CARY, NC (August 9, 2025) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies closed their six-match road trip with a 2-1 defeat to North Carolina FC on Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.
“It’s dissapointing, because I think we started the game well and had a goal to show for it,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “It’s difficult when you give up two goals just before halftime like we did. Those two goals really hurt us. But we’ll learn from it. There were still a lot of positives to take away from the game in terms of the way we tried to play and the fight that the guys showed.”
Tampa Bay grabbed the go-ahead goal in the 23rd minute through a strike from midfielder Lewis Hilton. Receiving a pass from teammate Luis Alvarez outside the box, Hilton lined up a right-footed shot that took a deflection off of a defender’s leg on its way into the back of the net for the Englishman’s first goal of the year.
The hosts leveled the match in the 39th minute. Attacker Evan Conway nabbed the equalizer when he got on the end of a long ball played over Tampa Bay’s defensive line and slipped a low strike past Rowdies keeper Ethan Bandre.
North Carloina pulled in front moments before the halftime whistle after Tampa Bay’s Joey Skinner was whistled for a foul attempting to clear a free kick opportunity in the Rowdies box. Luis Perez stepped to the spot and calmly deposited his attempt into the goal as Bandre dove the oppositive direction.
Next up, the Rowdies finally make their way home after a near two-month absence from Al Lang Stadium. The Rowdies are set to host Phoenix Rising FC on Original Era Night, as the club celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1975 championship and all the legends of the Rowdies original era. The match will also be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Fans can purchase tickets for the match at rowdiessoccer.com/tickets or by calling 727-222-2000.
Scoring Summary
TBR – Hilton (Alvarez), 23’
NC – Conway, 39’
NC – Perez (Perez), 45+5’
Caution Summary
NC – Maldonado, Yellow Card, 20’
TBR – Vancaeyezeele, Yellow Card, 31’
TBR – Pacius, Yellow Card, 44’
NC – Sundstrom, Yellow Card, 45+1’
TBR – Hilton, Yellow Card, 60’
NC – Servania, Yellow Card, 60’
Lineups
Rowdies: Bandre, Vancaeyezeele (Bassett, 57’), Castellanos, Guillen, Moon (Azocar, 71’), Wyke, Crisostomo, Wyke, Skinner, Alvarez (Sharp, 57’), Pacius (Arteaga, 57’)
Rowdies Bench: Campisis, Lasso, Bassett. Arteaga, Azocar, Sharp
North Carolina: McGuire, Mentzingen (Servania, 12’), Sundstrom, Washington, Hodge, Burner, Dolabella, Sommersall, Maldonado, Perez (Al-Qaq, 87’), Conway (Anderson, 90’)
North Carolina Bench: Mulqueen, Donovan, Servania, Malou, Craig, Al-Qaq, Da Costa, Anderson
