USL Championship Matchday 17
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Indy Eleven
Saturday, August 2, 7 p.m. ET
Michael A. Carroll Stadium, Indianapolis, IND
2025 League Records:
Rowdies: 4W-10L-2D, 14 pts, 12th East (2-6-1 on the road)
Charleston: 5W-6L-5D, 20 pts, 7th East (3-3-3 at home)
Tune In: Tampa Bay 44, ESPN+
Watch Party: Join the official Rowdies watch party at Grand Central Brewhouse in Downtown St. Petersburg. Fans wearing Rowdies gear receive discounts on food and beverage.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies head to the Circle City this weekend for a matchup with Indy Eleven. It will be Tampa Bay’s first outing since being eliminated from the USL Jägermeister Cup in the final round of group play last week in Charleston. With their cup run now at an end, the Rowdies single focus for the rest of the year has narrowed to one goal – qualifying for the 2025 USL Championship playoffs.
Tampa Bay enters the weekend sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, five points below the current playoff line. The Rowdies have 14 league matches remaining to climb above that line and claim a playoff spot as one of the top eight teams in the conference.
“It’s good that we can focus now on the regular season and making sure we’re in the playoffs,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “I think we’ve made good progress in the three games since I’ve been here. Now it’s about making sure that progress turns into consistent results to get us above that playoff line.”
Series History
Saturday’s is the second regular season meeting between Tampa Bay and Indy. The Rowdies dispatched Indy 3-1 in their last match played at Al Lang Stadium on June 25. With that victory, the Rowdies extended their unbeaten streak against Indy to 9 matches (5 wins, 4 draws). Tampa Bay’s last defeat against Indy was in 2018. Indy will be entering Saturday’s matchup with some confidence after advancing to the Quarterfinals of the USL Jägermeister Cup by defeating Western Conference leaders FC Tulsa last weekend.
“Indy is a tough team,” said Rowdies Defender Joey Skinner. “They have a lot of good individual players. They had us down 1-0 last month but we fought back to win 3-1. Going there on the road isn’t going to be easy, but we have a lot of confidence in ourselves as a team and we believe we can go there and get three points.”
On the Road Again
The friendly confines of Al Lang Stadium are in sight for the Rowdies as they near the end of their six-match road stretch. After Indy this weekend, the Rowdies will travel to face North Carolina FC next Saturday before making their long-awaited return to Al Lang on August 16 against Phoenix Rising FC. Picking up every point possible is essential as the squad continues to fight their way into a playoff spot. While the Rowdies were competitive against quality sides in their trips to San Antonio and Charleston in recent weeks, they still came away on the losing end.
“If you look at the Charleston game, especially in the opening period, we were very much on top of the game and probably should have scored,” said Casciato. “We’ve got to take those opportunities. Once we take those opportunities early in games like we had in Charleston and San Antonio, then the game is different. You don’t allow the crowd to influence the game as much as they can if you allow these teams to stay in the game and think they can find their way on top.”
Azócar is Officially In
The Rowdies newest signing Juan Carlos Azócar is officially part of the squad. Azócar trained with his new teammates all last week but missed out on his potential Rowdies debut in Charleston while the club waited for his international clearance from Venezuela to come through. The veteran attacker is now cleared and will be available for selection this weekend in Indy.
Rowdies Availability Report
OUT: Niyongabire
QUESTIONABLE: Leo Fernandes
