ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies became the first team to clinch a berth to the 2026 USL Championship playoffs on Saturday night, booking their postseason spot with a 2-0 victory over Brooklyn FC at Al Lang Stadium.
“I think somebody asked me about (playoffs) earlier this week when I was doing some media and I just said that’s the expectation here,” said Rowdies Defender Nate Dossantos. “I think that’s the bare minimum, right? We want to compete for trophies, and to do that we need to be in a position like we are right now.”
The Rowdies grew into Saturday’s contest as the first half progressed and were rewarded with a go-ahead tally in the 24th minute. After a scramble for possession in Brooklyn’s box, the ball rolled into the path of Rowdies Defender Charlie Ostrem, who wasted no time laying a pass off for teammate Louis Perez at the top of the penalty area. With his first touch, Perez smashed a left-footed strike on frame and past goalkeeper Jackson Lee to break the deadlock.
“Our game plan is we’re always trying to start 100 miles per hour,” said Perez. “We’re trying to bring it to them, especially at home. I think we were a bit slow at the very beginning of the game, but then after that we grew into it in the attack. But we want to be better. We want to score more goals. We want to be more clinical. We want to make sure there’s no doubt from the first to the last minute.”
Rowdies Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite was called upon to keep the lead intact just before the halftime whistle when Brooklyn’s Juan Carlos Obregon guided a long-range free kick on target. Waite was up to the task, though, diving to his left to deftly deny the attempt on goal.
The Rowdies shut the door on the visitors in the second half, preventing them from recording another shot on goal or getting a single touch in the Rowdies penalty area. Tampa Bay now leads the league with 12 shutouts on the season, with Waite accounting for 10 of those clean sheets. Waite has now matched his career record for clean sheets in a single season.
“I think obviously Jahmali and the defenders will get the credit when we get clean sheets, but it’s down to what I said earlier about everybody being committed to the team’s goals and the team’s values,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “Everybody works for the team, with and without the ball. That’s the reason why we’ve been so hard to beat and so hard to score against.”
A second goal eluded the Rowdies until second-half added time. Captain Lewis Hilton was inches away from doubling the advantage with a right-footed rifle from inside the box in the 75th minute, but Lee managed to get just enough on the attempt to parry it out of danger.
Substitutes Pedro Dolabella and Evan Conway combined for Tampa Bay’s second of the night moments before the final whistle. Charging forward into Brooklyn’s defensive half, Conway slipped a pass into the right corner for Dolabella and continued his run into the final third. Dolabella responded in kind with a perfectly placed cross in front of Brooklyn’s goal for Conway to nod home for his third goal of the season.
“We needed a second goal to put the game to bed,” said Casciato. “I think Brooklyn are a good side. I think they play good football and they’re tough to play against. We were definitely uncomfortable while it was 1-0, so to go and get that second one was great. We talk a lot about the impact that guys coming off the bench can have for us. A great example of that was Pedro feeding Evan tonight. I know Evan’s been working really hard to get that goal, so I’m really pleased for him.”
Next up, the Rowdies hit the road again to face Hartford Athletic on Saturday, September 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
TBR – Perez (Ostrem), 24’
TBR – Conway (Dolabella), 90+2’
Caution Summary
TBR – Perez (Yellow Card), 40’
TBR – Bartlow (Yellow Card), 45+3’
BK – Servania (Yellow Card), 47’
BK – Pinto (Yellow Card), 55’
Stats Summary: TBR / BK
Shots: 15 / 4
Shots on Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 6 / 3
Fouls Conceded: 14 / 10
Offside: 2 / 0
Possession: 56.4 / 43.6
Lineups
TBR: Waite, Acoff (Wyke, 71’), Bartlow, Dossantos, Ostrem, Schneider, Hilton (Nigro, 88’), Perez (Dolabella, 60’), Cicerone, Micaletto (Conway, 71’), Myers (Henderlong, 88’)
TBR Bench: Pack, Antley, Nigro, Rodriguez, Wyke, Dolabella, Conway, Henderlong
BK: Lee, McLaughlin (da Silva, 78’), Vancaeyezeele, Latinovich, Alves, Okiyoshi, Pinto (Frogson, 63’), Stojanovic (Nishikawa, 82’), Servania (Klein, 78’), Olney Jr., Obregon (McNamara, 63’)
BK Bench: Burns, Frogson, Romeo, Nishikawa, Klein, McNamara, da Silva
