NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Restrepo Looks For Strong Spring Season Finish

Published on June 14, 2013 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


TAMPA, Fla. - Rowdies goalkeeper Diego Restrepo is no stranger to big games and big situations. As a junior in college, he won a national championship with the University of Virginia while being named the MVP of the ACC Tournament and the defensive MVP of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA National Championship win came in a penalty shootout, so it's been no surprise that Restrepo has been able to handle some high pressure situations this season. "I like to be in those types of situations," grinned Restrepo. "In practice the guys always take penalty kicks on me and it helps for when the games come along."

In both the second and third rounds of the U.S. Open Cup, Restrepo made crucial saves on penalty kicks very late on in both games. When asked about his confidence, Restrepo simply stated, "It's been good".

He's been proud of his defense lately, saying that "the past four games, we've done really well defensively. We were unlucky over the weekend and we lost a game that we shouldn't have lost. We took our minds off of it for four minutes and we paid the price".

Restrepo made some key saves to keep the Rowdies close against the Portland Timbers Wednesday night, but the Rowdies unfortunately could not make things happen offensively. The defense was very solid throughout the match and would have kept a clean sheet were it not for a wonder goal from Michael Nanchoff and a solid finish from Jack Jewsbury.

"It was a great finish on both goals," commented Restrepo. "We were unlucky at points in the match but overall we had a good match defensively. It is a good sign looking forward with the NASL Spring Season coming to a close. We will need to play well defensively if we want to have a shot at winning it all."

Looking back on the Rowdies' season, Restrepo believes that the Rowdies "deserve to be in a better spot. I think we're probably the top team in the league, we've just gotten unlucky. We lost two or three games that we shouldn't have lost. We have three games left, we just have to win all three games and see what happens."

Restrepo has proven in multiple opportunities that he can make the big saves and also do the little things that make the great goalkeepers so good. Rowdies fans can be confident in the defense in these last three games knowing that they have a big time goalkeeper in Restrepo.

With two matches left in the NASL Spring Season, the Rowdies will first travel to Atlanta to face the Silverbacks on Saturday, June 22, while enjoying a bye the following weekend. The final match of the season is the traditional Fourth of July matchup against league rivals Ft. Lauderdale. The Strikers and Rowdies will face off on Thursday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg.

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North American Soccer League Stories from June 14, 2013


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