PREVIEW | Strikers AIm For Back-To-Back Coastal Cup Wins Against The Rowdies

After being three minutes away from a victory at home against the New York Cosmos in their last match, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers host in-state rival the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday at Lockhart Stadium.

Fort Lauderdale opened the scoring midway through the first half when Walter Ramirez was tripped up in the box to earn a penalty kick. Gabriel stepped up and fired a sizzling shot past the diving New York goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. In the 48th minute, the Cosmos fouled PC in the box, resulting in another penalty kick for the Strikers. This time Ramirez received the call, and slammed the ball off the bottom left post and into the goal for a 2-0 lead. Fort Lauderdale would then go on and score on a beautiful individual effort in which PC delivered a backheel pass to Ramirez, who then dribbled forward in a run on the left flank before firing it past Maurer to secure a brace.

The Strikers appeared poised to garner three points, when New York answered with two goals in a four-minute span. The comeback began in the 62nd minute on a header by Cosmos midfielder Leo Fernandes, followed by a strike from Adam Moffat shortly thereafter. New York’s Sebastián Guenzatti netted the equalizer on a shot from inside the box two minutes into stoppage time to secure a point for the visitors and keep Fort Lauderdale winless against the Cosmos in the NASL Modern Era.

Walter Ramirez’s brace Saturday against New York earned him NASL Team of the Week honors for Week 6 of the Fall Season. The Honduran’s two-goal effort moves him into second in goals scored for the Strikers this season with five, one behind Stefano Pinho. The honor is the second time Ramirez has been named to the Team of the Week this season (Spring Week 3).

Fort Lauderdale welcomes back three players who were unavailable Saturday while serving suspensions for red cards received in the previous game against Atlanta. Forward Stefano Pinho looks to reclaim his scoring touch this week against the Rowdies. Meanwhile, defender Karsten Smith and midfielder James Marcelin look to have an impact on the Strikers’ defense.

Saturday marked the debut of newcomer Hendry Thomas, who played a solid 90 minutes in a defensive midfield role.

Tampa Bay travels to Fort Lauderdale following a 3-2 victory against a fellow Floridian side, Jacksonville Armada FC. The Rowdies scored the first three goals of the match with two scored by forward Maicon Santos. Jacksonville tried to pull off the comeback to walk away with at least a point, but fell one goal short.