ST. PETERSBURG, FL – On Tuesday, the USL Championship announced that Tampa Bay Rowdies forward Cal Jennings was voted Player of the Week for his shift in the club’s 4-2 road win versus Loudoun United FC. Jennings tallied two goals and an assist after entering in the 64th minute of the match to lift the Rowdies to their first comeback win of the season.
In his strongest showing since joining Tampa Bay in the offseason, Jennings bagged his first goal only five minutes after coming off the bench by knocking home a cross from fellow substitute Dayonn Harris with his first touch. Nine minutes later, Jennings completed his brace when he pulled back a cross from JJ Williams at the far post to avoid a sliding challenge and then buried the ball with his next touch.
Jennings also displayed wisdom deep in stoppage time to seal the match. Rather than going for goal after earning a breakaway chance, Jennings passed up the chance at a hat trick and slid a pass for the unmarked Jake LaCava to tap into the net.
“This week in training, Cal has been banging in goals left and right,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins after win in Loudoun. “He’s shown me that he wants those minutes. He’s been training well, but this week he really made a point. We got him on early and he showed exactly what he’s capable of. At times it’s not down to one player and what they’re doing. It’s down to what the team as a whole is doing. At times Cal has had to play a lesser role than he would’ve liked. But that’s part of being at a big club that wants to win. You’ve got players for competition. I’m sure Cal will kick on from here.”
Jennings earned 67 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Phoenix Rising FC’s Panos Armenakas finished second on 20 percent of the vote. The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
