Match Preview: Rowdies at Charleston
March 24, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
Matchday 3 Info:
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Charleston Battery
Saturday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. ET
Patriots Point Soccer Complex, Charleston, SC
Stream the match live on ESPN+.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are on the road again this Saturday as they head to South Carolina to face the Charleston Battery. Tampa Bay and Charleston will both be aiming to take all three points this weekend after recording 1-1 draws through the first two weeks of the season.
Charleston has proven to be a tough away day for the Rowdies over the years. Since joining the league in 2017, Tampa Bay has come home empty handed in five of their eight trips to Charleston.
This offseason, Charleston made a big addition with the hiring of 2022 USL Championship Coach of the Year Ben Pirmann to the staff. With Pirmann having a full offseason to bolster the roster, the Battery is a club looking to make its way back to the postseason after missing out last year.
"Ben is obviously an excellent coach. He was coach of the year last year, and rightfully so," said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. "I think he's going to put Charleston back to where they've been, and that's the playoffs. We know how tough a game it is. No matter who the coach is, we've always had a tough game at Charleston. We look forward to going there and really challenging ourselves with that game. Three points in Charleston is always a good marker for where we're at."
Necessary Adversity
Many matches lie ahead, with plenty of points left on the table. With that in mind, the Rowdies remain focused on building up team chemistry that is full of new faces and missing key past contributors due to injury.
"We have the right group and the right mentality," said midfielder Zach Herivaux, who scored his first Rowdies goal in the draw at Orange County last Saturday. "Once We're staying positive. Once we find the back of the net more and work as a unit to grab out first three points I think it'll start flowing for us."
Now in his sixth season in charge, Collins knows every season is guaranteed to have its ups and downs. All that matters is putting yourself in position to finish strongly.
"I think anyone that's been here the last few years, would say nothing has ever been plain-sailing," said Collins. "It never is for any of the teams. Even the teams that experience success, you have to go through learning moments and tough moments. The performances can change quite quickly. I go back to 2021 when we kept 8 or 9 clean sheets off the back leaking 8 or 9 goals to start with the first one. We need to have one good performance and then make it into two. From that you start building and players start feeling more confident. If you keep that attitude and work ethic, the quality will come through."
Cuba Calls Arozarena
Rowdies keeper Raiko Arozarena will miss this Saturday's match in Charleston while on international duty for the Cuban national team. Cuba is set to play a pair of CONCACAF Nations League matches this week in hopes of locking up a spot in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Milestone Tracker
- Aaron Guillen and Yann Ekra are nearing their 100th appearance for the Rowdies. Guillen stands at 95 appearances, while Ekra has 94 appearances heading into the new season.
- Yann Ekra is nearing a major USL Championship milestone. With 247 regular season appearances, Ekra needs five more appearances to surpass Dane Kelly as the league's all -time regular-season appearances leader.
- Forrest Lasso is nearing his 150th regular-season appearances in the USL Championship. Lasso currently has 147 appearances under his belt.
- Lewis Hilton is one assist away from his 30th regular-season assist in the USL Championship.
- Lucky Mkosana is two goals away from his 50th regular-season goal in the USL Championship.
Injury Report
OUT: Leo Fernandes (Achilles/Out for Season)
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
