The Basics
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (Second Round)
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Jacksonville Armada FC
Wednesday, May 16 – 7 p.m.
Southern Oak Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday
How to Watch
The match will be streamed live on US Soccer’s website here.
Watch Party
Head to Big Storm Brewing Co.’s taproom in either Pinellas or Pasco on Saturday afternoon for the Rowdies’ official watch parties. If you wear Rowdies gear, you’ll get $1 off all pints. The Pinellas taproom is located at 12707 49th St. N, Clearwater. The Pasco taproom is located at 2330 Success Dr, Odessa.
About the Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has been played since 1914 and is the longest continuously-running soccer competition in the United States. It is a single-elimination tournament open to professional teams and qualifying amateur teams based in the United States. Major League Soccer teams enter the competition in the Fourth Round. Jacksonville reached this round by defeating The Villages SC (PDL) 2-1 in the Play-In Round on May 6 and then beating SIMA Aguilas (PDL) 2-0 in the First Round on May 9.
The match must produce a winner, so if the score is tied after regulation, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety. If the score remains tied, a penalty kick shootout will decide the winner.
The winner of this match advances to host a Third Round match against the winner of Miami FC 2 (NPSL) vs Miami United FC (NPSL), which will also be played Wednesday night. Should the Rowdies advance, that Third Round match will be played Wednesday, May 23 at Al Lang Stadium.
Records
Jacksonville: 1–0-1, 4 points, 2nd place, NPSL Sunshine Conference
Tampa Bay: 4-5-0, 12 points, 7th place, USL Eastern Conference
Series History
The Rowdies are 2-2-2 (W-L-T) all-time against Jacksonville’s first team. No road team has ever won a competitive match in the series. Tampa Bay knocked Jacksonville’s NPSL team out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup last year with a 3-0 win in St. Pete.
Rowdies Notes
The Tampa Bay Rowdies open their 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign against a familiar face in the Jacksonville Armada. The Rowdies are 6-7 in the Open Cup all-time, but have won their opening match in each of the last two seasons. Should the Rowdies advance, they will host either Miami FC 2 or Miami United in the Third Round. The Rowdies are 5-2 in their Open Cup openers in the Modern Era. Last year, Tampa Bay beat Jacksonville Armada FC U23s (NPSL) 3-0 in the Second Round before losing 2-0 to Miami FC (NASL) in the Third Round.
The Rowdies head to Jacksonville on a three-game losing skid since beating Real Monarchs SLC 2-0 on April 21. The Rowdies have lost road matches to the Charleston Battery, Penn FC and Richmond Kickers since then to fall below .500 at 4-5-0 (W-L-T).
Since beating North Carolina FC 3-1 away from home on the opening season of the weekend, the Rowdies have lost all five of their road matches. Tampa Bay lost 1-0 in Louisville, 5-0 in New York, 1-0 in Charleston, 3-0 at Penn FC and then 1-0 at Richmond last weekend. Tampa Bay went 3-6-7 (W-L-T) away from home in 2017 and 3-8-5 (W-L-T) in 2016.
Tampa Bay right back Kyle Curinga departed the Rowdies’ match against Richmond only six minutes into the first half with an ankle injury that will likely rule him out of this contest.
Scouting Jacksonville
Jacksonville is in its first season playing in the NPSL’s Sunshine Conference. The Armada has played only two league matches so far in 2018, drawing 1-1 with Miami FC 2 and then beating Boca Raton FC 2-0 this past Saturday night.
Defender Wesley Charpie and forward Alhassane Keita lead the team in scoring this season with two goals apiece in all competitions. In their four matches so far this year, including the Open Cup, the Armada has scored seven total goals.
Charpie is a Palm Harbor native that played college soccer at USF in Tampa.
