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The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ unbeaten run ended at 12 matches on Sunday night, as the club fell 2-0 on the road to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. It is the first time the Rowdies have dropped a match since July 31.

As bitter a pill to swallow the Pittsburgh loss, Sunday was not all bad news for the Rowdies. With Miami FC losing out to Loudoun United FC 3-2, the Rowdies were able to clinch the Atlantic Division crown before they even kicked off against Pittsburgh. The Rowdies put themselves in the position to clinch so early with their remarkable 12-match unbeaten run, in which they won  9 straight matches.

“You’ve got to give the boys a huge amount of credit for putting us in the position to have clinched the Atlantic,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “It’s a very, very tough division. To do that is a real achievement for the players, and that’s not to be sniffed at. But we’re quite quickly on to the next game, the next three points and seeing if that can get us the top seed in the east. Let’s just focus on winning the next game. The players have done a great job of that this year. You get used to picking up those victories. This is just a little reminder of what we need to do well.”

Collins made a few changes to the Rowdies starting lineup in Pittsburgh as the Rowdies entered the match having just played on Thursday. Zach Steinberger and Steevan Dos Santos both came in to start up top alongside Juan Tejada, while the club’s leading scorer Sebastian Guenzatti started the night on the bench.

After surviving some early pressure from the hosts, the Rowdies came inches away from jumping ahead. In the 25th minute, Lewis Hilton launched a long range free kick to the left edge of the box for Forrest Lasso, who headed it toward the near post where Dos Santos was waiting head it toward goal. Dos Santos’ header clipped the underside of the crossbar and bounced down very close to, if not fully across the line. The Rowdies protested but no goal was called by the center referee or his assistant.

“The header could have been a goal,” said Collins. “Honestly, I’ve not had a chance to watch the replay and I’ve not had a chance to ask the players. It’s certainly the type of break that you need to come into a place like this. If we get that goal to go ahead it would have been great.”

Just as it looked as if the Rowdies and Pittsburgh were set to head into the break scoreless, a slip up in the back gave the hosts a go-ahead goal. Defender Jordan Scarlett could not get a clean clearance on a cross sent in from the left by Preston Kilwien, allowing Tommy William to collect the ball with space in front of goal and bury it

The Rowdies had a chance to pull level in the 56th minute after Dos Santos was taken out by Danny Vitiello in the box. Leo Fernandes stepped to the spot but had his attempt blocked by Vitiello. A rebound attempt from Tejada was then sent over the goal.

“I actually thought (the missed penalty) might have galvanized us,” said Collins. “The boys have done so well with adversity, but it was maybe a bridge too far. We weren’t at our best and I thought if we had scored that we would have had a real good chance at going on and winning the game with the momentum. I thought there were a lot of pivotal moments. The first goal we lost certainly was out of nothing and then obviously gave them a leg up when we were looking at going in at halftime nil-nil. These things happen. We’ve had breaks for and against us. We didn’t get them tonight, but we maybe didn’t do enough to swing them our way either.”

Pittsburgh was more ruthless when they earned their own penalty in the 76th minute as Hugh Dixon was tripped up by Forrest Lasso just inside the box. Russel Cicerone then stepped to the spot and converted to put the match out of the Rowdies reach.

Collins didn’t see the fact that the Rowdies were coming in on short rest as a huge factor in the loss to Pittsburgh, who had a full week to prepare and knew they could secure their postseason spot with a win.

“I think you have to take into account you’re playing against a highly motivated Pittsburgh team coming off a disappointing loss and having a week to prepare,” said Collins. “I just don’t think it was the tiredness tonight. Maybe mentally tired rather than physically tired. I just don’t think we had enough guys doing the things that they’ve done really well. Is that down to short rest? I don’t think that it really is. We just had too many off nights.”

The Rowdies will look to rebound back home at Al Lang Stadium this Friday against New York Red Bulls II. Tickets for the match can be purchased here.

Scoring Summary
PIT – Tommy Williamson 42’
PIT – Russell Cicerone (Penalty Kick) 74’

Lineups
Rowdies: Louro; Scarlett, Lasso, Guillen; Antley, Hilton, Steinberger, Ekra, Fernandes; Dos Santos, Tejada

Pittsburgh: Vitiello; Wiedt, Williams, Peters, Kilwien; Dixon, Wharton, Girffin, Cicerone, Forbes; Williamson

Gameday Info
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Sunday, October 10, 6:00pm ET
Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

Watch: The match can be viewed on ESPN+ here. 

Follow Along: Live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday

The Tampa Bay Rowdies will close out the week with their fourth and final regular season meeting with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC this Sunday at Pittsburgh’s Highmark Stadium. In their last trip to Pittsburgh back in August, the Rowdies picked up a point in a scoreless draw.

On this trip, the Rowdies will be aiming to take all 3 points off Pittsburgh in order to lock up the Atlantic Division crown. History says that will be a tough task for the Rowdies, as they have never recorded a win any of their six trips to Pittsburgh. Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins has been in charge for the club’s last three of those away days in Pittsburgh, posting a draw each time out.

“Pittsburgh’s a really unique game,” said Collins. “There’s two way of looking at our record in Pittsburgh; we’ve not won there, but we’ve tied the last three. A point in Pittsburgh’s always a good result. Pittsburgh are a fantastic team, well organized, but they prey on teams that make mistakes and become too expansive. Playing (at Al Lang) versus there is a totally different kettle of fish. I think we’re in good form and we’re playing a lot of good football, but we obviously need to make adjustments and be ready for Pittsburgh and the environment we’re going into… We’ve certainly lacked a bit of quality tlast time there. If we take the quality that we’ve had since then, I think that will give us a better opportunity of scoring.”

It is also possible for the Rowdies to secure the top spot in the Atlantic regardless of how things go Pittsburgh. If Miami FC loses to Loudoun United FC on Sunday, then the Rowdies clinch the division. A Miami draw and a Rowdies draw would also get the job done. Miami kicks off against Loudoun at 1pm ET on Sunday.

“The top of the Atlantic would be a fantastic achievement because it’s been such a strong division,” said Collins. “It’s been nip-tuck all the way and that would be nice for the players I think to win the Atlantic Division against top opposition. It’s not necessarily our next objective because our next objective is to perform well on Sunday. If we do that we give ourselves a good chance at achieving that goal.”

No Time to Rest

The Rowdies enter this Sunday having just played a heated match against the Charleston Battery on Thursday. Emotions ran high in that one, as the visiting Battery battled to stay alive in the postseason hunt. The Rowdies ended the night with the win, but they must dig deep to bring the same intensity to get a good result in a tough environment this weekend.

“Every team in the league has had those short turnarounds, so I think it’s hard to complain.,” said Collins. We’ve been beneficiaries maybe at some point. I don’t think it’s ideal going on a Thursday and then a Sunday, especially when you’ve got quite a long season to get those games in, but it’s a great challenge again for our players, to go to one of the toughest places in the league on short rest with them coming off a week to prepare. I think our boys thrive on those challenges. They’ll need to be up for those challenges, but the good thing is at this stage of the season we know what we’re about.”

Tampa Bay would also love to nab their first ever win in Pittsburgh, especially considering Pittsburgh came to Al Lang and left with a win back in June.

“They’re a tough team,” said Rowdies midfielder Leo Fernandes. “They came (to Al Lang) and beat us earlier so we definitely want to get some revenge. Playing over there’s not an easy place to play, but the boys are ready. We’ll come in and get the legs ready and we’ll be up for the challenge.”

Louro’s Value

It can be easy to devalue what keeper Evan Louro means to the Rowdies when the back three in front of him get so much well-deserved praise for limiting the opposition to getting an chances on Tampa Bay’s net. However, Collins and the rest of the Rowdies don’t for a second question what Louro brings to the squad. Despite the fact that Tampa Bay conceded two goals to Charleston on Thursday (one an unfortunate own goal), Louro arguably had his best match of the year with several incredible and vital saves to keep Charleston from scoring even more. Even with the recent concessions, On top  of his league-leading 13 clean sheets, Louro also still leads the USL Golden Glove race with a 0.7 goals against average.

No Stopping Seba

After slacking off last week with just one goal, Sebastian Guenzatti got back to scoring braces on Thursday, putting two goals past Charleston. It was his fourth brace over the last five matches. Altogether, Guenzatti has scored 9 times in the last five matches.

At 19 goals this year, Guenzatti has matched the Rowdies single-season scoring record, which he set himeslf back in 2019. He also sits at 55 total goals for the Rowdies, putting him 5 back of Georgi Hristov’s all-time scoring record of 60 goals.

“It’s no different than the team he’s playing on,” said Collins. “I don’t know if you’ve every seen a run like this from the team before. He’s just playing so well. He just signifies, as we say so often, all the character traits that we want. He’s had a couple disappointments. I’d be so surprised if he doesn’t win USL Player of the Month… The goals are obviously fantastic. That’s what he makes his living on, but I actually think his all-around performances have been really good. He’s a great captain. He’s a great player, and it’s great to work with him.” 

Injury report:
OUT: Luiz Fernando

ST PETERSBURG, Fla (October 7, 2021) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies pulled within one win of clinching the Atlantic Division on Thursday night with a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Charleston Battery. The win is Tampa Bay’s 9th straight and also guaranteed them a home playoff game in the first round of the postseason.

“Charleston made it difficult,’ said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “Charleston had moments. They looked like they could have scored. Credit to the boys. Some of the football they played tonight was really enjoyable. Anyone that was in that stand tonight would have felt they got some entertainment.”

Charleston earned the first chance on goal of the night in the 12th minute when Zeiko Lewis targeted the goal with a free kick from 20 yards out. Rowdies keeper Evan Louro, though, stretched all the way out to his right to push the strike out for a corner.

The Rowdies then threatened for the first time 10 minutes later. Leo Fernandes lifted a cross from the left into the box for Sebastian Guenzatti, who headed the service toward the ground and onto the frame only to see keeper Joe Kuzminsky thwart the attempt with a fine save. Guenzatti would not be denied on his next header in the 27th minute, though. This time it was Connery Antley out on the right offering the setup for Guenzatti to head back across goal and past Kuzminsky.

Guenzatti did not wait long to bag another, scoring again in the 34th minute. Driving forward into Charleston’s defensive third, Fernandes threaded a ball for Guenzatti into the box and the Rowdies captain hit a low strike that rolled past Kuzminsky before glancing off the far post into the back of the net.

It’s the fourth brace in a match for Guenzatti this year, as well as his fifth straight match with a goal. At 19 goals on the year, he has matched his own club single-season scoring record of 19 goals, which he set in 2019.

“The goals are fantastic,’ said Collins. “That’s what (Guezatti) makes his living on, but I actually think his all-around performances have been really good. He’s a great captain. He’s a great player, and it’s great to work with him.”

An unfortunate miscue by the Rowdies defense opened the door for Charleston in the 36th minute. Defender Jordan Scarlett and Louro were not on the same page as the center back played a pass back for the keeper that ended up slipping by him and into the net.

Charleston had a promising look at equaling the match 10 minutes into the second half when Claudio Repetto fired a shot from the top of the box straight toward the to right corner. However, Louro was up to the task and dove to punch the ball out for a corner. The visitors managed to guide the ball on goal off the ensuing corner, but midfielder Sebastian Dalgaard was in position to clear the ball off the line.

One minute after Charleston’s back-to-back chances, the Rowdies extended the lead to two again as Antley picked Fernandes out with a cross for the attacker to blast past Kuzminsky with his first touch from just inside the box.

The hosts were able to pull one back deep into second half stoppage time as substitute Joel Bunting finished off a counter attack opportunity. However, the Rowdies immediately responded on the restart by launching a counter attack of their own that ended with substitute Zach Steinberger feeding a pass to another substitute Steevan Dos Santo inside the box. With no defender to close him down, Dos Santos was able to notch one more tally for the Rowdies.

With the win, the only team that still has a chance at catching the Rowdies for the top spot in the Atlantic Division is Miami FC. The Rowdies are now out of reach for third-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, who the Rowdies face on the road this Sunday.

“The top of the Atlantic would be a fantastic achievement because it’s been such a strong division,” said Collins. “It’s been nip-tuck all the way and that would be nice for the players I think to win the Atlantic Division against top opposition. It’s not necessarily our next objective because our next objective is to perform well on Sunday. If we do that we give ourselves a good chance at achieving that goal.”

Scoring Summary
TBR – Sebastian Guenzatti (Conner Antley) 27’
TBR – Sebastian Guenzatti (Leo Fernandes) 34’
CHS – Jordan Scarlett (Own Goal) 36’
TBR – Leo Fernandes (Conner Antley) 57’
CHS – Joel Bunting (Claudio Repetto) 90+3’
TBR – Steevan Dos Santos (Zach Steinberger) 90+4’

Lineups
Rowdies: Louro; Scarlett, Lasso, Guillen; Antley, Hilton, Fernandes, Wyke, Dalgaard; Tejada, Guenzatti

Charleston: Kuzminsky; Di Rosa, Hogan, van Schaik, Paterson; Penn, Fahling, Kelly, Zarokostas; Lewis, Repetto

Gameday Info
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Charleston Battery
Thursday, October 7, 8:00pm ET

Tickets: Fans can purchase tickets for the match here.

Gameday Specials: Enjoy the pre-game happy hour with $5 Big Storm Brewing draft beers from 7:00pm to kickoff at 8:00pm.

Pre-game show: Catch the pre-game show hosted the Unused Substitutes podcast the final half hour before kickoff, live on the Rowdies Gaming Twitch channel here.

Watch: The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN Deportes

Follow Along: Live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday 

It’s déjà vu for the Tampa Bay Rowdies (19W-6L-1D, 58 pts) this Thursday at Al Lang Stadium as they ready to face the Charleston Battery (8W-10L-7D, 31 pts) for the second time in five days. Tampa Bay just earned a 2-1 win at Charleston this past Saturday, their third straight road win and 8th straight victory overall. 

It’s not often that a team finds itself matching up with the same team in back-to-back matches. The season series has gone well so far for the Rowdies, who have all three of the matchups this year, but facing off in such short proximity makes this four meeting a tricky scenario to go for another 3 points. Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins anticipates Charleston throwing a few new looks at his squad on Thursday, but his focus remains on Tampa Bay’s side of things.

“Charleston made a couple of changes during the second half (on Saturday),” said Collins. “They had some good players come in; Zeiko Lewis, Josh Penn, Logan Gdula. So I expect them to make changes, get some of these guys into the lineup. It’s really difficult to second guess Mike (Anhaeuser) on this game because he’ll have his own take on the last game and how things went. More than any other game, we’ve got to focus on our own selection and our own tactics and just be prepared for what Charleston might throw at us. That’s what makes it really difficult in this situation. I’m sure they’ll have a couple of things that they’ll want to try.”

Clinching Scenarios

The Rowdies took an important step in their quest to win the league title this past Saturday by clinching their postseason spot. With that bit of business out of the way, the remaining goals for the Rowdies at the Atlantic Division crown and the top overall seed, which would guarantee home field advantage throughout the postseason. 

Heading into this week’s match with Charleston, the clinching scenarios for Tampa Bay are: 6 points to clinch the Atlantic Division title, 10 points to clinch top seed in the Eastern Conference, 18 points to clinch the top overall seed in the USL Conference.

October Grind

If the Rowdies are going to claim home field advantage throughout the postseason, it is going to take all hands on deck in the final month of the season. They have managed to string together an incredible string of results to go unbeaten in their last 10 over the past two months, but the rest of October will be a sprint to the postseason as they face 6 matches in 23 days starting this Thursday when they host Charleston and then fly to battle Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sunday.

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had a lot of the same starting XI over the last few weeks.,” said Collins. “We’ve had a lot of Saturday games, so I’ve not felt the need to tinker or change things too much. But now I need to look at making sure we’ve got as many guys in some sort of rhythm and some sort of match minutes without disturbing the guys that are in full form. I think it’s up to me, how can I introduce some of the other guys and help them to contribute and just get as many guys ready to contribute by the end of the season. There’s definitely guys there that are pushing and ready to go. It’s just a matter of when’s the right time.”

With players such as Sebastian Guenzatti, Steevan Dos Santos and others carrying much of the workload over the last two months, Collins expects to be rotating his squad more as the postseason approaches.

“As I tell the players, all these guys are here for a reason. They’re all here because they bring something different or unique that the other players don’t have. I’ve just got to remind them that some of the time spent on the side recently is down to the great form of the team and not due to their bad form…Someone like Juan, I can’t actually wait to see him on the field. Lucky as well has been looking really exciting in training, amongst many others. It’s gonna be good to give these guys more opportunity. Then it’s up to them as well to make the most of that opportunity and show that they should maybe be getting more minutes.”

Reassessing the Summer Lull

Now unbeaten in their last 10 and sitting with a postseason berth in hand, it’s easy to forget questions were being raised about Tampa Bay’s championship chances in July when the team lost three straight matches in the span of 10 days.

It may seem easy to say now considering where his team sits in the standings, but Collins never wavered in his faith in this Rowdies squad.

“I feel in that period we had to work so hard as a staff to get the team ready because we were missing guys,” Collins said of the summer lull. “It was a test, it was a challenge. But I just felt we were going to be okay. We’d set such high standards following on from last season that because we slipped with a couple of results, obviously questions are asked in terms of what’s gone wrong, but I just felt once we got EYann kra back, we got Laurnce Wyke back, Dos Santos back, Tejada back, Lucky back, I just thought we’d be able to start converting these results and great performances… It was a good learning experience for me. But the players are huge because we’ve got guys like Forrest Lasso, Sebastian Guenzatti, LuckyMkosana — positive people. If the dressing room is different we might have had more challenges, but I’ve got a group of guys that are totally bought into being successful. That makes it easier for me.”

You have to be in it to win it and we now know for sure that the Tampa Bay Rowdies will be in the 2021 USL Championship postseason.

This year’s Rowdies team was able to lock up their spot in record time, ensuring that the Rowdies will be playing postseason soccer for the third straight year.

“I think it’s a credit to the boys that we’ve managed to do it in record time, which is really impressive considering the conference that we’re in and how difficult it’s been,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “But I’ll tell you someone who won’t be celebrating and that’s the players. Their eyes are on further things down the road. I’m glad I’ve got a group like that. They only see the playoffs as a step along the road to where we want to be.”

Tampa Bay stands on solid footing as the postseason nears, but it will by no means be easy the rest of the way. For months, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has been the most persistent rival for the Rowdies when it comes to the Atlantic Division crown. However, Miami FC emerged as a new competitor with a last-minute win over Pittsburgh at home on Saturday night. Miami and Pittsburgh sit 10 points back of the Rowdies, who can set a new club record for most points in a season with just one more point in their final 6 matches.

In order to clinch the division title and put Pittsburgh and Miami out of reach, the Rowdies need to pick up 6 more points. Meanwhile in the Western Conference, Phoenix Rising FC’s 59-point total is still the best across the league. The Rowdies are just one point behind Phoenix, but have a crucial game in hand that might come in handy in the race for the top overall seed in the postseason. 

Seba’s Resilience from the Spot

Sebastian Guenzatti was unable to continue his streak of braces this week, but the Rowdies captain still came through with a game-winner from the penalty spot. The tally was Guenzatti’s 17th on the year, placing him second in the hunt for the league’s Golden Boot. 

Seven of those goals have all come in the last four matches. As hot as Guenzatti has been in recent weeks, though, the attacker had a bit of a hurdle to get over when he stepped to the spot in Charleston on Saturday. Guenzatti’s last two penalties were denied. Complicating the situation was the fact that Charleston’s keeper Joe Kusminsky had already faced a penalty from Guenzatti in July, which could have given him a beat on where Guenzatti was going to place the ball.

Even with the recent failed attempts, there was no way Guenzatti was not going to be the one to take Saturday’s penalty, according to Collins.

“It’s a sign of his character, his mentality, also his technique to be able to just calmly slot that one home against a goalkeeper he’s already scored a penalty against this year, which can be difficult because you start second guessing each other,” said Collins. “It’s fantastic for Seba. It wasn’t a brace, but it was a goal and I’m sure he’ll be pleased it was a penalty to just get that out of the way. But as I saw, Seba leads from the front all the time. The fact that he took the penalty says a lot about his character because it would have been easy to pass it on.”

Weathering the Chaos

The Rowdies found themselves in a rough spot ten minutes into Saturday’s match at the Charleston Battery. With the hosts grabbing an early lead through a penalty and two of Tampa Bay’s three center backs picking up yellow cards within the first 12 minutes, the night could have ended badly. 

Instead, the Rowdies settled in and gained a foothold over the hosts for the rest of the half and were able to see out the rest of the match fairly comfortably.

“I thought in that moment I thought we looked a little bit emotional for a couple of minutes, understandably so,” said Collins. “But the reaction was fantastic and I thought it spurred us on to play some of the best football for the next 30 minutes that we’ve seen all season.”

The Rowdies took just seven shots in the match, but it was all they needed thanks to another sturdy defensive showing from the entire squad. The back three of Forrest Lasso, Aaron Guillen and Jordan Scarlett all combined for 19 clearances in the match. Apart from the penalty, Charleston’s only efforts on target were aimless attempts from distance, which were both easily handled by Evan Louro.

“If you don’t win those first headers and clearances, all manner of trouble happens,” said Collins. “If your goalkeeper doesn’t come to command his box the way Evan does, all manner of trouble happens. It’s not really a tactical thing. Yes, we’ve got tactical organization, but it’s about dealing with long balls, crosses, free kicks, set pieces. All the players did a great job of that. That’s what managed to keep Charleston at bay. Don’t underestimate winning those headers.”

The October Gauntlet

If Charleston was desperate to win on Saturday, they will be even more desperate to claim a win when they come to Al Lang Stadium this Thursday now that their playoff hopes are dwindling further away. Along with a motivated Charleston, the Rowdies face a tough week ahead just based on scheduling. After Thursday’s battle with Charleston, the Rowdies will travel to face Pittsburgh on Sunday. At that point, Pittsburgh could be ready to go all out in order to keep their chances at winning the division alive.

The entire month will be grueling for the Rowdies, who have six more matches to play. Collins has been consistent with his starting lineup and bench during the team’s unbeaten run, but expect to see some shake ups in the next few matches as he looks to balance the fitness of the squad.

“We’ve been really fortunate to run the same team out over and over because they’ve been doing so well,” he said. “I’ve not felt the need to make too many tactical changes, but I think over the next two games we certainly will. I think we’ll see some guys get those opportunities because we have to be fair to those guys that have waited so patiently, but also be fair to those guys that have played a lot. We want them fit and ready heading into the playoffs. We’ll need to use our squad wisely over the next two games.”

For the third straight season, the Tampa Bay Rowdies are bound for the USL Championship postseason. The Rowdies locked up this year’s spot on Saturday night, erasing an early deficit to win 2-1 over the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium.

With six matches still left to play in the regular season, this marks the earliest point at which the Rowdies have secured a postseason spot. Now at 58 points, the Rowdies have also matched the club’s record for most points in a season, which was set by the 2019 Rowdies squad.

“We don’t take it for granted, but it’s a small step,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “I think it’s a credit to the boys that we’ve managed to do it in record time, which is really impressive considering the conference that we’re in and how difficult its been. But I’ll tell you someone who won’t be celebrating and that’s the players. Their eyes are on further things down the road. I’m glad I’ve got a group like that. They only see the playoffs as a step along the road to where we want to be.”

The Rowdies needed just a point against Charleston to secure their postseason berth, but the club managed to come away with all 3 points and extend their lead atop the Atlantic Division standings as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC dropped points for the second straight week in a 3-2 loss to Miami FC.

It did not appear as if it would be the Rowdies’ night early on in Charleston. In the 10th minute, the hosts grabbed a go-ahead goal after Rowdies defender Jordan Scarlett was harshly judged for a handball in the box. A shot from distance clipped Scarlett’s leg and then redirected into the air and grazed his hand, and that was enough for the referee to give Scarlett a yellow card and award Charleston a penalty which they took advantage of.

The match threatened to slip away from the Rowdies as they got into a few scuffles with the visitors and verbal arguments with the referee. Forrest Lasso was shown a yellow card in the 12th minute, putting two of Tampa Bay’s center backs on a yellow card. However, the Rowdies kept their cool and worked their way back into the match.

“I thought in that moment I thought we looked a little bit emotional for a couple of minutes, understandably so,” said Collins. “But the reaction was fantastic and I thought it spurred us on to play some of the best football for the next 30 minutes that we’ve seen all season. We really could have had other opportunities. That was an excellent first half performance and to come in ahead after having that setback was very good.”

The Rowdies were rewarded for their perseverance in the 21st minute. Taking possession in Charleston’s half, midfielder Laurence Wyke charged forward before slipping a pass to Guenzatti on the left edge of the box. Wyke continued his run, finding a window of space in front of goal for Guenzatti to feed him a cross which Wyke buried for his first tally of the year.

Only four minutes later, Guenzatti put the Rowdies ahead with his 17th goal of the season. Guenzatti did so from the penalty spot, converting after his partner up top Steevan Dos Santos was tripped from behind trying to run onto a cross from Sebastian Dalgaard. The Rowdies captain had missed his last two from the penalty spot, but this time he made no mistake by slotting his attempt past Joe Kuzminsky.

Clear cut chances were few and far between for both sides in the second half. The Rowdies had the best, though, as Wyke came close to notching his second. Wingback Leo Fernandes cut inside from the left and slipped a pass for Wyke, who guided his strike on target only to have Kuzminsky produce a brilliant kick save. Charleston threw numbers forward throughout the second half, but Rowdies keeper Evan Louro had no true threats to his net to contend with.

The Rowdies and Battery are set to meet again on Thursday, October 7 as the Rowdies return home to Al Lang Stadium for the first time in three weeks. They return having won all three road contests, as well as an 8-match winning streak and an 11-match unbeaten streak.

Scoring Summary
CHS – Claudio Repetto (Penalty Kick) 10’
TBR – Laurence Wyke (Sebastian Guenzatti) 21’
TBR – Sebastian Guenzatti (Penalty Kick) 25’

Lineups
Rowdies: Louro; Scarlett, Lasso, Guillen; Dalgaard, Hilton, Ekra, Wyke, Fernandes; Dos Santos, Guenzatti

Charleston: Kuzminsky; McCue, Archer, Van Schaik; Harmon, Crawford, Kelly, Paterson; Repetto, Zarokostas, Daley

Gameday Info:
Tampa Bay Rowdies (18W-6L-1D) at Charleston Battery (8W-9L-7D)
Saturday, October 2, 7:00pm ET
Charleston, SC, Patriots Point Soccer Stadium

Watch: Stream the match on ESPN+ here.

Follow along: Live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday. 

The Tampa Bay Rowdies head to South Carolina this Saturday night for their third meeting of the season with the Charleston Battery. So far in 2021, the Rowdies have claimed victory in each of their two prior meetings, but only by 1-0 margins each time. Both sides finished the last match against each other on September 7 down a man after red cards were shown to Tampa Bay’s Conner Antley and Charleston’s Leland Archer in the final 10 minutes.

Rowdies midfielder Lewis Hilton scored the winner in that last match, burying a shot from the top of the box after forward Steevan Dos Santos picked him out with a pass. Hilton expects to face another tough battle against Charleston now that their hopes of a postseason berth are slipping away quickly.

“The way the game finished on the last road trip, that will definitely help their motivation,” said Hilton. “We know that they’re fighting for their lives in the league as well. We’re fully prepared that they’re going to come at us and be desperate to beat us, but we’re desperate to win every game. We’ll be prepared. Obviously they’re a good team. They’ve got a lot of really good players… We’re definitely looking forward to it. We’re definitely fully aware how the last game went and we know they’re going to be up for it and so will we.”

While 5th-place Charleston are in desperate need of a win to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth, the 1st-place Rowdies can lock theirs up with a win or a draw this weekend. However, the larger goal for Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins remains securing the Atlantic Division crown and the top spot across the entire league. The Rowdies got a boost in their quest for the latter of the two this Wednesday when the front-runners in the Western Conference Phoenix Rising FC fell to LA Galaxy II 3-0. 

“When you look at targets about where we want to take the Tampa Bay Rowdies to, I think home field advantage is one of the objectives,” said Collins. “But it’s not just to have home field advantage, but to be the first seed across the whole league. That’s a huge feather in our cap and one that we’re working towards. Any team that plays at home plays at an advantage, using your home fans and your home field, but it’s certainly nothing more than an advantage. It’s not a clear road through. We were able to go on the road and win in the playoffs last year. I’m sure teams will feel the same. But first thing’s first, we just want to keep adding those points up to be in the playoffs and try and get that first spot in our own division.”

Pushing Through On the Road

This weekend’s trip to Charleston will close out a three-match road swing for the Rowdies, who will be happy to be back home at Al Lang Stadium next Thursday to close out their regular season series with Charleston. So far, the Rowdies have taken care of business with 6 points from their first two road matches. Overall in 2021, the Rowdies have been solid away from home, posting a 7W-4L-1D record with 4 more road contests left on the schedule.

The Rowdies road resilience was pushed to the limit this past week when flight delays meant they weren’t unable to arrive at their hotel in Hartford until 5am the morning of the match against Hartford Athletic. Despite the obstacles, the Rowdies were able to claim all 3 points that night.

“We kind of saw (the delays) as an opportunity,” said Hilton. “Obviously it wasn’t ideal preparation, but we saw it as an opportunity that we can go and show we can still beat teams when things don’t go our way. We didn’t use it as an excuse that we weren’t going to perform and we went about it in the right manner. I think if anything it helped in motivation.”

Consistency in Everything is Key

The Rowdies have found a groove in the last two months as they have gone unbeaten in their last 10, winning 9 of those contests. This run has allowed them to jump into the driver’s seat for both the top spot in their division and for the top overall seed. 

“We haven’t looked at a certain stretch of games thinking we need to get a certain amount of points or anything like that,” said Hilton. “We just prepare every game individually and we’ve been really consistent with the staff having us well prepared on what the opposition are going to do, and where the spaces are going to be, and how we’re going to defend against the opposition. I think we’ve been really consistent in our preparation.”

For Collins, his biggest frustration over the last two months is having to leave some players out as the team has found such a high level of form.

“I have to say, when you’re heading into games as a coach you’re always trying to look for signs. The signs in training have always been really positive,” said Collins. “The training sessions have been good and I’m a big believer that when you’re doing that, take it into the games, and the players have been doing that. We know there’s always bumps in the road. Again, those are the things the players take the credit for, to always take the opportunity and always see the positive, because that’s what always sets you apart. We’re going to have different challenges from now until the end of the season. I’m sure we’ll have a selection of headaches, but it’s been great to see the players reaching the performance level that they have.”

Injury Report
OUT: Luiz Fernando, Conner Antley, Matt Srbely, Jordan Doherty

ST PETERSBURG, Fla (September 28, 2021) – For the fifth week in a row, the Tampa Bay Rowdies are represented on the USL Championship Team of the Week. Midfielder Leo Feranandes is the latest Rowdies player to earn a spot, doing so on the back of his two assists in Tampa Bay’s 2-1 win at Hartford Athletic. 

Both of Fernnades’ assists were finished off by Rowdies Captain Sebastian Guenzatti, who earned a spot on the Team of the Week bench after recording his third straight brace.

This is Fernandes’ first time making Team of the Week this season, though he did make the bench in Week 21 for his two-goal shift in Tampa Bay’s 6-0 victory over New York Red Bulls II at Al Lang Stadium. Against Hartford, Fernandes finished with 4 key passes and also won 15 of 21 duels and 10 of 13 aerial duels on the defensive end.

Fernandes returned to the Rowdies starting lineup on September 7 after missing a month of action due to injury. Since then, the creative midfielder has been on a tear in the left wingback spot for the Rowdies. His form, as well as the contributions of Tampa Bay’s other wingbacks, over the past several weeks has helped the club maintain its unbeaten run over the last two months.

“Leo would be the first to tell you Conner Antley and Sebastian Dalgaard have been a big part of his success because they did really well when he was out and they made sure when he came back that they are battling for those positions,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “He’s risen to the challenge. We’ve got great wingback options with Leo, Max Lachowecki, Dayonn Harris, Connery Antley, Sebastian Dalgaard, and we need them all to keep creating those chances for Seba Guenzatti to finish.”

With his two assists in Hartford over the weekend, Fernandes has put his total on the season up three. His 19 total assists since joining in 2017 now ranks him second in modern era, His assists in Hartford lifted him past Luke Mulholland and Mike Ambersley, who both have 17. Former Rowdies forward Georgi Hristov hold the top spot with 33 total assists.  

This Saturday, the Rowdies travel to face the Charleston Battery before returning home to face Charleston again on Thursday, October 7. The Rowdies need just one more point to lock up a postseason spot. 

View the full USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 23 below: 

GK – Justin vom Steeg, LA Galaxy II: Justin vom Steeg recorded a four-save shutout, making key stops before and after Los Dos took a second-half lead on the way to a 2-0 victory against Sacramento Republic FC at Heart Health Park.

D – Jonathan Gomez, Louisville City FC: The 18-year-old notched an assist and three key passes while completing 42 of 51 passes overall and defensively made 13 recoveries in LouCity’s 1-1 draw at Memphis 901 FC.

D – Jalen Neal, LA Galaxy II: Jalen Neal recorded the game-winning goal for the Galaxy II in their 2-0 win at Sacramento Republic FC and defensively recorded five clearances, three interceptions and won 2 of 2 tackles to help the visitors earn a shutout.

D – Leland Archer, Charleston Battery: The Trinidad and Tobago international scored the first two goals of his Championship career in games against the New York Red Bulls II and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC while winning 16 of 20 duels and 7 of 10 aerial duels across the two contests.

M – Sebastian Anderson, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: The 19-year-old recorded a pair of assists and had nine key passes overall while also winning 10 of 16 duels and making five recoveries in the Switchbacks’ 3-1 victory against Austin Bold FC.

M – Leo Fernandes, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Leo Fernandes provided the assists on both of the Rowdies’ goals in a 2-1 victory against Hartford Athletic and ended the night with two shots and four key passes overall while winning 15 of 21 duels and 10 of 13 aerial duels defensively.

M – Diego Luna, El Paso Locomotive FC: The 18-year-old continued his stellar season with one goal on two shots and three key passes in El Paso’s 2-2 draw with Austin Bold FC while completing 36 of 41 passes overall and winning 9 of 15 duels.

M – Billy Forbes, Miami FC: The Turks and Caicos international recorded one goal, two assists and four key passes while completing 13 of 17 passes overall and winning 2 of 2 tackles in Miami’s 6-1 victory against Loudoun United FC at FIU Stadium.

F – Neco Brett, Birmingham Legion FC: The Jamaican forward recorded three goals and one assist across a pair of Legion FC victories against Atlanta United 2 and the Charlotte Independence while recording eight shots overall and completing 22 of 30 passes.

F – Ariel Martinez, Miami FC: The Cuban forward had one goal and two assists while recording five key passes and completing 3 of 4 dribbles and 23 of 27 passes overall in Miami’s 6-1 victory against Loudoun United FC.

F – Villyan Bijev, OKC Energy FC: Villyan Bijev notched a pair of assists and had six key passes and two shots overall while completing 27 of 37 passes as Energy FC took a crucial 2-0 victory against Indy Eleven on Sunday evening to boost their postseason prospects.

Bench: Jimmy Slayton (SLC), Mandela Egbo (NY), Adrian Diz Pe (RGV), Prosper Kasim (BHM), Dillon Powers (OC), Tumi Moshobane (SD), Sebastian Guenzatti (TBR)

The Tampa Bay Rowdies departed Tampa International Airport at 1:30am on Saturday morning and didn’t arrive at their hotel in Connecticut until 5:00am. They then had to battle Hartford Athletic for 3 points that evening. Obviously these are not the most ideal circumstances to perform at your peak level, but sometimes in American soccer you are at the mercy of forces outside your control on road trips.

All in all, the Rowdies handled the challenge well and were able to jump out to a two-goal lead in the first half and then ride out the match to a 2-1 victory.

“I think it’s just a measure of the players that they were able to focus on the 90 minutes,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “Their fitness levels and their concentration levels were fantastic. Every time you ask them for a bit more, they give it. The fans should be proud of them.”

Their latest win on Saturday extended the Rowdies’ winning streak to 7 straight matches while also stretching their unbeaten run to 10 matches overall. Additionally, the Rowdies’ win in Hartford closed out a perfect September for the club, posting 5 wins out of 5 matches. It’s the second straight month without a loss for the Rowdies, as well as the second time this season the club has finished a month with a perfect record. They also won all of their outings to start the season back in May.

The Rowdies red-hot run through August and September has placed them on a strong platform for the final month of the regular season in October. With two matches in hand and a 7-point lead on second-place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, as well as a 10-point lead on  third-place Miami FC, the Rowdies have their sights set on clinching the top spot in the Atlantic Division over the next few weeks. 

“I think this run has been vital,” said Collins. “You’ve seen Pittsburgh and Miami have pushed us to greater heights because they have been really, really good. I think our players have found an extra gear that has got us a little gap. We needed to do this. This is what top teams do. We want to consider ourselves a top team. We know we don’t win anything right now, but what we do is try to put ourselves in the best possible situation to try and win something later on. This run has been really important, not just for the points, but also the confidence. We hope that we can just keep building on it.”

A Streak to Remember
The one sour note to the Rowdies trip up to Hartford was the club’s record-setting shutout streak coming to a close deep into second-half stoppage time. Tampa Bay was moments away from closing out their 9th straight clean sheet, but they’ll have to settle for an historic streak of 891 minutes without allowing an opponent to score.

Hartford’s last-second tally demonstrates just how special this streak was for the Rowdies. At any moment, the bounce can go against you and you can find the ball in the back of your net. 

“Those guys in there are disappointed about losing that goal because they know they could have prevented it,” said Collins. “It’s the standard they’ve set. Hartford really asked a lot of questions and were unfortunate not to get a goal earlier. When you get that close, you really want that clean sheet, but the most important thing is the three points. I think they’re already thinking let’s go on the next streak. It’s great we were able to achieve that record and know we’re on to what the next record might be.”

Collins is now in the unique position of having coached a team to a 8-match scoreless streak and also played on a team that did the same. While at Sheffield United in 2014, Collins and current Manchester United center back Harry Maguire helped the club go 8 matches without conceding in League One.

No one expected Sheffield United to go on that run back then, but Collins sees this run from the Rowdies as them finally achieving what they’ve been close to for the last few seasons.

“When I had that streak as a player, we were at the lowest, lowest ebb as a team. It came completely out of the blue,” said Collins. “I would say with this streak, it’s always been bubbling under the surface, the potential to do that. If you look at us the last two or three years, we’ve always had the potential to do that. The players have obviously performed to that level, but also maybe just a couple other things have gone for us. Coaching this team and watching this team, this one was easier to believe. The other one was just a string of events that came together. I think with this one, the players have been building on this over the last 30 or 40 games and it’s something we want to learn from. That one goal is something we’ll learn from.”

Seba’s Streak Continues
A month or so ago, it looked as if Sebastian Guenzatti was going to have another solid season of productivity for the Green and Gold. After his last three matches, though, Guenzatti is flirting with making more Rowdies history. The Rowdies captain has raised his total on the season to 16 goals after notching 6 goals in his last three shifts on the field. He now just needs 4 more to best his own Rowdies record for most goals in a single season. If Guenzatti can come close to maintaining his stellar pace of the last few weeks, he also has a shot at the Rowdies overall scoring record. With 52 Rowdies goals under his belt, he still must catch and surpass Derek Smethurst (57) and Georgi Hristov (60).