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USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Preview: Rowdies at Oakland

June 6, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


The Rowdies close out their California road trip this Saturday with a matchup against Oakland Roots SC. Tampa Bay is aiming to maintain its momentum after three straight shutout victories in league play, including a 1-0 win at Sacramento Republic FC last weekend. Oakland comes into this week's matchup off the back of a 1-0 loss to Colorado Springs.

Saturday's bout will be the fourth competitive meeting between Tampa Bay and Oakland. The series history is on the side of the Rowdies, who have yet to drop a result to Oakland. In their previous three meetings, the Rowdies have claimed two 3-0 victories at Al Lang Stadium and picked up a point in a scoreless draw at Oakland.

Dennis Back in Oakland

Rowdies midfielder Charlie Dennis makes his first trip back to Oakland since leaving the club for Tampa Bay ahead of the 2023 season. The Englishman is hitting his stride just in time for his return. Injury sidelined him for the Rowdies preseason and the early months of the season, but Dennis has already bagged a goal and assist and two USL Championship Team of the Week selections in his first two starts of the year. Dennis scored the crucial game winner over Sacramento last week. Despite missing out on the start of the year, Dennis also leads the Rowdies in chances created with 17.

Using Their Heads

The Rowdies rank fourth in goals scored heading into the weekend. With 24 goals tallied so far, they are one of only four teams with more than 20 goals under their belts. They do lead the way in one area of the attack by a wide margin, though. The Rowdies have recorded 10 headed goals through their first 12 matches, making them the only team with double digit headed goals in the league in 2024.

Scouting Oakland

After earning just one win through their first seven outings in 2024, Oakland parted ways with head coach Noah Delgado on April 28 and tapped assistant coach Gavin Glinton to take the reins. While Oakland has still struggled to find consistency over the last month, the club has notched wins in two of their last three matches.

A theme for Oakland so far this year has been an inability to score goals. Oakland is one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, with only 13 goals scored in 13 matches played. Oakland's Trayvon Reid, Jeciel Cedeno, Johnny Rodriguez lead the squad with a combined 16 shots on target. For comparison, Tampa Bay's two leading scorers, Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga have combined for 35 shots on target this year.

Injury Report

OUT: Zane Bubb (Knee), Forrest Lasso (ACL), Nick Moon (Hamstring)

QUESTIONABLE: Manuel Arteaga (Hamstring)

MATCHDAY 13 INFO:

Tampa Bay Rowdies at Oakland Roots SC

Saturday, June 8, 10 p.m. ET

Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA

2024 League Records:

Rowdies: 6W-2L-4D, 22 pts, 4th East (2-1-2 on the road)

Oakland: 3W-7L-3D, 21 pts, 9th West (2-3-1 at home)

Tune in: Fans can stream Saturday's match on ESPN+

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 6, 2024


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