While Saturday’s road contest in Texas between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and San Antonio FC lacked goals, the point picked up in the scoreless stalemate was a meaningful one for the Rowdies.
With 52 points earned in the regular season, the Rowdies are guaranteed to finish in the top four of the Eastern Conference standings and have clinched home field advantage for the first match of the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs on Friday, October 30. Tickets for the postseason match at Al Lang Stadium will be available for sale online on Sunday, September 27 at 10 a.m. ET.
Saturday’s matchup at Toyota Field saw Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato return to the place where his tenure with the club began. Casciato’s first match in charge in July of last year was also on the road to San Antonio. At that time, the Rowdies were barely clinging to hopes of sneaking into the playoff picture. Today, they lead the way in the Eastern Conference and in the race for the USL Championship Players’ Shield.
“We’re delighted to clinch that first home playoff game,” said Casciato. “My first game was actually here last season, away at San Antonio when we were fighting for our lives just to get into the playoffs. To secure a home playoff game at this point with four matches left to play is great.”
The perfect pass or final touch to break through San Antonio’s defensive line eluded the Rowdies on Saturday night.
“I thought the guys worked hard,” said Casciato. “I thought they tried to stick to the game plan, but maybe we lacked a little bit of quality with the ball in key moments. For that reason, we probably didn’t do enough to win the game.”
The Rowdies may have missed out on finding the back of the net to take home three points, but goalkeeper Jahmali Waite more than carried his weight to ensure the Rowdies came away with at least a point. The Jamaican internation produced five saves to keep San Antonio off the scoresheet, four of which came in the second half.
San Antonio tested Waite twice in a three-minute stretch with a couple of threatening strikes as the final whistle neared. In the 87th minute, San Antonio’s Lillian Ricol redirected a pass from teammate Luis Paredes on frame, but Waite managed to parry it away with diving save. Three minutes later, Waite denied Ricol again, deftly trapping a shot from the left side of the box.
“Jahmali had a couple of huge saves there at the end. He’s a top goalkeeper and he proved that here tonight,” said Casciato.
Waite has accounted for 12 of Tampa Bay’s league-leading 14 shutouts this season. Another shutout for the Rowdies would match the club’s single-season record of 15 clean sheets from the 2021 season when the Rowdies claimed their first Players’ Shield.
At the end of Week 30 of the USL Championship season, the Rowdies remain the frontrunners for the top seed in the Eastern Conference and in the hunt for this year’s Players’ Shield. The Rowdies hold a six-point edge over the Charleston Battery in the conference standings, while El Paso Locomotive FC sits five points back of the Rowdies in the chase of the Players’ Shield.
Next up, the Rowdies return home to host Miami FC at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Caution Summary
TBR – Cruz (Yellow Card), 56
SA – Ward (Yellow Card), 83’
Stats Summary: TBR / SA
Shots: 4 / 16
Shots on Goal: 0 / 5
Saves: 5 / 0
Corner Kicks: 6 / 6
Fouls Conceded: 16 / 16
Offside: 1 / 2
Possession: 41.8 / 58.2
Lineups
TBR: Waite, Acoff, Bartlow, Dossantos, Ostrem, Schneider, Cruz (Dolabella, 62’), Conway (Micaletto, 72’), Cicerone (Perez, 62’), Dolabella (Hilton, 62’), Myers (Henderlong, 82’)
TBR Bench: Pack, Nigro, Wyke, Hilton, Micaletto, Perez, Henderlong
SA: Batrouni, Crognale, Suarez, Taintor, Ward, Maldonado, N. Hernandez (Paredes, 69’), Cuello, Parano (Pacheco, 82’), Berron, Sorto (Berron, 60’)
SA Bench: Namani, Barbir, Blanco, Berron, Sorto, Pacheco, Paredes
