The Tampa Bay Rowdies suffered their fifth loss of the regular season on Saturday night, falling 2-1 to in-state rivals Miami FC.
“Credit to Miami, they did well tonight, and they’ve been in good form,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “Every team right now that still has a chance to make the playoffs, I’m sure, are going to give it their best shot. We’re fighting for the Players’ Shield, so we should be doing that as well, and I don’t think we did a good enough job of that, especially in the first half.”
Miami opened the scoring early into the matchup. In the 5th minute, Miami Midfielder Denilson Milanés set up the go-ahead goal with a curling cross into the box for teammate Arney Rocha, who converted on the opportunity with a header into the bottom left corner.
The Rowdies nearly leveled things up only three minutes later with back-to-back scoring chances. A headed effort in front of goal by Rowdies Midfielder Marco Micaletto forced Miami Goalkeeper Felipe Rodriguez into a save off the line. Tampa Bay’s MD Myers was there to pounce on the ensuing rebound, firing a shot from a tight angle that clipped the woodwork to stay out of the net.
Charlie Ostrem eventually delivered an equalizer for the Rowdies in the second half. In the 54th minute, Micaletto sent a free kick from the right flank that dropped down in front of the goal. With Miami unable to clear the service, Rowdies Defender Nate Dossantos poked the ball toward the far post, where Ostrem was waiting to bury it for his first goal of the season.
Miami answered shortly with a second tally six minutes later. Rowdies Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite made initial stop to neutralize a Miami Counterattack, rushing off his line to cut off an oncoming Rocha in the box. However, Waite’s touch wasn’t enough to clear the ball from danger. Rodrigo Da Costa collected the loose ball at the edge of the box and drove toward goal before slipping a pass to Rocha, who gave it right back. Da Costa took the ball in stride, creating space to push it past Waite and then deposit a shot into the goal.
Substitue Gino Vivi aimed for another Rowdies equalizer in the 73rd minute when he guided a chip from near the top of the box over the defensive line that was swatted out of the air by Rodriguez at the last second.
“We just have to play a full 90 minutes,” said Casciato. “Even at the end when we’re down, sometimes we’re a little bit rushed, we’re a little bit hurried, and we don’t trust ourselves enough. So, in those moments, we’ve got to be a little bit better. And if we do that across the course of 90 minutes, we’ll win.”
Despite the loss, the Rowdies remain first in the Eastern Conference standings and in the race for the USL Championship Players’ Shield. The Charleston Battery were off from league action this weekend, so they did not gain any ground on the Rowdies in either race. El Paso Locomotive FC also failed to take advantage, falling on the road to Lexington SC to remain five points back of the Rowdies in the hunt for the Players’ Shield. Meanwhile, Detroit City FC moved into second in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC, pulling them to within five points of the Rowdies.
The Rowdies have three matches remaining in the regular season to clinch the Players’ Shield and home field advantage throughout the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs. Up next for the Green and Gold is a trip to the Circle City for a meeting with Indy Eleven on Saturday, October 10 at 7 p.m. ET.
“What we’re fighting for has got to mean more than that to the players,” said Casciato. “It’s got to mean more than that to all of us, and it does. I just don’t think we showed it tonight.
Scoring Summary
MIA – Rocha (Milesi), 5’
TBR – Ostrem (Dossantos), 54’
MIA – Da Costa (Rocha), 60’
Caution Summary
TBR – Schneider (Yellow Card), 54’
TBR – Ostrem (Yellow Card), 90+8’
Stats Summary: TBR / MIA
Shots: 16 / 10
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 7 / 7
Fouls Conceded: 15 / 13
Offside: 6 / 1
Possession: 59.6 / 40.4
Lineups
TBR: Waite, Wyke (Archer, 80’), Schaefer (Dolabella, 63’), Dossantos, Ostrem, Schneider, Hilton (Conway, 74’), Perez (Vivi, 63’), Micaletto (Cruz, 63’), Cicerone, Myers
TBR Bench: Pack, Archer, Rodriguez, Cruz, Dolabella, Conway, Henderlong, Vivi
MIA: F. Rodriguez, Ndiaye (Calfo, 82’), Rogers, Knutson, Milesi, Da Costa (Yacoubou, 72’), Tori (Musto, 58’), Romero (Levin, 83’), Tunbridge (Mello, 51’), Milanes, Rocha
MIA Bench: J. Rodriguez, Calfo, Medranda, Yacoubou, Levin, Musto, Mello
