Sports stats

USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Match Preview: #TBRvSTL

July 19, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


The Basics

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Saint Louis FC

Saturday, July 20, 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. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., 60 minutes before kickoff.

How to Watch

The match will be broadcast online on ESPN+. International viewers can watch online.

Records

Tampa Bay: 11-1-7 (W-L-T), 1st place; 5-1-4 at home

Saint Louis: 2-4-3 (W-L-T), 11th place; 2-4-3 on road

Last Meeting

The Rowdies and Saint Louis drew 1-1 in Missouri on March 23 in week three. Sam Fink scored off a set piece in the 26th minute, breaking the Rowdies 206-minute shutout streak to open the season. Tampa Bay had to wait until the 76th minute to equalize, with Sebastian Guenzatti converting a penalty kick after a Saint Louis handball in the box.

Rowdies Notes

The Tampa Bay Rowdies return home atop the USL Championship's Eastern Conference following a 1-1 draw in Pittsburgh last weekend. The Rowdies fell behind early in the second half on a Riverhounds penalty kick but Lucky Mkosana scored in the 86th minute to win a point for the Rowdies.

Tampa Bay enters this match with 40 points from 19 games in 2019. The Rowdies finished the 2018 season with 41 points, meaning if Tampa Bay avoids defeat against Saint Louis FC, it will match or better its point haul from a season ago with 14 games left to play. The Rowdies tallied 53 points from 32 games in 2017, their best total since joining the USL Championship.

Sebastian Guenzatti leads the team in scoring with 10 goals, good for fourth-best in the league. His most frequent strike partner, Juan Tejada, is the Rowdies second-leading scorer with seven goals in his first professional season.

Tejada will miss this match as he is currently on international duty with the Panama U22 team for Olympic qualifying. Tejada started and scored for Panama on Wednesday night in a 1-1 draw against El Salvador in his international debut. The teams will meet again Sunday evening. Tejada is expected back for next week's visit to the New York Red Bulls II.

Forward Jaime Siaj is yet to play this season due to a quad injury, but he was on the bench for the first time last weekend,

Tampa Bay's early season success was spurred by an airtight defense that kept nine clean sheets in the first 13 matches of the season. Since then, the Rowdies have conceded in six consecutive matches. Still, Tampa Bay has only conceded 12 goals in total this season, tied for the fewest in the Championship. Indy has also only conceded 12 goals but it has played two fewer matches.

With 30 goals scored this season, the Rowdies rank fourth in Eastern Conference in scoring this season, though New York (45) leads the conference by 12 over Nashville (33) in second place. The Rowdies have only been shut out twice this season, tied for the fewest in the East with New York and Charleston.

Injury Report

QUESTIONABLE - Andrew Tinari (groin)

PROBABLE - Jaime Siaj (quad strain)

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 19, 2019


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.

Other Recent Tampa Bay Rowdies Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central