News

The Basics
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (Third Round)
OKC Energy FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tuesday, May 28, 8:30 p.m. ET
John Crain Field, Norman, Oklahoma.
Follow us for limited live updates on Twitter @RowdiesGameday

How to Watch
The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ here.

About the Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has been played since 1914 and is the longest continuously-running soccer competition in the United States. It is a single-elimination tournament open to professional teams and qualifying amateur teams based in the United States. Major League Soccer teams enter the competition in the Fourth Round.

The Rowdies defeated The Villages SC (USL League Two) 4-1 in the Second Round on May 14 to reach this match. OKC Energy FC (USL Championship) advanced to tonight’s match with a 3-1 extra time victory over NTX Rayados (North Texas Premier Soccer League).

Fourth Round pairings will be announced Thursday.

Tuesday’s match must produce a winner, so if the score is tied after regulation, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety. If the score remains tied, a penalty kick shootout will decide the winner.

Records
Tampa Bay: 7-0-5 (W-L-T), 26 points, 1st place, Eastern Conference
OKC Energy FC: 5-4-3 (W-L-T), 18 points, 5th place, Western Conference

Rowdies Notes
The Tampa Bay Rowdies head to Oklahoma on a club record 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions. The Rowdies have won their last four matches overall by a combined score of 8-1 including a 1-0 victory over the Swope Park Rangers on Saturday night.

The Rowdies advanced to this match with a 4-1 home win over The Villages SC (USL League Two) in the Second Round on May 14. Mohamed Kone, Zach Steinberger, Brandon Allen and Leon Taylor all scored in that match, so they’re all in a four-way tie for the scoring lead in Open Cup play.

Tampa Bay is 7-8 all-time in Open Cup play after this year’s Second Round victory. The Rowdies are 3-7 away from home in Open Cup play all-time and have not won an away match in this competition since a 2-1 win at VSI Tampa Bay FC in 2013. Since then, the Rowdies have suffered road eliminations at the hands of the Portland Timbers (MLS), Orlando City SC (USL), Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL), Columbus Crew SC (MLS), Miami FC (NASL) and Jacksonville Armada FC (NPSL).

The Rowdies have only played one match in Oklahoma before, a 1-0 loss to Rayo OKC on July 27, 2016.

At least two Rowdies will be fresh for tonight’s match as midfielder Dom Oduro and defender Pape Diakite served one-game suspensions Saturday night. Both have been key contributors defensively this season.

Rowdies forward Malik Johnson made his Rowdies debut in  Saturday night’s win after recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in preseason. He played 11 minutes off the bench. Johnson, 21 years old, is the latest player aged 22 or younger to appear for the Rowdies this season. Caleb Richards (20), Juan Tejada (22) and Jordan Doherty (18) have all played significant minutes this season. Two teenaged Rowdies academy products, Robbie Soronellas and Jack Casey, appeared off the bench in the Second Round of the Open Cup.

Injury Report
OUT: F Jaime Siaj (quad strain)
OUT: D Shawn Barry (ribs)
OUT: M Yann Ekra (ankle)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 26, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies found a way to win without playing their best Saturday night, edging past the Swope Park Rangers 1-0 on a late Leo Fernandes goal. The win gave the Rowdies a little more breathing room at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Here’s Three Things from the match…

1. Overcoming absences
The Rowdies were without two of their biggest defensive performers Saturday night as center back Pape Diakite and defensive midfielder Dom Oduro both served one-game suspensions. Diakite had played every minute of USL action prior to Saturday night and Oduro had missed only 62 minutes, leaving two big holes for the Rowdies to fill in.

Mohamed Kone earned his third league start in Diakite’s spot and turned in a great performance. Kone recorded five tackles, one clearance and one interception while winning 70 percent of his duels.

18-year-old Jordan Doherty took Oduro’s spot in midfield for his fourth league start of the year. Doherty won 12 of 14 duels, made four tackles, two interceptions and one clearance.

Despite missing two regular defensive starters, the Rowdies allowed only six shots all night, none of which were on target. It was Tampa Bay’s eighth clean sheet in 12 Championship matches this season.

2. Swope sits deep
Swope Park deserves a lot of credit for its performance Saturday night. The Rangers were playing their third match in seven days against the fully-rested Rowdies. Swope Park sits in 17th place out of 18 in the Eastern Conference, so expectations would have been low for their ability to get a result at Al Lang.

The Rangers put in a good performance, sitting very deep against the Rowdies to try and keep the game 0-0 as long as possible. If they could manage a goal on a counter attack, great, but the primary mission was to avoid conceding for as long as possible.

Tampa Bay had two great scoring chances in the first 22 minutes but didn’t convert, allowing Swope Park to grow in confidence. Nearly the entire match was played in the Swope Park end, with six Rowdies average position across the halfway line, plus Jordan Doherty right on the line. Eight Rangers had an average position in their end, plus a ninth on the halfway line. It resulted in a lot of congestion that Tampa Bay struggled to break through at times. Swope Park racked up 25 clearances.

3. Time to change gears
Immediately at the final whistle of last night’s match, the Rowdies needed to start to switch their mindset toward Tuesday night’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tilt against OKC Energy FC in Norman, Oklahoma. The Rowdies will depart Monday and will not return home until after Saturday’s league match in Birmingham, meaning it will be a travel-intensive and long week for the squad.

OKC Energy sits in fifth place in the Western Conference at the moment with a record of 5-4-3, so Tuesday night’s match should be an exciting one. Kickoff is at 8:30 ET on ESPN+.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 25, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies left it late but picked up a fourth-consecutive win in all competitions, defeating Swope Park Rangers 1-0 at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.

Leo Fernandes scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute to move the Rowdies four points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a game in hand over second-place Nashville SC. The Rowdies are now riding a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved the victory,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “We found a way to win and please let’s never get complacent. Swope Park are a very organized, very well-coached side. If you look across the league, the games are tight. One thing you’ve got to give (the Rowdies) credit for, they came back from a really big game last week and they trained this week like they were contenders, they didn’t train like they were the top of the league. They trained like they were trying to get there and we need to keep doing that. We’ll play better in the future, but we got three points and kept a clean sheet.”

The Rowdies (7-0-5, 26 points) controlled the match from the very start with Sebastian Guenzatti nearly scoring the game opener just eight minutes into the game if not for an incredible save from Swope Park (1-6-4, 7 points) goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas.

Tampa Bay nearly scored again in the 22nd minute when Fernandes beat Zendejas with a shot across the face of goal, but it hit the post and bounced out of play.

Once the Rangers weathered the early storm, things started to even out. Swope Park strung together a handful of good counter attacks but didn’t manage to get any of its six shots on target. Rowdies goalkeeper John McCarthy kept his eighth clean sheet in twelve matches without being asked to make a single save.

As the match went on, Swope Park sat deeper and deeper, trying to eke out an unlikely result.

The tide turned in the Rowdies favor in the 80th minute when Fernandes cut into the box and Rangers defender Mark Segbers got a little too aggressive, sticking a leg out to win the ball from an angle behind Fernandes. Referee Thomas Snyder pointed to the penalty spot and Fernandes beat Zendejas to put Tampa Bay ahead.

“Our penalty kick taker is Sebastian (Guenzatti) and he wasn’t on the field so I stepped up and buried it,” Fernandes said. “To grind this one out and win 1-0 just shows how good of a team we are that we can get wins like this. We’re getting better each and every game.”

The Rowdies now have a short turnaround as they head to Oklahoma City for a Third Round match against OKC Energy FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night. Tampa Bay will then visit Birmingham Legion FC on June 1 before returning home to host North Carolina FC on June 8. For tickets, click here.

Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Leo Fernandes – 82nd minute (penalty kick)

Caution Summary
Swope Park: Wilson Harris – 78th minute
Tampa Bay: Antoine Hoppenot -81st minute
Swope Park: Alexsander Andrade – 81st minute
Swope Park: Rassambek Akhmatov – 83rd minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK John McCarthy; D Mohamed Kone, Tarek Morad, Caleb Richards; M David Najem (Antoine Hoppenot 61′), Kwadwo Poku (Zach Steinberger 70′), Andrew Tinari, Jordan Doherty, Leo Fernandes; F Sebastian Guenzatti (c) (Malik Johnson 79′), Juan Tejada

Swope Park XI (4-3-3): GK Adrian Zendejas (c); D Mark Segbers, Kaveh Rad, Mohammad Abualnadi, Alexsander de Oliveira Andrade; M Camden Riley, Rassambek Akhmatov, Felipe Hernandez; F Will Little (Jerome Ndem Mbekeli 69′), Wilson Harris (Ethan Vanacore-Decker 82′), Sean Karani (Killian Colombie 63′)

The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Swope Park Rangers
Saturday, May 25, 7:30 p.m. ET
Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday

Tickets
Tickets for Saturday’s match are available by calling (727) 222-2000 or clicking here. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., 60 minutes before kickoff.

Soccer Ball Giveaway
All fans 14 and under will receive a mini Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer ball while supplies last.

How to Watch
The match will be broadcast online on ESPN+ here. International viewers can watch online here.

Records
Tampa Bay: 6-0-5 (W-L-T), 1st place; 3-0-3 at home 
Swope Park: 1-5-4 (W-L-T), 17th place; 0-3-1 on road

Rowdies Notes
The Tampa Bay Rowdies head into Saturday night’s match in first place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference and combined table with 23 points from 11 matches. The Rowdies beat New York Red Bulls II 2-0 last weekend in a battle between the teams in first and second place at kickoff.

Juan Tejada scored both of the goals in the match, his third and fourth goals of the season. He is now one goal short of Sebastian Guenzatti for the team lead in goals. He earned a spot on the USL Championship Team of the Week’s bench, falling just short of an actual appearance in the Team of the Week.

Andrew Tinari did earn a spot in the Team of the Week after notching an assist on Tejada’s first goal. Tinari has two goals and three assists in nine appearances this season.

Tampa Bay will be without two key players this weekend due to suspension in Dom Oduro and Pape Diakite. Oduro was shown a red card in the second half of last week’s match. Diakite was shown a yellow card in stoppage time that was later changed retroactively to a red card by the Independent Discipline Panel. Both suspensions are for this match only. Both players have appeared in every league match this season. Diakite has played all 990 available minutes and Oduro has played 928.

The Rowdies are riding a Modern Era club record 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions and remain the only unbeaten club in the entire USL Championship. North Texas SC of USL League One is the only other unbeaten team in the top three divisions, though it has only played seven matches.

Tampa Bay’s strength this season has been in defense. Goalkeeper John McCarthy has kept seven clean sheets in 11 matches and the Rowdies have conceded a league-low four goals. Tampa Bay has kept three consecutive clean sheets in league play against the teams currently sitting in second, third and fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Of the four goals conceded by Tampa Bay this year, only one has come after halftime, Louisville’s 88th minute equalizer on April 13.

Suspension Report
Dominic Oduro (red card)
Pape Diakite (retroactive red card)

Injury Report
OUT: F Jaime Siaj (quad strain)
OUT: D Shawn Barry (ribs)
OUT: M Yann Ekra (ankle)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 22, 2019) — After spending his whole life in the New York City area, Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Andrew Tinari is adjusting well to life on the beach.

Tinari was born on Long Island, attended Columbia University in Manhattan and played his first two professional seasons in the Newark area with New York Red Bulls II. Tinari is far from the first New Yorker to move to Florida and he won’t be the last, but it was still an adventurous decision for the 23-year old.

A few months into the season, Tinari couldn’t be happier.

In his free time, Tinari has taken a liking to Fort DeSoto beach and the Level 11 rooftop lounge on St. Pete Beach.

While he is now far away from New York City, he still gets a taste of home in the apartment he shares with teammates David Najem and Brandon Allen. Both Najem and Allen are New Jersey natives that also previously played for the Red Bulls before joining the Rowdies.

“The transition has been pretty seamless for me with those guys around, some familiar faces,” Tinari said. “They’re good guys. It’s a funny house and we always have people coming over. We have fun. I think I’m pretty independent as a person so it’s not too bad. Obviously I miss being back in the city with my friends sometimes, but I get to see my family a decent amount. They’ve come down a couple times now so it’s not too bad.”

On the field, things are going pretty well for Tinari. In nine appearances this season, he’s tallied two goals and three assists. He earned a spot in the USL Championship Team of the Week for this first time this past week.

With Tinari playing a crucial role in the center of midfield, the Rowdies sit atop the Eastern Conference as the last unbeaten team remaining in the league.

“The team’s success is speaking for itself,” he said. “I’m trying to do as much as I can to have a big impact every game and have a good attitude towards it all. There’s still more things to work on but we’ve been doing well so far. We’re top of the table so I can’t complain. Now it’s just about keeping the positive energy and winning mentality going forward.”

Next week, Tinari could get his first-ever minutes in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Red Bulls II are not eligible for the tournament and he was on the bench but did not appear against The Villages SC last week.

Whether in the Open Cup or league play, Tinari says the Rowdies just need to keep their positive momentum for as long as possible.   

“I think we just need to continue to win,” he said. “Find ways to win however you can and keep this run going as long as we can. We want to have clean sheets week in and week out and we’ve done a pretty good job with that so far.”

Tinari and the Rowdies will be back in action Saturday night against the Swope Park Rangers before departing for their Open Cup match in Oklahoma on Tuesday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 22, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies will be without midfielder Dom Oduro and defender Pape Diakite for Saturday night’s contest against the Swope Park Rangers as they serve one-game suspensions.

Oduro was shown a yellow card in Saturday night’s win over New York Red Bulls II but before play restarted, Oduro’s card was changed to a red and the Rowdies played the remainder of the match down to 10 men.

Diakite was shown a yellow card in stoppage time of Saturday’s win, but upon further review, the Independent Discipline Panel has changed that yellow card to a red card.

Both players will serve their suspensions Saturday night. They will be eligible to play in the Rowdies’ Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round match on the road against OKC Energy FC on Tuesday night and then in the Rowdies return to league play next weekend in Birmingham.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 21, 2019) — Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Andrew Tinari was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week on Tuesday for his performance in Saturday night’s match against New York Red Bulls II. 

Tinari earned an assist on the Rowdies first goal, finding Juan Tejada with a corner kick. He also logged five key passes. This is his first Team of the Week nod this season.

The full Team of the Week is below:
GK – Mason Stajduhar, Tulsa Roughnecks FC: Stajduhar recorded seven saves to earn the Roughnecks a 1-1 draw on the road against San Antonio FC.

D – Matt Bahner, Saint Louis FC: Bahner made a crucial goal-line clearance to preserve a scoreless draw on the road in Louisville and recorded four recoveries and four clearances defensively.

D – Ayoze, Indy Eleven: Ayoze provided the assist on Indy’s game-winning goal to cap a stellar all-around display that saw him complete 57 of 69 passes and win 10 of 14 duels defensively.

D – Amobi Okugo, Austin Bold FC: Okugo won all 10 of his duels, recorded 11 recoveries and seven clearances and completed 28 of 35 passes in Austin’s road draw against Orange County.

M – Andrew Tinari, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Tinari recorded one assist and had a team-high five key passes as the Rowdies defeated the Red Bulls II 2-0 at Al Lang Stadium.

M – Seth Casiple, Reno 1868 FC: Casiple provided the assist on Reno’s late equalizer in Tacoma and recorded eight key passes and eight recoveries over the contest while completing 58 of 72 passes.

M – Christiano Francois, Ottawa Fury FC: Francois recorded a goal and two assists as Fury FC swept to an emphatic 3-0 victory on the road against Bethlehem Steel FC.

M – Solomon Asante, Phoenix Rising FC: Asante had a goal and assist in his return to the starting lineup as Rising FC cruised to a 4-0 win against Las Vegas Lights FC.

F – Jerome Kiesewetter, El Paso Locomotive FC: Kiesewetter scored twice to lead El Paso to a 3-1 victory against Sacramento Republic FC, which moved the expansion side into the playoff positions.

F – Kevaughn Frater, New Mexico United: Frater scored his second hat trick of the regular season to lead New Mexico to a 3-1 victory on the road against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

F – Jose Angulo, Hartford Athletic: Angulo scored a pair of goals to lead the Athletic to their first victory in the league, and individually reached 50 regular-season tallies in his Championship career.

Bench: Trey Muse (TAC), Jerry van Ewijk (OC), Tyler Pasher (IND), Maalique Foster (RGV), Kevon Lambert (PHX), Laurence Wyke (ATL), Juan Tejada (TBR)