August 6, 2022
USL Championship League Match
Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL

Wake up call in Florida

After a week off, City traveled to Florida to tangle with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies brand dates back to 1975 when the team was created and played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).  They finished in 1st Place in the Eastern Division and went on the win the Soccer Bowl with a 2-nil victory over the Portland Timbers.

On August 12, 1979, I attended a Detroit Express match against Tampa Bay.  That evening, the Express defeated the Rowdies 2-1 on goals by Trevor Francis and Niels Guldbjerg.  It was the last match of the regular season, and then Tampa eliminated the Express from the playoffs in the Conference Quarter Finals.  The images on the slides that I took over 40 years ago did not survive the test of time.  But the program did.

City entered the match in 6th place in the East, rolling on a five-match unbeaten run, with two wins and three draws, conceding only three goals.  Tampa Bay held second place in the East, a point out of first, riding in on a 7-match winning streak.  The Rowdies had not lost a match since April 30th.

Tampa Bay Rowdies
Starting XI

CJ Cochran – GK
Conner Antley – D
Jordan Scarlett – D
Laurence Wyke – D
Aaron Guillen – M
Yann Ekra – M
Lewis Hilton – M
Sebastian Dalgaard – M
Jake LaCava – F
Steevan Dos Santos – F
Leo Fernandes – F

Detroit City FC
Starting XI

Nate Steinwascher – GK
Matt Lewis – D
Stephen Carroll – D
Karl Ouimette – D
Rhys Williams – M
Maxi Rodriguez – M
Abdoulaye Diop – M
Deklan Wynne – M
Pato Botello Faz – F
Connor Rutz – F
Antoine Hoppenot – F

Alyssa Nichols was the head referee.  She was the first FIFA certified referee from Mississippi, and this is her seventh as the head official in the USL Championship since 2020.  She has 13 matches in the NWSL and 5 in the NWSL Challenge Cups in 2021 and 2022.  She has only shown two red cards in all those matches; one on July 25, 2021 to Bianca St. Georges of the Chicago Red Stars against Gotham FC, and to Jeremy Rafanello of New York Red Bull II here in Tampa on October 15, 2021.  Both reds were shown in the 90th minute.  Assistant refs this evening were Rhett Hammil and Sean-Michael Kemp.

Tonight showed us where we were in comparison to the USL Championship elite teams.  It was a defensive battle for Detroit, as Tampa dominated the play.  In the 9th minute, Dos Santos received a long pass from the center stripe, slipped ahead of Stephen Carroll in the box, and slipped the ball past Nate Steinwascher.  But for the hustle of Matt Lewis, who cleared the ball off the line, City would have been down 1-nil.

A minute later, more pressure in the City end provided Yann Ekra with shot on goal that Nate Steinwascher parried away, to keep the match scoreless.  Then three minutes later, a Tampa corner kick was delivered to a wide open Sebastian Dalgaard.  He fired it on goal where Nate was in position to knock it down.

It was continuous pressure throughout, and though City maintained a solid defensive posture, Tampa broke through in the 64th minute.  A shot from the top of the box by Lewis Hilton forced Nate to dive to his right and palm it away.  Unfortunately, Steeven Dos Santos out paced the closest defender and slotted the ball into the wide open goal.

Though the final score was 1-nil, the result could have been much worse.  Nate Steinwascher made seven quality saves.  Despite Tampa Bay’s dominance, the scoreline represented City’s commitment to defense, while offensively, we’re just not there…yet.

STATS

Tampa Bay Rowdies 1, Detroit City FC 0

ATTENDANCE:  5,104

Possession: Tampa Bay 63.5%, DCFC 36.5%
Offsides:  Tampa Bay 2, DCFC 2
Corners:  Tampa Bay 15, DCFC 2
Passes:  Tampa Bay 578, DCFC 346
Passing Accuracy: Tampa Bay 86.9%, DCFC 77.5%
Shots:  Tampa Bay 29, DCFC 6
Shots on Target: Tampa Bay 8, DCFC 2
Blocked Shots:  Tampa Bay 14, DCFC 1
Fouls: Tampa Bay 5, DCFC 7
Yellow Cards:  Tampa Bay 1 (Laurence Wyke), DCFC 0
Red Cards:  Tampa Bay 0, DCFC 0

KEEPER KIT RECORD (Both USL Championship and Open Cup)

First loss in purple.

• Purple Kit:  3 draws, 1 loss.
• Yellow Kit: 5 wins, 3 draw, 1 loss 4 clean sheets
• Blue Kit: 6 wins, 1 draw, 4 loss, 3 clean sheets.