NAPLES, Fla (July 4, 2025) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies put themselves in the driver’s seat of Group 6 in the USL Jäegermeister Cup with a 2-0 win over FC Naples at Paradise Coast Sports Complex on Friday night. Forwards Woobens Pacius and Manuel Arteaga each recorded a goal in the vital victory.
“Naples is a place where it’s hard to come and be perfect,” said Rowdies Interim Head Coach Steve Coleman. “We knew that from when we were here last time. Tonight we kept a clean sheet, scored two good goals, and were pretty comfortable through the game… We conceded some chances, but nothing really of danger. It was a pretty comfortable night and we’re definitely happy with the result.”
The hosts thought they had the opening goal in the 30th minute when attacker Jayden Onen headed a pass into the back of the net, but the chance was waived off for offside.
Tampa Bay grabbed the go-ahead goal only a few moments later when Pacius notched his third goal of the tournament to put the Rowdies out in front in the 38th minute. Laurence Wyke initiated the sequence with a lofted delivery into the final third. Midfielder Luis Alvarez collected the service and held a defender off the ball at the top of the box before slipping a pass forward for Pacius, who calmly deposited his strike into the back of the net while under pressure.
Pacius aimed for a brace five minutes into the second half when he rose to meet a driven cross sent in by Wyke from the right flank, but he sent his header just over the crossbar.
Arteaga eventually doubled the Rowdies advantage at the hour mark. Midfielder Danny Crisostomo picked out teammate Blake Bodily with a pass down the right and the wingback drove into the box before sending a cross right on the mark to the head a the unmarked Arteaga on the back post for the finish.
“The [second] goal obviously took the sting out of the game for Naples a little bit,” said Coleman. “ We know all about conceding goals one after the other, so one of the things we spoke about at halftime was making sure we were the ones that scored the next goal, and we did that. Great finish from Manu under pressure at the back post and a great ball from Blake Bodily to get it to him. So yeah, really happy with the second goal to take this thing out of [Naples’] attacking end and quiet down the crowd a little bit.”
Rowdies goalkeeper Nico Campisi was called on in the 72nd minute when Naples slipped through the defensive line with a long ball. Onen’s cross from the right edge of the box made its way to forward Karsen Henderlong in front of goal and he managed to fire a strike on target, but Campisi stretched out to deny him and protect Tampa Bay’s first clean sheet of the year.
“Obviously, you can still win games with conceding goals but it’s always much more comfortable and happy for people when we don’t let one in,” noted Coleman.
The Rowdies now sit first in Group 6 of the cup with one more group stage match left to play. That final group stage matchup will be on the road against the Charleston Battery on Saturday, July 26.
Tampa Bay had the chance to celebrate Friday’s Jäegermeister Cup win with a contingent of traveling Rowdies fans after the final whistle.
“I spoke pretty clearly since I was given the opportunity to lead the group around the importance of our connection with the community, connection with the people that support us; the man in the stand, said Coleman. “Moments like tonight allow us to do that and see the happiness on peoples’ faces that we create for them. They’ve traveled a long way to watch the game and it’s good that it can be a worthwhile experience for them. The ability to sort of connect and humanize who we are as a group and individuals creates a real good vibe around the club and that’s essentially what this club’s been built on in its last 50 years. It’s an important piece of our puzzle.”
But first, the Rowdies travel to the Lone Star State for a matchup with Western Conference side San Antonio FC on Saturday, July 12, at 9 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
TBR – Pacius (Alvarez), 38’
TBR – Arteaga (Bodily), 60’
Caution Summary
TBR – Vancaeyezeele, Yellow Card, 26’
TBR – Lasso, Yellow Card, 61’
NAP – Ferrin, Yellow Card, 74’
NAP – Cisneros, Yellow Card, 77’
TBR – Wyke, Yellow Card, 90+3’
Lineups
Rowdies: Campisi, Castellanos (Moon, 35’), Lasso, Guillen, Vancaeyezeele, Crisostomo, Wyke, Bodily (Skinner, 79’), Alvarez (Bassett, 62’), Pacius (Rodriguez, 79’), Arteaga (Mustali, 79’)
Rowdies Bench: Bandre, Moon, Skinner, Bassett, Fernandes, Mustali, Rodriguez
Naples: Delgado, Glasser, Dengler, Evans, Cisneros, Heckenberg, Ferrin (O’Connor, 76’), Cerro (Weiss, 65’), Torrellas (Prpa, 75’), Onen (Pasnik, 86’), Henderlong
Naples Bench: Serrano, Sulia, Fernandes, Prpa, OConnor, Pasnik, Weiss, Rubinstein, Bowe
