Preview: Rowdies vs Charleston

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USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Preview: Rowdies vs Charleston

July 25, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


727 Night: In celebration of 727 Day and St Pete, fans can enjoy hamburgers, 16oz beers, Viva Tequila Seltzers for $7.27 each all match long. Cookie Fueled Mama will also be offering "Rowdies Biggest Fan" cookies for $7.27.

Tickets: Fans can purchase tickets for the match.

Tune In: Saturday's match will be broadcast locally on Tampa Bay 44 and streamed on ESPN+.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies are set to close out the month of July with a matchup that fans have had circled on their calendars since the schedule was released last year. Last year's Eastern Conference winners, the Charleston Battery come to Al Lang Stadium this Saturday sitting first overall in the league standings after knocking off Loudoun United FC 2-1 on Tuesday. Tampa Bay is aiming to gain ground on Charleston in the standings race in their head-to-head meeting. Heading into Saturday, the Rowdies are 8 points back of Charleston with two games in hand.

While this week's match won't make or break either team's season, it's certainly one both will be eager to take all three points away from considering the impact it may end up having on playoff positioning and the Players' Shield race.

"We're aware of the league table, and we know the league standings," said Rowdies Midfielder Lewis Hilton. "We know they're a good team and they're right up there, but ultimately the game is only worth three points. It's the same as last week and the same as next week. So we approach the game as we try to every week, especially at Al Lang. We want to be on the front foot and play our game to entertain the fans."

Series History

Saturday will be the 22nd competitive meeting between the Rowdies and Charleston. The Battery hold an edge in the overall series with 10 wins, while the Rowdies have claimed 8 wins. Charleston claimed both regular-season meetings between the two sides last year, outscoring the Rowdies 5-1. Starting in 2019, the supporters of the Rowdies and Battery have dubbed the rivalry between the two Eastern Conference foes as the "No Quarter Derby" due to the seafaring and pirate roots of both regions. Read more about the history of the Rowdies rivalry with Charleston.

Jennings & Markanich

This weekend's match at Al Lang Stadium will see the league's top two scorers squaring off on the same pitch. Charleston's Nick Markanich leads the USL Championship Golden Boot race with 19 goals through 21 appearances. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's Cal Jennings currently ranks second in the league with 12 goals through 19 appearances. Jennings is on pace to break his own personal single-season scoring record of 19 goals, which he set in his first season with the Rowdies last year.

Matching Up With Charleston

Given their place in the standings, it's no surprise that both the Rowdies and Charleston stack up as two of the strongest attacking and defensive teams in the league so far this year. Charleston is second in the league in scoring with 40 tallies, with the Rowdies ranking third on 33 goals. Charleston leads the league with 11 shutouts, with the Rowdies sitting third after their eighth clean sheet of the season last week in Indy. The Rowdies aren't that far behind when it comes to goals allowed, conceding only 18 while Charleston has let in 16.

"Charleston has some real quality players," says Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson, who will get his first taste of the Rowdies-Battery rivalry this Saturday. "They've got Aaron Molloy with them, and their strikers are real threats and have been scoring goals this year. There are threats, but we believe that if we play our game to our level, we expect to win these games."

Availability Report

OUT: Forrest Lasso, Nick Moon, Cristian Ortiz (International Duty)

QUESTIONABLE: Leo Fernandes

MATCHDAY 20 INFO:

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Charleston Battery/

Saturday, July 27, 7:30 p.m. ET

Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL

2024 League Records:

Rowdies: 10W-4L-5D, 35 pts, 3rd East (6-1-1 at home)

Charleston: 12W-2L-7D, 43 pts, 1st East (5-1-6 on the road)

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

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