The Tampa Bay Rowdies endured a lengthy weather delay to open the 2026 season with three points and a clean sheet in a 1-0 road victory over Birmingham Legion FC.
Lightning in the area around Birmingham’s Protective Stadium kept the Rowdies and Birmingham from kicking off until a little after 9:30 p.m. ET, an hour and a half past the original kickoff. A steady rain was still falling by the time the ball did start rolling, and it kept on coming down through most of the match.
The Rowdies held a slight edge in possession throughout the first 45 minutes of play but could not find the back of net on a couple of near chances in the box.
“With the weather delay and difficult conditions from the slick pitch it was difficult to get hold of the ball,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “But there were a lot of positives for us in the match. I think we maybe could have scored maybe more than one, but we controlled the game and limited their chances. That bodes really well for the rest of the season.”
Marco Micaletto ended up breaking the deadlock and nabbing the Rowdies first goal of the campaign shortly after entering as a substitute at halftime. A long throw in sent in by Rowdies Center Back Brian Schaefer was headed out of the box, but the clearance fell to the feet for Tampa Bay’s Sebastian Cruz, who whipped the ball back into the box. Midfielder Pedro Dolabella grazed the service from Cruz, helping it along the way to an unmarked Micaletto for a blast into the back of the net.
“It’s a play that we’d worked on, so it’s really pleasing to come off,” said Casciato. “We’d spoken to Sebastian Cruz just before the play and told him to get a little tighter to [Birmingham’s] guy at the top of the box. That put him in a great position to shut down the player, as he does so well, and then Marco came up with a great finish.”
Birmingham gained a bit more urgency after Micaletto’s go-ahead goal, and the Rowdies picked up five yellow cards as the match grew chippier. Still, the Rowdies still managed to limit their hosts to zero shots on target and next to no clear-cut looks at goal in the second half.
Last year, it took the Rowdie until July 16 to register their first clean sheet of the season, which was just Casciato’s second match at the helm. This year, they managed to do it in their first outing.
“Everyone was committed for the team,” said Casciato. “That means keeping pressure on the back line, so they can’t serve balls into our box. That obviously stops their better players from getting on the ball in dangerous areas. I think it starts from the front and it goes all the way to the back. I thought Jahmali was excellent on set pieces. I thought Nate Dossantos and Brian Schaefer marshalled the back line really well, and then Laurence Wyke came in to help us get over the line at the end. I think it was a real team effort from the guys, and we can go from strength to strength from here.”
The Rowdies are off next week, giving them an extra week of preparation ahead of the club’s Home Open against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday, March 21 at Al Lang Stadium.
“This is a tricky place to come, especially with all the circumstances with the rain,” said Casciato. “The delay was difficult, but we came here and took care of business. Now we can enjoy next weekend and watch the other USL games while we get ready for Pittsburgh.”
Scoring Summary
TBR – Micaletto (Dolabella), 57’
Caution Summary
TBR – Hilton (Yellow Card), 42’
TBR – Acoff (Yellow Card), 75’
TBR – Perez (Yellow Card), 77’
TBR – Dolabella (Yellow Card), 79’
TBR – Ostrem (Yellow Card), 82’
TBR – Waite (Yellow Card), 82’
BHM – Diarbian (Yellow Card), 82’
STATS SUMMARY: TBR / BHM
Shots: 15 / 8
Shots on Goal: 2 / 2
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 4
Fouls Conceded: 8 / 18
Offside: 1 / 3
Possession: 50.6 / 49.4
Lineups
Rowdies: Waite, Acoff, Schaefer, Dossantos (Wyke, 90’), Ostrem, Hilton (Micaletto, 46’), Schneider, Dolabella, Cicerone, Cruz, Henderlong (Perez, 64’)
Rowdies Bench: Pack, Rodriguez, Tita, Wyke, Micaletto, Perez, Vivi
BHM: Koleilat, Duru (Cole, 65’), Williams (Hamouda, 72’), Paterson (Saucedo, 72’), Antwi, Washington, McCartney (Brown, 58’), Pasher, Diarbian, Tregarthen, Shashoua
BHM Bench: Brown, Cole, Hamouda, Saucedo, McMullen, Daley, McIllhatton, Ngoma
