Rowdies Find Late Winner in Jacksonville
USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rowdies Find Late Winner in Jacksonville

Published on April 4, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


The Tampa Bay Rowdies continued their perfect start to the 2026 season with a stoppage-time winner from forward Evan Conway to knock off Sporting JAX 1-0 on Saturday night at Hodges Stadium. The victory is Tampa Bay's fourth of the season, moving them one win away from matching the best start in club history in 2021.

"(Tonight's win) is massive for the group because it gives them belief that they can find a way to win," said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. "It's what the best teams do, right? They find a way to win. There's a long way to go for us, but it's really pleasing that we can come out of here with three points tonight because a lot of teams would have dropped points."

Jacksonville earned the first chance of target of the night just past the half hour mark when forward Kieran Sadlier slipped through the defensive line after a turnover and fired a left-footed shot from the left edge of the six-yard box. However, Rowdies Goalkeeper Austin Pack did well to close down the angle at the near post, stifling Sadlier's attempt to keep the hosts off the scoresheet.

Rowdies Wingback Sebastian Cruz aimed for goal just before the halftime break with a low strike from outside the box, but his effort hit the left post and Jacksonville managed to clear the rebound. Midfielder Marco Micaletto also hit the woodwork with a strike from distance that had Jacksonville Goalkeeper Christian Olivares beat but clipped the crossbar on its way out for a goal kick.

"We just had to keep being patient and doing our thing," said Casciato. "That was our message at halftime, eventually it paid off and we got the late winner that we deserved."

Tampa Bay's winner finally came as the final whistle neared. In the fifth minute of added time, substitute Charlie Ostrem lifted a cross from the left edge of the box that met the head of Conway in front of the goal. Conway made the most of the chance, nestling the ball into the net to secure his second goal of the year. The Rowdies striker has now recorded three goal contributions (two goals and one assist) in his first three appearances, all from off the bench.

"Evan is still building up to full fitness, but we know he's a top player at this level," said Casciato. "We know he can come up big in big moments and he did that tonight. We're really pleased for him and there's a lot more to come from him this season."

Next up, the Rowdies go for their fifth straight win as they return to Al Lang Stadium to host Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Scoring Summary

TBR - Conway (Ostrem), 90+5'

Caution Summary

JAX - Gomez (Yellow Card), 23'

JAX - Soumaoro (Yello Card), 47'

Stats Summary: TBR / JAX

Shots: 16 / 6

Shots on Goal: 3 / 1

Saves: 0 / 6

Corner Kicks: 7 / 0

Fouls Conceded: 12 / 9

Offside: 0 / 0

Possession: 30.0 / 70.0

Lineups

TBR: Pack, Acoff, Schaefer, Dossantos, Cruz, Hilton (Ostrem, 85'), Schneider, Micaletto (Perez, 72'), Dolabella (Oliveira, 72'), Cicerone, Myers (Conway, 61')

TBR Bench: Waite, Leerman, Ostrem, Oliveira, Perez, Conway, Henderlong

JAX: Olivares, Neville, Edwards, Gomez, Traora, Rose, Rossiter Soumaoro, Pedder (Roberts, 21'), Sadlier (Armstrong, 76'), Jaasklainen

JAX Bench: Casa, Avwei, Al-Qaq, Soto, Proctor, Roberts, Kuzain, Armstrong

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 4, 2026


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