Rowdies Rally to Beat Pittsburgh, 2-1
USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rowdies Rally to Beat Pittsburgh, 2-1

Published on August 30, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


ST. PETERSBURG, FLA - The Tampa Bay Rowdies mounted a second-half comeback to take all three points over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.

"We speak a lot about being resilient," said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato. "Things are not always going to go your way. Going down in the first two minutes of the game wasn't part of the gameplan. I thought the response in the second half was fantastic. Credit to the guys, they've been superb since the day I got here. If we keep trying to get better every day, like we did tonight from the first half to the second half we're going to be just fine."

Tampa Bay started the night on shaky ground, conceding just two minutes into the match. Pittsburgh's Robbie Mertz sliced through the left edge of the Rowdies box before slipping a pass to an unmarked Charles Ahl, who deftly deposited his strike into the back of the net for the early lead.

Pittsburgh's early sucker punch put the Rowdies on the back foot throughout the rest of the first half. Their first effort on target didn't come until moments before the halftime whistle when midfielder Lewis Hilton launched a long-distance strike through a crowd of defenders, forcing Pittsburgh's Goalkeeper Eric Dick into a diving save.

Slowly but surely, the Rowdies gained ground on Pittsburgh in the second half, thanks in large part to the contributions from a handful of substitutes. Their hard work was rewarded in the 64th minute, as Rowdies newcomer Paul Marie delivered a corner kick on a platter to the near post for substitute Joey Skinner to head on frame. Skinner's header was narrowly pushed into the crossbar by Dick, but Hilton was in the perfect spot to redirect the rebound right back on target and past the keeper.

"I think you need moments like that to lift you sometimes when things are not quite going your way," said Casciato. "I want to give a big shout out to the staff. [First Team Analyst] Alejando Fernandez and [Assistant Coach] Stuart Dobson, those guys are working really hard on the set pieces, along with [Assistant Coach] Steve Coleman and now [Assistant Coach] John Pascarella coming into the staff. [Assistant Coach] Yann Ekra is a great asset as well. Thes guys are all working really hard to make sure we're performing at our best level. It's great to see all the hard work is paying off, and long may it continue."

After playing the first hour and change from behind, the Rowdies made the most of Hilton's equalizer and continued to push for a go-ahead goal. Forward Woobens Pacius eventually delivered the winner in the 76th minute. Substitute Manuel Arteaga made the vital delivery on the goal, sending a cross right on the spot to Pacius in the box. Pacius chested the cross to the far post down before zipping the ball past Dick with his second touch to seal the victory.

"I'm happy that we were able to give [the fans] a result tonight, because they are always there for us in the bad moments and the good moments," said Pacius. "When it was 1-1 and we needed that goal, they were there to cheer for us."

With the result, the Rowdies moved to 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, three points back of Rhode Island FC for the final playoff spot.

"Coach Dom asked us players to show character and heart," said Hilton. "Although the performance definitely wasn't perfect, we definitely showed that going a goal down and then coming back. Just finding a way to win at this time of the season and with our position in the table, that's all that matters."

Next up for the Rowdies is a showdown with Sacramento Republic FC at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday, September 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Scoring Summary

PITT - Ahl (Mertz), 3'

TBR - Hilton, 64'

TBR - Pacius (Arteaga), 76'

Caution Summary

TBR - Crisostomo, Yellow Card, 50'

TBR - Marie, Yellow Card, 69'

Lineups

Rowdies: Bandre, Vancaeyezeele, Castellanos, Guillen, Marie, Wyke, Crisostomo (Moon, 60')(Azocar in for Moon 75'),, Hilton (Sharp, 74'), Bodily (Skinner, 61'), Alvarez (Arteaga, 46'), Pacius

Rowdies Bench: Hamid, Klepacz, Skinner, Moon, Arteaga, Azocar, Rodriguez, Sharp

Pittsburgh: Dick, Ydrach, Suber, Vacter (Etou, 85'), Barnes, Griffin, Ahl (Boone 74'), Biasi (Osumanu, 85'), Sample (Walti, 75'), Williams, Mertz (Jacquesson, 84')

Pittsburgh Bench: Randolph, Osumanu, Etou, Walti, Jacquesson, Boone, Bouregy

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 30, 2025


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