ST. PETERSBURG, FLA (May 31, 2025) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies rallied for two late goals to come out on top in their battle with USL League One’s South Georgia Tormenta in Round of the USL Jägermeister Cup. Forward Woobens Pacius and midfielder Ollie Bassett tallied the goals to secure the 2-1 result, notching the Rowdies first win at Al Lang Stadium since September of last year.
“It’s a relief more than anything,” said Bassett. “Results haven’t gone our way over the last five, six, seven weeks, and I think it was important tonight to win the game by any means necessary. We left it late, but I think winning is the only thing that matters right now. It’s a big win and hopefully we can use it to move forward and kick on in the league.”
Despite dominating with 70 percent of the possession in the first half, the Rowdies found themselves down a goal heading into the break. The visitors pulled ahead on their first attempt at goal of the night in the 28th minute when Sebastian Vivas nodded home a cross from Jonathan Nyandjo in the center of the box.
“The goal was a bit of a sucker punch,” said Rowdies Interim Head Coach Steve Coleman. “We had 70 percent possession and had dominated the half. The one chance we gave away they scored from. It’s been a bit of the story of the season so far.”
The two sides traded chances at both ends of the field in the final five minutes of the first half. Tampa Bay’s Leo Fernandes threaded a pass into space in the box for teammate Blake Bodily, who fired his effort on frame but was denied by a point blank save from goalkeeper Austin Pack. Rowdies goalkeeper Ethan Bandre made his own stellar save a few moments later, rising to parry away a long-range shot sent toward goal by Yaniv Bazini.
As Tormenta FC looked to slow the match down in the second half, the Rowdies ramped up the pressure and were rewarded for their hard work in the 79th minute. Receiving a centered pass from Fernandes, Pacius fought off a defender at the top of the box before swiftly cutting back to his right foot to deliver a curling effort past Pack and into the goal.
“Sometimes I feel like we wait to be in difficult positions to actually push and try and score a goal,” said Pacius. “If we put that energy we had at the end of the game, then I think it can change so many things in the game. That would be the main takeaway from me tonight.”
Once back on level terms, the Rowdies continued to push for a second goal. Substitute Joey Skinner sent in a bouncing cross from deep in the left corner that made its way all the way to Basset in the center of the box. Bassett was dispossessed of the ball, but the Englishman persevered after multiple Tormenta FC defenders failed to clear the ball from danger and pounced on the rebound to poke it across the line.
“We didn’t really feel [Tormenta’s] goal changed all that much,” said Basset. “We were confident that if we got a goal in the second half that we would get two and maybe three. For us, it was about sticking together and not getting too frustrated… We were confident that if we just kept doing the right things and kept trying to play the right way that we’d get a positive result. Thankfully we did.”
The win moves the Rowdies to second in Group 6 of the USL Jägermeister Cup with 4 points, behind Miami FC. The Rowdies will travel to face FC Naples in the next round of the competition on Friday, July 4.
“We’re not perfect but we’re trying,” said Coleman. “It’s a win that builds confidence and give us something for the hard work we’ve been putting in, but we still have work to do, and we still have to keep moving forward.”
Next up, the Rowdies hit the road for a USL Championship matchup against Louisville City FC on Saturday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
TRM – Vivas (Nyandjo), 28’
TBR – Pacius, 79’
TBR – Bassett, 90+4’
Caution Summary
TRM – Doyle, Yellow Card, 6’
TBR – Crisostomo, Yellow Card, 39’
TBR – Vancaeyezeele, Yellow Card, 54’
TRM – Pack, Yellow Card, 87’
Lineups
Rowdies: Bandre, Castellanos, Lasso (Wyke, 46’), Guillen (Mustali, 81’), Moon (Rodriguez, 46’), Crisostomo, Vancaeyezeele (Pacius, 64’), Bodily (Skinner, 81’), Bassett, Fernandes, Arteaga
Rowdies Bench: Campisi, DeJesus, Skinner, Wyke, Hilton, Mustali, Pacius, Rodriguez
Tormenta: Pack, Jimenez, Gabriel Alves, Kasanze (Stretch, 70’), Nare, Doyle (Dery, 70’), Reid-Stephen, Gabriel de Freitas, Bazini (Tunbridge, 89’), Nyandjo (Walker, 81’), Vivas (Gray, 81’)
Tormenta Bench: Jones, Stretch, Dery, Tunbridge, Walker, Gray, Healy
