PREVIEW | FC Edmonton Visits League-Leading Rowdies

FC Edmonton will play their final match of a three-game road trip this Saturday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium in Florida. The club will aim to remain atop the NASL Fall Season standings with a victory against the league’s top overall team.

The Eddies are coming off consecutive draws against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and San Antonio Scorpions. On Wednesday night, the Eddies came back twice in each half with goals by Michael Nonni and Cristian Raudales to come away with a 2-2 draw and another positive result to stay at the top of the fall standings.

The Rowdies are currently the NASL combined standings leaders. The team defeated Atlanta Silverbacks at home in their Fall Season opener, 2-1, before falling in a surprise blowout to San Antonio Scorpions, 3-0, in their second match last Saturday.

The Rowdies made news this week after signing former United States national team midfielder Freddy Adu. The 26-year-old has played with several Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, as well as European clubs Benfica and AS Monaco. Adu will reunite with Rowdies head coach Thomas Rongen, who he played for with the United States U-20 team.

The Eddies and Rowdies last met in the Spring Season at Al Lang Stadium. Darwin Espinal and Brian Shiver scored for the home side while Eddies midfielder Lance Laing answered with a goal of his own in a losing cause. Edmonton has continued to score in the Fall Season despite fielding a depleted roster and currently lead the league in scoring in both the NASL combined (23) and Fall Season (7) standings.

“It’s a quick turnaround for us again and a difficult venue as well,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller said. “We have had some real competitive games with the Rowdies over the year. The character and the spirit in our group right now is second to none, and we will hopefully have a couple fresh faces to add to the lineup come Saturday night.”