NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Tampa Bay Rowdies Close Preseason with 3-0 Win over UT

Published on March 22, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. the University of Tampa Spartans
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. the University of Tampa Spartans
(Tampa Bay Rowdies)

TAMPA, Fla. - In their final preseason tune-up before the regular season begins, the Tampa Bay Rowdies dispatched the University of Tampa Spartans 3-0 at Pepin Stadium Tuesday night.

The Rowdies dominated throughout, with forward Freddy Adu scoring off a free kick in the 20th minute and midfielder Michael Nanchoff finding the back of the net less than two minutes into the second half. Forward Tommy Heinemann added the final mark in the 81st minute.

"I think overall as a team we performed pretty well from the goalkeeper all the way through to the attackers," Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell said. "We were pleased."

Tampa Bay maintained possession in the attacking third throughout most of the game, leading to several quality scoring chances. In the span of nine minutes in the first half, forward Danny Mwanga had a pair of chances come dangerously close and midfielder Junior Burgos took a shot that deflected off the crossbar.

After essentially bringing on an entirely new lineup for the second half, the Rowdies kept the offense going. With Nanchoff scoring an insurance tally early on, Tampa Bay continued to push.

Early in the second half, Heinemann made a deep run down the right side, only to be stopped at the last minute by the UT goalkeeper. A few minutes later, defender Stefan Antonijevic headed a Nanchoff cross just over the net and out of play.

Heinemann finally rounded out the scoring, finding the back of the net in the 81st minute with midfielder Georgi Hristov recording the assist.

"It would have been nice to get a few more tonight, but it's coming together," Heinemann said. "You can see in the passing and in the movement that guys are starting to have a good understanding of each other."

Defensively, the Rowdies played well in front of goalkeeper Michael Langer. Tampa Bay held the Spartans without a shot on goal for the first 32 minutes. When Langer was tested, the goalkeeper was up to the challenge making a few key stops to keep the Spartans off the board.

"The guys in front were really good, not much for me to do," Langer said. "They did a good job, it's a good feeling."

With the win, Tampa Bay closed out the preseason with a record of 3-3-2 (W-T-L) and hasn't dropped a decision since a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union in the second game of the Suncoast Invitational on February 20.

Tampa Bay can now look forward to having matches matter in the standings with the regular season less than two weeks away.

"We can't wait," Campbell said. "We're all ready, we've had a great preseason. The guys' attitude and application has been great day in and day out."

Heinemann echoed his head coach.

"You train this hard every single day for weeks and in these preseason games and now you want to play for something," Heinemann said.

Now the Rowdies will begin preparation for the North American Soccer League season opener against the Indy Eleven at Al Lang Stadium on April 2. For tickets call 727-222-2000.

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Images from this story

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. the University of Tampa Spartans
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. the University of Tampa Spartans
   



North American Soccer League Stories from March 22, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central