ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Leo Fernande’s received another feather in the cap of his career-best season with the announcement on Thursday that the veteran playmaker has been named the USL Championship Player of the Month for June. Fernandes notched five goals in five appearances – including two USL Goal of the Week winners – to help lead the Rowdies to an undefeated month.
There’s no denying Fernandes’ shift to a more advanced attacking role over the last two months has played a key role in the Rowdies rise in the Eastern Conference standings as they have gone unbeaten in their last nine matches. With nine goals on the season, Fernandes has already surpassed his own single-season scoring record and is tied with forward Jake LaCava for most goals on the squad. Fernandes’ four assists also put in a tie with midfielder Lewis Hilton for most on the team.
“It’s been great playing my role for the team this year,” said Fernandes. “I’m having a lot of fun out there, just being closer to the goal and being able to create for the team, and just trying to impact the game in any way that I can and help these other great players we have up top. It’s been great and I’m having a lot of fun out there.”
Heading into the weekend, the Rowdies sit three points back of Eastern Conference leader Louisville City FC, who are set to meet second place side Memphis 901 FC this week. Meanwhile, the Rowdies will face Loudoun United at Segra Field on Saturday night. The Rowdies have dropped just one away match all year so far, and they’ve also shown themselves to be one of the more resilient USL Championship sides with a league-high 14 points earned from losing positions.
“Resiliency is huge,” said Fernandes. “I think we’ve had some difficulty in the past going down a goal and then trying to come back. I think this has been one of the real positives of this group, just to show everyone that even if we do go down a goal, we have what it takes to come back to tie the game and even win.”
Tampa Bay is aiming to claim its third straight Eastern Conference title this season. As the club’s longest-tenured player and a key contributor to the last two conference titles, Fernandes is well aware of what it will take for the Rowdies to come out on top in the standings race. During Fernandes’ stellar recent stretch, the Rowdies have picked up crucial victories over Louisville and Memphis.
“Battles like this are definitely exciting for us as players,” said Fernandes. “Like we always do, we take it one game at a time. If we handle our business on the field, we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the year.”
