opoku; F Tommy Heinemann (Lucky Mkosana 74′)
