News

The Basics
2013 Preseason Tour

Tampa Bay Rowdies at Eckerd College

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Location: 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Admission: Free of charge and fans can park in the lots adjacent to the Turley Athletic Complex or in front of the entrance to the baseball field.

EckerdTritons.com will stream the exhibition match between the Tritons and Rowdies. The broadcast will begin at 7:15 p.m. EST.

Roster
The Rowdies will have 14 signed players available for Saturday’s match, as well as eight trialists.

Scouting Eckerd
The Tritons are coming off one of the best seasons in school history in 2012 after clearing a path to the Sunshine State Conference Championship final as the No. 4 seed, finishing over .500 in the league with a 4-3-1 conference record. Eckerd College would go on to lose 3-0 to Rollins College in the SSC Championship game.

Eckerd features forward Matt Dolan, a sophomore who was Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-South Region in 2012. With five goals and five assists, he led the team last season with 15 points. Junior midfielder Mark Lee also picked up five goals last season, which included two game-winners

Rowdies Notes
Tampa Bay is coming into Wednesday’s match after losing 3-2 against Orlando City in the first leg of the I-4 Derby Presented by United World Soccer at the Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Saturday night.

The Rowdies would get on the board early in the first half, as newcomer forward Amani Walker netted his first goal since his arrival. The NASL side would see their lead vanish in the second half, as the Lions would score three goals (49’, 58’, 70’) that looked to secure the two-leg series. After withstanding several dangerous Orlando attacks, Tampa Bay netted the final goal of the night after a great free kick by midfielder Luke Mulholland in the 75th minute. The second leg of the I-4 Derby presented by United World Soccer will be played on March 30 at Al Lang Stadium.

The Rowdies visit Eckerd without 2011 NASL Best XI forward Mike Ambersley, who continues to be listed as day-to-day, while forward Carl Cort will be available for this match after being out of the lineup last Saturday due to a fractured nose. Defender Draymond Washington will be unavailable for tomorrow’s match, recovering from surgery on his left knee and Frankie Sanfilippo will also be out of the lineup due to the birth of his son late last week in California.

With the 2013 Preseason Tour well past the halfway mark, the Rowdies have recently released trialists Jemal Johnson and JC Mack.

Current trialists are:
Goalkeepers
Sanel Boric
Will Dieterich

Defenders
Anton Blackwood
Thurstan Johnson
Kyle Clinton
Jordan Gafa

Midfielders
Jamael Cox

Forwards
George Tor

Quotable
Rowdies Head Coach Ricky Hill
‘It is an opportunity to get Saturday’s defeat out of our system. It’s always good for our players to get right back out there after a loss and practice the things that didn’t go so well against Orlando. These matches also serve to build up our fitness towards the start of the NASL Season and it gives us a chance to also look at some players that might not have had so many playing minutes this preseason.”

Up Next
Tampa Bay will continue their 2013 Preseason Tour against Saint Leo University on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. The match will be played at West Pasco FC’s Mitchell Fields, located at 4025 Little Rd, New Port Richey, FL 34655. Admission will be free.

The reigning NASL Soccer Bowl Champions will start the 2013 NASL Spring Season by hosting the Carolina RailHawks in its 2013 home opener on Saturday, April 6 at Al Lang Stadium. For information on 2013 season tickets contact the front office at 813-287-1539 or tickets@rowdiessoccer.com. Single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date.