ST. PETERSBURG, FLA (May 10, 2025) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies fell 3-1 to the Charleston Battery at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night. A controversial penalty in the opening moments left the Rowdies down a goal and chasing the match the rest of the night.
The visitors grabbed an early go-ahead goal in the 8th minute. Laurence Wyke was whistled for infringement in the box after the backswing of Charleston’s Arturo Rodriguez’s leg grazed the Rowdies defender. Goalkeeper Nico Campisi guessed correctly and got a touch to Cal Jenning’s ensuing penalty strike, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from making its way into the back of the net.
“All we ask for is the players be allowed to compete, physically and athletically in the game,” said Coleman. “There are a few things that have gone against us in terms of the moments in the game that shift the momentum one way or the other. The penalty is one… What you have to do in those moments, is clear it from your mind but they keep happening over the course of two or three weeks. I haven’t said a lot about it in the last few weeks because I don’t want to make excuses. Again, tonight, we don’t get beat because of those things but we don’t win because of those things at the same time.”
MD Myers doubled Charleston’s advantage in the 19th minute, driving a shot into the bottom right corner to cap off a quick counterattack. Myers bagged a second only nine minutes later when collected and deposited a rebound from close range after Campisi made a save on a long-range shot from Rodriguez.
Tampa Bay came close to pulling one goal back in the 36th minute, as midfielder Leo Fernandes and forward Manuel Arteaga fired back-to-back attempts on frame that were both stymied by keeper Luiz Zamudio.
After entering just before the halftime break for an injured Pacifique Niyongabire, forward Woobens Pacius gave the Rowdies attack a boot in the closing half. In the 77th minute, substitute Endri Mustali flicked the ball forward for Pacius to collect behind Charleston’s defensive line and drive forward before slotting home a left-footed shot. Pacius now leads the Rowdies with four goals on the season, while Mustali has recorded two assists in the last two league matches.
“We spoke about making sure we fought for the badge again,” said Coleman. “When we came off at the end of the game we were proud of what we did in the second half. Quite frankly, we can be proud of what we did in the second half. The effort, the application, the energy, the front-foot behavior of the team, even though we were suffering after three games in eight days.”
Next up, the Rowdie are back at Al Lang next Saturday, May 17, to host the defending Eastern Conference champions Rhode Island FC.
Scoring Summary
CHS – Jennings (Penalty), 8’
CHS – Myers (Jennings), 19’
CHS – Myers, 28’
TBR – Pacius (Mustali), 77’
Caution Summary
TBR – Wyke, Yellow Card, 11’
CHS – Landry, Yellow Card, 11’
CHS – Edwards, Yellow Card, 58’
TBR – Worth, Yellow Card,60’
TBR – Basset, Yellow Card, 65’
TBR – Crisostomo, Yellow Card, 80’
Lineups
Rowdies: Campisi, Wyke (Rodriguez, 75’), Lasso, Guillen, Bodily (Castellanos, 63’), Worth, Crisostomo, Niyongabire (Pacius, 45+1), Bassett, Fernandes (Skinner, 63’), Arteaga (Mustali, 63’)
Rowdies Bench: Bandre, Castellanos, DeJesus, Moon, Skinner, Hilton, Musali, Pacius, Rodriguez
Charleston: Zamudio, Blackstock (Segbers, 50’), Akpunonu, Edwards, Allan (Ycaza, 68’), Houssou (Dossantos, 46’), Molloy, Torres, Myers (Martine, 74’), Rodriguez, Jennings (Rubin, 65’)
Charleston Bench: Grinwis, Segbers, Dossantos, Ycaza, Martinez, Klein, Rubin
