Match Preview: Rowdies at Louisville
October 13, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
Matchday 34
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Louisville City FC
Saturday, October 14, 7:30 p.m. ET
Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville City FC
Watch Party: Join the official Rowdies Watch Party at Colony Grill in Downton St. Pete. Fans wearing Rowdies gear receive 25% off all pizza.
Tune In: Stream the match on ESPN+
The Rowdies have one more piece of business before the start of the playoffs next week. They'll close out the regular-season in Louisville, where their 2022 playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference final.
For the Rowdies, Saturday's match is primarily about building confidence back up after a defeat to Pittsburgh at Al Lang Stadium last week. The Rowdies are already locked in as the number two seed in the Eastern Conference (behind Pittsburgh) and still have an outside shot at claiming the second overall seed in the league with a win and a draw or lose by Sacramento on Saturday.
"We fell short last weekend," said Rowdies Head Coach Nicky Law. "As any good professional does, you want to show a good response straight away to a disappointing performance. That is first and foremost what we're looking to do in Louisville... There's still a lot to play for this weekend, but I think the biggest thing is that we owe it to ourselves to put on a good performance against a good team. We're going there with a strong team with the mentality to go and get three points."
Top Four Finish
This is the fourth straight season in which the Rowdies have secure a finish in the top four of the Eastern Conference standings. As the number two seed in the east, the Rowdies have guaranteed hosting rights through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Cal Jennings Takes Home Player of the Month
Cal Jennings is heading into playoffs as one of the hottest strikers in the league. The Rowdies attacker earned his first-ever USL Championship Player of the Month award after bagging seven goals in seven appearances. Jennings has bagged 17 goals so far in 2023, a single-season career best for him.
"This is probably a good time of year to pick up an award like this because it means I'm hot at the right time and I've just got to carry that over to the games that count in the playoffs," said Jennings. "This award is really a testament to how well our whole team played in September. Now we're 100 percent focused on getting a result this Saturday to close out the regular season on a high and bringing that momentum into the playoffs."
Leo's Return
"While the ultimate result to Pittsburgh was a tough pill to swallow, the night did have one highlight. 2022 USL Championship MVP Leo Fernandes made his first appearance of the year since suffering a ruptured Achilles in February. There's no way to know how much of a factor Fernandes will be for the Rowdies in the playoffs, but everyone in Tampa Bay will feel a lot better knowing the veteran is available in some capacity."
Injury Report
OUT: Abel Caputo, Zach Herivaux
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