ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Feb. 14, 2026) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies faced off against Major League Soccer’s CF Montreal in 120 minutes of preseason action on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium. Tampa Bay came out on top 2-0 through the first 90 minutes of play before Montreal tallied two goals in the additional 30 minutes to finish 2-2.
The Rowdies had a flurry of chances within the opening minutes of Saturday’s preseason contest. Midfielder Pedro Dolabella came close to nabbing the opening goal with a strike from distance that just sailed over the crossbar. Defender Brian Schaefer then forced Montreal’s keeper into a save with a header off a corner kick sent in by teammate Marco Micaletto. Forward Russell Cicerone also aimed for the top left corner of the goal that Montreal’s keeper denied with a diving save.
Karsen Henderlong finally put Tampa Bay on top in the 34th minute. Dolabella initiated the scoring sequence, penetrating from the right edge of Montreal’s box before sliding a pass across goal for Cicerone. The Rowdies attacker fired off a shot off that was parried away but put right into the path on an unmarked Henderlong, who buried the ball into the open net.
Henderlong nearly scored a second goal early in the second after he stripped the ball off the goalkeeper outside of the box, but he sent his strike a few inches wide right of the goal as defenders rushed in to thwart him.
The Rowdies eventually found their second goal from the penalty spot. Montreal’s Brayan Vera drew the referee’s whistle for committing a foul while attempting to nullify a Rowdies corner-kick opportunity. Vera was sent off with a red card for his infraction and Cicerone stepped to convert the chance with an emphatic blast into the back of the net.
With several players carrying injuries, the Rowdies squad was primarily made up of trialists and players from the Rowdies 2 development past the 75th minute. Th Rowdies still managed to hold Montreal at bay until the 104th minute when the visitors final broke through. Montreal then nicked an equalizer goal off a header on the last sequence of the match.
Next up, the Rowdies host USL League One’s FC Naples at Al Lang on Wednesday, February 18. Kickoff for the matchup with Naples is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
TBR – Henderlong, 34’
TBR – Cicerone (Penalty), 71’
MTL – 104′
MTL – 120’
Rowdies Lineup: Waite (Pack, 91’), Acoff (Trialist, 70’), Schaefer (Wyke, 60’), Dossantos (Trialist, 75’), Ostrem (Cruz, 60’, Mendez (Vivi, 60’), Dolabella (Hilton, 60’), Micaletto (Trialist, 75’), Schneider (Trialist, 75’), Cicerone, (75’) Henderlong (Rodriguez, 60’)
