NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rowdies Match Preview vs Minnesota

Published on May 23, 2013 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


TAMPA, Fla. (May 23, 2013) -- The Basics:

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Minnesota United FC Presented by Mainsail Suites Hotel & Conference Center

2013 NASL Spring Season

Saturday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Al Lang Stadium (230 1st Street SE, St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701)

Admission: Tickets are available by clicking here or by calling the front office at 813-287-1539.The box office will open on Saturday three hours prior to kickoff.

The match can be seen live online at www.RowdiesSoccer.com

Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesSoccer.

Donations

The Rowdies and nonprofit Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc. are asking Tampa Bay Area residents to help troops call home by donating gently-used cellular phones. By donating to Cell Phones for Soldiers, Tampa Bay Area residents can provide troops with that precious connection to loved ones back home. Donate your gently-used cellular phones at the customer service booth on gameday.

Also, the Rowdies have teamed up with SCORE International to help the victims of the Oklahoma tornados. You can help make a difference by bringing non-perishable food, bottled water and personal hygiene items to home games in May and June.

Records (W-T-L)

Tampa Bay: 3-2-1, 11 points, T-1st place

Minnesota: 2-2-2, 8 points, T-4th place

Series History

Since the Rowdies returned in 2010, Tampa Bay leads the series with a record of 7-3-6 (W-T-L). The Rowdies defeated Minnesota 3-2 in their only meeting this season. The Rowdies earned their biggest win since their return to professional soccer in the 2012 NASL Soccer Bowl Finals, where they defeated Minnesota in penalty kicks at Al Lang Stadium on October 27.

Last Meeting:

Last Saturday, the Rowdies earned their third straight away victory defeating United FC 3-2 at theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Midfielder Shane Hill had originally given the Rowdies the lead in the dying moments of the first half, but Minnesota would level it thanks to a goal by Michael Reed in the 54th minute. On the ensuing play midfielder Luke Mulholland scored his fourth goal of the season putting the Rowdies up 2-1. That lead would hold for 10 minutes, before United FC's Bracalello's tied things up at 2-2. The Rowdies went ahead in the 90th minute thanks to Keith Savage who scored the final goal of the night.

Rowdies Notes:

Tampa Bay enjoyed a 2-1 win on Tuesday night's second round U.S. Open Cup match against VSI Tampa Bay FC at Plant City Stadium in Plant City, Fla. With the win, the Rowdies will host Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. Forward Georgi Hristov had initially opened the scoring off a penalty kick, but VSI quickly tied things up thanks to midfielder JT Noone. It was the Bulgarian forward who scored the game-winning goal for the Rowdies just minutes before the half with a great individual run.

Hristov is now tied with midfielder Luke Mulholland for most goals on the team with four, while leading the Rowdies with three assists. Four Rowdies were named to the NASL Team of the Week after last Saturday's win. Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo led the Rowdies to victory in Minnesota, making several key saves to keep the Rowdies ahead in the match. Restrepo also came up big in Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup win, where his saves pushed Tampa Bay in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. Midfielders Shane Hill, Keith Savage and Luke Mulholland joined the goalkeeper on the Team of the Week, proving to be a solid core to this Rowdies team that is now on a two game unbeaten run.

Scouting Minnesota:

United FC's 2013 season looked promising as they entered Week 6 with a four-game unbeaten run, but Ft. Lauderdale Strikers would serve Minnesota their first loss of the season. A week later, the Rowdies would defeat the northern team 3-2 making their NASL record 2-2-2. United FC suffered their third straight loss this Tuesday, when they dropped their second round U.S. Open Cup match 1-0 to Des Moines Menace (USL PDL).

The newly branded United FC is led by their top goal scorer Simone Bracalello, who has three goals this season. The Italian native also leads the team with three assists and 20 shots this season.

Quotable:

Rowdies Head Coach Ricky Hill

"We are very aware that we have two big matches in a span of just a couple days. We have been able to win our last two matches and we intend to continue that streak with this weekend's game against Minnesota. We are eager to get on the pitch and pick up our first home win of the season."

Up Next:

With Tampa Bay's U.S. Open Cup win on Tuesday, the reigning NASL Champions advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup where they will host Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg. To purchase tickets for this memorable match, call 813-287-1539.

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

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