STATESBORO, Ga. (February 25, 2019) — Preparations for the 2019 USL Championship season continued this weekend with opening day now less than two weeks away.
The Rowdies went north to Georgia to play matches on back-to-back days, giving more players a chance to get 90 minutes under their belts. Tampa Bay split its weekend matches, falling 3-2 to League One’s South Georgia Tormenta FC on Saturday before beating Georgia Southern University 4-0 less than 24 hours later.
Former Rowdies midfielder Alex Morrell had a strong showing for his new club Saturday, scoring twice against his former club. Leo Fernandes and Antoine Hoppenot had the goals for Tampa Bay, but the Rowdies were unable to overturn a 2-0 deficit just 23 minutes into the match. It was the first goal of preseason for both Fernandes and Hoppenot.
The Rowdies earned a much better result Sunday, with Brandon Allen bagging a brace, plus goals from Juan Tejada and TBU Academy player Dan Wintermeier. It was Allen’s second and third goals of preseason and Tejada’s second.
Tampa Bay has one match left this preseason, visiting Corbett Stadium in Tampa to take on the USF Bulls on Saturday, March 2. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and tickets are available here.
