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INDIANAPOLIS (September 26, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ three-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night as they ran out of steam in a 2-0 loss to the Indy Eleven at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Tampa Bay didn’t put in a bad performance, but just wasn’t sharp enough playing their fourth match in 12 days.

Indy’s Karl Ouimette scored in the 37th minute and Elliott Collier doubled the home team’s lead in the 75th to secure all three points for Indy.

The loss dealt a minor blow to the Rowdies’ late run to the playoffs, but the table remains extremely tight. Tampa Bay is three points short of the playoff line with three games to go. Fellow bubble teams Nashville (at Atlanta United 2) and Ottawa Fury FC (at Toronto FC II) won on a busy Wednesday night, while North Carolina FC (at Charleston Battery) lost.

The Rowdies (11-13-7, 40 points) had more than their fair share of chances to score a goal or two in Indianapolis, starting with Afrim Taku’s volley in the 26th minute. The Albanian midfielder spun and fired a low rocket on frame, but Indy goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams got just enough of his fingertips to the ball to tip it onto his left-hand post and out of play.

Ouimette’s goal in the 37th minute came on a corner kick when he got to the ball on a near-post run and tucked his header just inside the far post for a halftime lead.

In the 57th minute, it looked like the Rowdies found a way back into the match when Taku tried to chip the ball between Indy defenders on the edge of the box for Sebastian Guenzatti to run onto.

Taku’s chip hit Eleven defender Carlyle Mitchell in the shoulder and referee Daniel Radford immediately whistled for a penalty kick for the Rowdies. However, after consultation with assistant referee Jeffrey Swartzel, Redford negated his decision in favor of a drop ball on the edge of the box.

Tampa Bay put plenty of pressure on Indy in the second half, but the Rowdies couldn’t quite connect on a cross or they would have their shots blocked in a frustrating result. The Rowdies took 19 shorts (four on target), but eight were blocked. Fon Williams made four saves to record his 11th clean sheet of the season.

The Rowdies tried to rally late in the second half with Jaime Chavez shooting into the outside netting in the 90th minute, but they ultimately ran out of time.

Up next, the Rowdies have a weekend to rest and regroup before visiting Atlanta United 2 on Wednesday, October 3 in a crucial match. The Rowdies will play their home finale Saturday, October 6 against the Charlotte Independence. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here.

Scoring Summary
Indy: Karl Ouimette – 37th minute (Assisted by Ayoze)
Indy: Elliot Collier – 75th minute

Caution Summary
Indy: Owain Fon Williams – 74th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK Daniel Vega; D Hunter Gorskie, Papé Diakité, Tarek Morad; M Afrim Taku (Alex Morrell 72′), Kwadwo Poku (Jaime Chavez 65′), Dom Oduro, Lance Rozeboom (Joe Cole 78′), Zac Portillos (c); F Junior Flemmings, Sebastian Guenzatti

Indy XI (4-4-2): GK Owain Fon Williams; D Reiner Ferreira, Ayoze, Carlyle Mitchell, Karl Ouimette; M Dylan Mares (Matt Watson 68′), Nico Matern, Seth Moses, Kevin Venegas; F Elliot Collier, Jack McInerney

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 25, 2018) — Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Hunter Gorskie was named to the USL Team of the Week on Tuesday after his performances in a pair of wins for the Rowdies last week.

Gorskie wore the captain’s armband in Saturday night’s win over the Richmond Kickers and scored the opening goal, his second of the season.

The full Team of the Week is below.

GK – Tomas Gomez, Saint Louis FC: Gomez recorded a five-save shutout as STLFC took a big step toward the playoff positions with a 2-0 victory against San Antonio FC on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis.

D – Hunter Gorskie, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Gorskie scored the opening goal in the Rowdies’ victory against Richmond, and recorded 12 possession recoveries and seven clearances over Tampa Bay’s two wins on the week.

D – Joe Farrell, Phoenix Rising FC: Farrell scored the opening goal, recorded a team-high 13 clearances and won four of six duels as Phoenix took a 2-1 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Saturday night.

D – Oscar Jimenez, Louisville City FC: Jimenez recorded a pair of assists and completed 42 of 48 passes as Louisville took a 4-0 victory against Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday night at Slugger Field.

M – Aodhan Quinn, Orange County SC: Quinn had a pair of goals as Orange County swept to a 5-2 victory against Real Monarchs SLC on Wednesday night to remain on top of the Western Conference standings.

M – Hayden Partain, Sacramento Republic FC: Partain scored twice, including the game-winning goal, as Republic FC took a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night against Tulsa Roughnecks FC.

M – Tah Anunga, Charleston Battery: Anunga scored the equalizer, and recorded eight interceptions and 19 possession recoveries as the Battery earned a 1-1 draw on the road against Nashville Sc on Saturday night.

M – Raul Mendiola, Las Vegas Lights FC: Mendiola scored a pair of goals, including a 90th-minute equalizer, as Lights FC earned a 3-3 draw with Reno 1868 FC on Saturday night.

F – Donovan Ewolo, North Carolina FC: Ewolo recorded the second four-goal game of the season – including a hat trick in the opening 35 minutes – as North Carolina took a 6-1 win against ATL UTD 2.

F – Hadji Barry, Swope Park Rangers: Barry scored in both of the Rangers’ contests, including their key midweek win against San Antonio FC, to set a new USL modern-era record with eight consecutive games with a goal.

F – Efrain Alvarez, LA Galaxy II: Alvarez scored a hat trick as the Galaxy II romped to a 6-1 victory against Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday night, the 16-year-old’s second three-goal outing of the season.

Bench: Daniel Vega (TBR), Ben Zemanski (PGH), Todd Wharton (RGV), Cameron Lancaster (LOU), Albert Dikwa (STL), Cameron Iwasa (SAC), Brian Brown (RNO)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 23, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies are right in the thick of the USL Cup Playoffs race after picking up their third win in a row Saturday night, downing the Richmond Kickers 3-0 at Al Lang Stadium.

Hunter Gorskie, Jaime Chavez and Junior Flemmings all scored in the victory.

Here’s Three Things from the match…

1. A bonafide winning streak
For the first time this season, the Rowdies are on a three-game winning streak, having beaten Atlanta United 2 1-0, Nashville SC 2-1 and the Richmond Kickers 3-0 their last three times out. Tampa Bay has only strung together two consecutive wins twice this season. This is the first time it has extended that streak to three since 2017.

What makes this winning streak all the more incredible is that the three wins came in only eight days as the Rowdies fought through fatigue and a midweek road trip to build their momentum. The last time Tampa Bay won three league matches in a single eight-day stretch was way back in May of the inaugural 2010 season. If Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches are included, the Rowdies had a nine-point week in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The wins give the Rowdies major confidence and have brought them right back into the fight for a spot in the playoffs. Tampa Bay opened September nine points behind the eight-placed team, but after four wins in five matches this month, the Rowdies are now just one point behind eighth place with a game in hand.

While the Rowdies have steadily closed the gap to one point, they’ve done a great job of focusing only on themselves and not worrying about whether they were getting help from any other results around the league.

“We’ve been in such a poor position for a variety of reasons that I’ve not bothered with anybody but ourselves because without us winning, it’s not we’re in the playoffs and if other teams’ results go for us, we can stay in,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “We need to win to get in there. The players have done a fantastic job of taking it one game at a time.”

2. Poku’s starring role
Rowdies midfielder Kwadwo Poku has come into his own in the last month for Tampa Bay as he plays in a relatively free No. 10 role. While he only has one goal and one assist officially on his stat sheet in 12 appearances, but his impact has been impossible to ignore.

Take last night for instance, when Poku didn’t notch either a goal or an assist, but completely dominated Richmond’s midfield and created numerous chances for the Rowdies. Neill Collins heaped praise on Poku in his postgame press conference, saying he “looked like the best player in the league” Saturday night.

For example, look at this play from last night. Poku wins the ball 30 yards from the Rowdies’ own goal and carries it up field, single-handedly, for about 60 yards, fighting through multiple fouls to keep possession. While he ultimately gets caught between two minds between shooting early or passing to Jaime Chavez, that run demonstrates something no one else on the Rowdies’ roster can do. His physical dominance makes him, at time, impossible to defend.

3. The matches just keep coming
Once again in this busy month, the Rowdies must move on quickly from Saturday night’s victory as they prepare for another massive match in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. It will be the Rowdies’ fourth match in 12 days, including two separate road trips. It’s a particularly unforgiving stretch of the schedule, but one Tampa Bay has managed well so far.

Sebastian Guenzatti, who has four goals this month, was rested Saturday night after playing the full 90 against both Atlanta and Nashville. Joe Cole played only 110 minutes out of the available 270. Kwadwo Poku was subbed out of all three matches to try and keep him fresh.

It’s a tricky balancing act the Rowdies have been executing as they try to keep players as fresh as possible.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to get as consistent as possible but keep fresh legs. We have a lot of conversations about whether a play can go again or if we can replace them without dropping the standard.”

Once the Rowdies get through Wednesday’s visit to Indy, they will finally get a chance to take full rest as they have next weekend off.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 22, 2018) — Three was the magic number for the Tampa Bay Rowdies as they exploded for three second-half goals in a 3-0 win over the Richmond Kickers at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night. It was the Rowdies’ third win in a row.

The match was scoreless at halftime despite a dominant Rowdies performance in the opening 45 minutes. Tampa Bay didn’t need to wait too long to take control in the second half though, with goals in the 49th and 57th minutes from Hunter Gorskie and Jaime Chavez, respectively, to put the match out of reach. Junior Flemmings added the third goal in stoppage time to seal the result.

“It was a great week, but it was only one great week,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “We’ve got a lot more to do.”

Tampa Bay’s impressive week, which also included a 1-0 win over Atlanta United 2 last weekend and a 2-1 win over Nashville SC on Tuesday night, breathed serious life into the Rowdies’ late playoff push.

When the match ended, Tampa Bay had moved into 10th place, just one point behind Ottawa Fury FC in the final playoff position. The Rowdies have played one fewer match than the Fury FC.

With so much on the line, the Rowdies (11-12-7, 40 points) looked ready to play right from the opening kickoff. The only real challenge the Rowdies faced in the first half was staying onside. Twice the Rowdies put the ball in the back of the net only to see the offside flag negate the goal.

“It was one of the best first-half performances I’ve seen in my time with the Rowdies, apart from the final finish,” Collins said. “We had two goals ruled out, rightly or wrongly, and we had other opportunities. I thought Poku looked like the best player of the league.”

Six minutes in, Georgi Hristov received a cross from Afrim Taku and beat Kickers (6-20-4, 22 points) goalkeeper Brandon Barnes but Chavez was ruled to have interfered in the play from an offside position and the goal was called off.

In the 25th minute, Kwadwo Poku fed Chavez with a through ball that ultimately ended up in the net, but the offside flag was up again.

Poku himself had a chance in the 30th minute, making an 80-yard run by all of Richmond’s defenders before opting to pass to Chavez. The decision came too late, though, and Barnes was able to dive on the ball.

The offside flag ruled out a third Rowdies goal in the 47th minute, but Tampa Bay’s opener wasn’t too far away.

Gorskie, serving as the Rowdies’ captain on the night, marked the occasion with a simple tap-in on a bouncing ball to put Tampa Bay ahead.

“It’s a pleasure to lead the guys,” Gorskie said. “They’re a committed group, so it’s easy to lead them. It couldn’t have gone any better to be honest — a shutout, 3-0 win and a goal. It was a perfect night for me.”

From there, the Rowdies never looked back, with Chavez doubling the lead just short of the hour mark.

Tampa Bay goalkeeper Daniel Vega made four late saves to notch his third clean sheet in seven matches since joining the Rowdies.

The Rowdies will get right back to work once again for a short week before playing on the road against the Indy Eleven next Wednesday night. They will play their final home game of the season on Saturday, October 6 against the Charlotte Independence. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here.

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Hunter Gorskie – 49th minute (Assisted by Georgi Hristov)
Rowdies: Jaime Chavez – 58th minute (Assisted by Afrim Taku)
Rowdies: Junior Flemmings – 93rd minute (Assisted by Joe Cole)

Caution Summary
Richmond: Oscar Umar – 9th minute
Richmond: Neil Hlavaty – 18th minute
Rowdies: Jaime Chavez – 58th minute
Richmond: Mekeil Williams – 87th minute

Starting XI
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK Daniel Vega; D Hunter Gorskie (c), Papé Diakité, Tarek Morad; M Afrim Taku, Kwadwo Poku (Joe Cole 65′), Dom Oduro, Martin Vingaard, Leo Fernandes; F Jaime Chavez (Lance Rozeboom 83′), Georgi Hristov (Junior Flemmings 70′)

Kickers XI (3-5-2): GK Brandon Barnes; D Mallan Roberts, Conor Shanosky, Mekeil Williams; M Scott Thomsen, Prince Agmeyang (Greg Boehme 60′), Neil Hlavaty (Yudai Imura 60′), Oscar Umar, Brian Shriver (c); F Raul Gonzalez (Heviel Cordoves 68′), Giuseppe Gentile

The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Richmond Kickers
Saturday, September 22, 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 open at 6 p.m.

How to Watch
In addition to thisTV Tampa Bay, the match will be broadcast online on ESPN+ (subscription required), the official streaming partner of the USL, here. International viewers in regions where ESPN+ is not offered can watch the match here. Fans in the Tampa Bay area can also listen to the game live on WHNZ 1250 AM.

Parking
There are several options for parking at Al Lang Stadium and around downtown. Parking in Lot A, right in front of the stadium, is for PASS HOLDERS ONLY and opens at 4 p.m. For more parking options, click here.

Records
Tampa Bay: 10-12-7 (W-L-T), 11th place; 6-4-5 at home 
Richmond: 6-19-4 (W-L-T), 15th place; 1-12-1 on road

Rowdies Notes
The Rowdies picked up an impressive 2-1 road win against Nashville SC on Tuesday night, with a Georgi Hristov penalty kick and a Nashville own goal forced by Junior Flemmings carrying the Rowdies to victory. 

Tampa Bay has now won back-to-back matches for the first time since March 17 and 24, the first two weeks of the season. The Rowdies haven’t won three consecutive matches since July 22-August 5 of last season when they beat the Charleston Battery 2-0, Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2-0 and Penn FC (then the Harrisburg City Islanders) 3-0 in a three-game home stand. 

Hristov’s penalty was the result of a brilliant through ball from Kwadwo Poku that played Hristov into the box where he was clipped by Nashville goalkeeper Matt Pickens. The goal was his seventh of the season, moving him into first place alone as the Rowdies’ leading goal scorer this season. It was his first goal since July 21. 

Midfielder Lance Rozeboom made his first start since June 2 when he sustained a knee sprain. Rozeboom played four minutes off the bench last weekend before being thrust into the starting lineup and playing the full 90 minutes on Tuesday night. He completed 85.7 percent of his passes and won three of his four aerial duels while also making two interceptions. 

Midfielder Dominic Oduro is eligible to return to action after serving a one-game suspension Tuesday night due to yellow card accumulation. Oduro had played every minute of 14-consecutive matches spanning from his Rowdies debut June 27 to his suspension. 

Midfielder Joe Cole is on a suspension warning for yellow card accumulation. Should he be booked in this match, he will be suspended for Wednesday’s trip to play the Indy Eleven. 

Defender Zac Portillos was named to the USL Team of the Week for the first time on Tuesday afternoon for his performance last weekend. 

Forward Jaime Chavez could make his debut. He was on the bench in each of the last two matches without entering the match. Chavez signed with the Rowdies on September 14. 

Injury Report: OUT: D David Najem (torn ACL, April 14)    
                                              D Kyle Curinga (sprained ankle, May 12)    
                                              F Stefano Bonomo (left ankle, August 22)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 19, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies took a huge step toward reaching the USL Cup playoffs Tuesday night with a 2-1 road win over Nashville SC at First Tennessee Park.

According to Nate Silver’s 538 predictions, the Rowdies’ chances of reaching the postseason jumped from 10 percent to 26 percent after the match.

Here’s Three Things from Tuesday night’s victory…

1. A win is a win
Tampa Bay used a penalty kick and an own goal to defeat Nashville SC, but the three points count all the same. Neither goal happens unless the Rowdies put together a threatening attack and put Nashville under pressure.

Facing Rowdies fan favorite Matt Pickens on the other side of the field, it always felt like this match would center around him. Pickens had an early flash point against his old friend Georgi Hristov only five minutes into the match.

Hristov was the recipient of a brilliantly threaded through ball from Kwadwo Poku and found himself in one-on-one with Pickens. Hristov poked the ball to his left hand side to round the goalkeeper and Pickens dove through his legs for a fairly blatant penalty.

What would happen next is anyone’s guess, as Pickens was famous for saving penalty kicks in Tampa Bay and Hristov would certainly have no secrets, having taken penalties against Pickens after training sessions for four seasons.

Nevertheless, Hristov put his penalty kick right down the middle for an early Rowdies lead.

From there, Nashville had the better of the match, equalizing in the 20th minute and putting Tampa Bay under pressure for long stretches of time without scoring.

The second half introduction of Junior Flemmings turned the tide in the Rowdies’ favor for good as he created the game-winner in the 69th minute.

At the culmination of a sweeping 14-pass movement, it was Flemmings who fired a pacey cross across the face of goal which beat Pickens and was turned into Nashville’s net by defender London Woodberry. While own goals always feel a bit fortuitous, the ball had already passed Pickens and had Woodberry not made the critical mistake, red-hot Sebastian Guenzatti was waiting to tap it in at the back post.

2. Georgi is back
It’s been a somewhat trying season for Rowdies all-time scoring leader Georgi Hristov. He had the high of earning the all-time scoring title in April, but hasn’t been as influential as usual since then. Coming into Tuesday’s match, Hristov had only scored once twice since the calendar hit May. He had only started five of the Rowdies’ last 12 matches as he faced increased competition at the forward position.

It would have been understandable if frustration and a lack of confidence had set in, but a goal Tuesday night should go a long way toward kicking him back into his usual form. Hristov seems to always play well at the end of the season, so here’s to hoping last night’s goal was the first indication of many more to come.

3. The week to come
Coming off back-to-back wins for the first time since March, the Rowdies have to quickly turn their focus forward once again as they can’t afford to drop points at home Saturday against the Richmond Kickers. On paper, it’s a pretty friendly matchup for Tampa Bay, facing a team already eliminated from postseason contention and with a league-worst goal differential of -39.

Looking around the rest of the Eastern Conference schedule this week, things shape up nicely for the Rowdies if they take care of business. Tampa Bay currently sits four four points short of the playoff line.

Penn FC faces a difficult week hosting Louisville City FC on Wednesday night and then FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Charlotte also plays twice this week, visiting Charleston and then hosting New York on Saturday. Ottawa visits Louisville and Nashville hosts Charleston on Saturday, meaning the Rowdies’ closest playoff rivals have a good chance of dropping points this week.

Given how devastating dropped points would be for the Rowdies, they can’t afford to think about any of those matches though as they go for their third win in a row and fourth in five matches.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 18, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies picked up an absolutely massive result on Tuesday night, downing Nashville SC at First Tennessee Park in dramatic fashion to post their second win in four days with a 2-1 victory.

Georgi Hristov opened the scoring early with a sixth-minute penalty kick and a Junior Flemmings cross was turned into Nashville’s own net in the 69th minute to put the Rowdies ahead for good.

“It was a fantastic win,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “I can’t be prouder of the boys coming off a fantastic effort Saturday night to go out there again and produce that performance against a team that didn’t play (last weekend) says a lot about the character and determination in the squad.”

This marks the first time since March 17 and 24 that the Rowdies (10-12-7, 37 points) have posted back-to-back wins. Tampa Bay has now won three of its last four matches heading into a home game against the Richmond Kickers this Saturday night.

With three more points in the bag, the Rowdies have moved up to 11th place and are now within four points of the playoff line.

The match got off to a great start for Tampa Bay when Hristov got on the end of a brilliant through ball from Kwadwo Poku only for former teammate Matt Pickens to drag him down, giving the Rowdies a penalty kick in the opening few minutes.

Hristov slotted the penalty right down the middle to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute. It was Hristov’s first goal since July 21 against the Indy Eleven.

The home team started to impose itself after the goal, taking firm control of the proceedings as the Rowdies dropped back and absorbed pressure.

Nashville (10-9-9, 39 points) would find its equalizer in the 20th minute when Lebo Moloto tapped in a Kosuke Kimura cross to tie the match at 1-1.

The Rowdies had a few chances to take a lead before halftime on dynamic counter attacks, the best of which resulted in a Poku shot that was saved by Pickens.

The second half saw Nashville continue to put pressure on the Rowdies, but it was second-half substitute Junior Flemmings that broke the match in Tampa Bay’s favor in the 69th minute.

Flemmings fired a hard cross at chest height across the face of goal and Nashville defender London Woodberry headed it into his own net to put the Rowdies ahead.

Tampa Bay had to survive another nervous finish as Nashville scrapped foray possible way to get a point at home.

In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Nashville had a great chance on a Brandon Allen shot from point-blank range, but Rowdies goalkeeper Daniel Vega made the best of his four saves to preserve Tampa Bay’s lead in the final seconds of the match. 

Tampa Bay now returns home looking for a third-consecutive win as it hosts Richmond on Saturday night. The Kickers are in 15th place and have already been eliminated from playoff contention. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here.

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Georgi Hristov – 6th minute (Penalty Kick)
Nashville: Lebo Moloto – 20th minute (Assisted by Kosuke Kimura)
Rowdies: Own goal – 69th minute

Caution Summary
Rowdies: Tarek Morad – 46th minute
Rowdies: Sebastian Guenzatti – 90+ minute
Rowdies: Daniel Vega – 90+ minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK Daniel Vega; D Hunter Gorskie, Papé Diakité, Tarek Morad; M Afrim Taku, Joe Cole (c) (Martin Vingaard 70′), Lance Rozeboom, Kwadwo Poku (Kyle Porter 82′), Zac Portillos; F Sebastian Guenzatti, Georgi Hristov (Junior Flemmings 61′)

Nashville XI (3-5-2): GK Matt Pickens; D Bradley Bourgeois (London Woodberry 52′), Liam Doyle, Justin Davis; M Kosuke Kimura, Bolu Akinyode, Michael Reed (c), Matt LaGrassa, Alan Winn (Taylor Washington 73′); F Lebo Moloto, Tucker Hume (Brandon Allen 73′)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 18, 2018) — Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Zac Portillos was named to the USL Team of the Week on Tuesday after his performance in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Atlanta United 2. 

Portillos captained the Rowdies to a clean sheet and a win as Tampa Bay conceded only one shot on target all night. He also recorded two key passes, won seven of eight duels and completed 35 of 42 passes.

The full Team of the Week is below.

GK – Maxime Crepeau, Ottawa Fury FC: Crepeau recorded his league-leading 13th shutout of the season – tying the USL single-season record – with a five-save performance in Fury FC’s 2-0 win against the Richmond Kickers.

D – Paco Craig, Louisville City FC: Craig recorded assists on both of Louisville’s goals in the club’s 2-2 draw on the road in Pittsburgh and recorded 10 clearances while winning seven of 10 duels in two games over the week.

D – Claudio Munoz, Tulsa Roughnecks FC: Munoz had a stellar game at the back as the Roughnecks defeated San Antonio FC 2-1, winning 10 of 12 duels overall and recording five interceptions, five clearances and three tackles.

D – Walker Hume, Orange County SC: Hume helped Orange County record a road shutout victory in Fresno with 10 clearances and three interceptions while also winning 11 of 17 duels overall.

M – Eric Calvillo, Reno 1868 FC: Calvillo’s first goal for 1868 FC was the game-winner as the side moved back into the playoff positions with a 1-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Saturday night at Greater Nevada Field.

M – Tsubasa Endoh, Toronto FC II: Endoh scored four goals across Toronto’s two-game road trip, including the first hat trick of his career on Sunday evening against FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium.

M – Emmanuel Ledesma, FC Cincinnati: Ledesma recorded four assists over two games during the week, including three helpers on Sunday against Toronto FC II that saw him claim the USL single-season record for assists.

M – Zac Portillos, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Portillos put in a strong two-way performance down the left for Tampa Bay, recording two key passes, winning seven of eight duels and completing 35 of 42 passes in the Rowdies’ 1-0 win against ATL UTD 2.

M – Corben Bone, FC Cincinnati: Bone recorded three goals across two games, including scoring twice in FCC’s late rally against Toronto FC II on Sunday evening, to keep the club’s winning streak alive at seven games.

F – Daniel Rios, North Carolina FC: Rios scored the lone goal as North Carolina took a crucial victory in its bid for a place in the USL Cup Playoffs on the road against Penn FC on Sunday evening.

F – Chris Cortez, Phoenix Rising FC: Cortez was active all game in Phoenix’s victory against Seattle Sounders FC 2, finishing with five shots and two key passes while notching the game-winner in Rising FC’s 1-0 win.

Bench: Carl Woszczynski (PHX), Kyle Venter (PEN), Wal Fall (STL), Callum Ross (OKC), Maikel Chang (SLC), Renzo Zambrano (POR), Andreas Ivan (NY)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 16, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies are back in the win column after a 1-0 victory over Atlanta United 2 on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium. The win was the Rowdies’ second in three matches as they attempt to make a run at the USL Cup Playoffs.

According to Nate Silver’s 538 predictions, the Rowdies’ chances of reaching the USL postseason inched upward from eight percent to 10 percent after Saturday night. Tampa Bay is currently seven points out of eighth place, but with a game in hand. The Rowdies might target seventh-placed Ottawa, which is also seven points clear of the Rowdies, but having played two more matches. If Tampa Bay can win both its games in hand, the Rowdies would be just one point behind Ottawa.

Here’s Three Things from Saturday night’s win…

1. The 3-5-2 is here to stay
The Rowdies have really settled into a groove in Neill Collins’ preferred 3-5-2 formation in recent weeks with Hunter Gorskie, Papé Diakité and Tarek Morad as the three center backs flanked by Afrim Taku on the right and either Zac Portillos or Leo Fernandes on the left.

Tampa Bay has deployed a 3-5-2 in each of its last seven matches. In that time, the Rowdies have posted three clean sheets and conceded more than one goal only once. In the 21 matches prior to adopting the 3-5-2 full-time, the Rowdies kept four clean sheets and conceded two or more goals 10 times.

Part of the improvement comes down to personnel (Taku, Diakite and Morad joined the team this summer) but a large part is putting that personnel in a position to succeed.

“We’ve made improvements that some people don’t see because they only look at results,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “But you can see in the back two thirds a big improvement. We’re playing some very good football.”

To that point, in the Rowdies’ last two home matches, Tampa Bay has conceded only four shots on target, two of which were penalty kicks. As the stretch run of the season arrives, Tampa Bay is defending with confidence.

2. Rozeboom returns
Lance Rozeboom returned to the field Saturday night after missing more than three months with a sprained knee. He was forced out of the Rowdies’ last match against Atlanta on June 2 only 20 minutes into the match.

His return to fitness comes just in the nick of time as the Rowdies will be without Dom Oduro in Nashville on Tuesday night due to a yellow card accumulation suspension.

Oduro made his Rowdies debut June 27 and has played every single minute of 14-consecutive matches since then, quickly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet in the all-important defensive midfield position.

Likely candidates to take Oduro’s place in Nashville include Rozeboom, Martin Vingaard and Michael Nanchoff.

3. No time to rest
The Rowdies must quickly move past Saturday night’s result as they face a massive match in Tennessee on Tuesday night before returning home to play their third match in eight days on Saturday night at home against Richmond.

Rehab and recovery took center stage almost immediately after Saturday night’s match ended. The Rowdies will depart for Nashville on Monday morning for the biggest match of the season so far.

Nashville currently sits in ninth place, five points ahead of the Rowdies, so Tampa Bay can’t afford to give it even one point. It’s a near must-win for Tampa Bay. Nashville didn’t play this weekend, so it will be on more than full rest and have home field advantage. If the Rowdies want to crash the postseason party, earning a result in Nashville is a must.

The Rowdies and Nashville drew 1-1 on June 9 in St. Pete in their only prior meeting this season.