Rowdies Start Hot, Finish with a Point in Jägermeister Cup Battle Versus Miami

Sports stats



USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rowdies Start Hot, Finish with a Point in Jägermeister Cup Battle Versus Miami

April 26, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


ST. PETERSBURG, FLA - The Tampa Bay Rowdies opened their first USL Jägermeister Cup run in dramatic and frustrating fashion at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night. After jumping out to a three-goal lead in the first half, the Rowdies conceded three times in the closing half and ended up falling 4-3 in penalties to come away with a point in the first round of the tournament.

"It's important that we keep trusting the process," said Rowdies Interim Head Coach Steve Coleman. "I talked early on in the week about stacking [good training] sessions on to each other to build momentum. I think we had a really good week, and we certainly prepared in the way we wanted to prepare for the game. The first half shows that. The message now is that we have to keep trusting the process."

Rowdies forward Woobens Pacius opened the scoring only eight minutes into the match. Midfielder Danny Crisostomo poked a loose ball forward into Miami's defensive end that was scooped up by Pacius, who drove forward before taking a long-range strike that clipped a defender's foot on its way into the back of the net.

Center back Robert Castellanos doubled Tampa Bay's advantage 20 minutes later. Midfielder Cammy MacPherson delivered a pinpoint cross from the right flank into the center of Miami's box, allowing Castellanos to power home a header.

Four minutes later, Rowdies forward Manuel Arteaga nabbed his first goal of the year to put the Rowdies out in front by three. Pacius initiated the sequence with a threaded pass through the legs of a Miami defender, allowing teammate Ollie Bassett to penetrate down the left wing with little interference. Bassett cut inside the box and centered a pass for Arteaga, who buried the delivery into the goal.

The tide turned in Miami's favor during a hectic five-minute stretch near the hour mark. Rowdies captain Aaron Guillen was whistled for a penalty trying to thwart a Miami counterattack. Miami's captain Sebastian Blanco then calmly converted from the spot. Tobias Zarate cut the lead down to one with a free kick from just outside the box sent through the Rowdies defensive wall and into the bottom left corner of the goal.

"The turning point in the game, the penalty, shifted a few mindsets into something that happened in the past and we didn't quite respond," said Coleman. "The free kick was our mistake on the counter in turns of managing our numbers, but the guy still has to score the free kick, which [Tobias Zarate] does, and then it's game on."

Miami found their equalizer in the 77th minute. A cross sent in from the right flank was then headed across the box for an unmarked Lucas Melano at the back post to tap across the line.

The Rowdies and all the fans in attendance thought a penalty in their favor was assured as the match neared stoppage time. Substitute Leo Fernandes dribbled through a crowd of defenders before going down when a Miami defender appeared to get a fistful of his jersey and shoulder closing him down in the box. No whistle came, though, and the match headed straight to a penalty shootout.

The shootout played out similarly to the 90 minutes before. Rowdies goalkeeper Ethan Bandre started things off well with a save on Bolu Akinyode's opening penalty, while Bassett, Arteaga, and Fernandes deftly converted Tampa Bay's three penalty strikes. Momentum shifted when Miami goalkeeper stymied Rowdies midfielder Danny Crisostomo's penalty and then made back-to-back saves on forward Endri Mustali and midfielder Nate Worth.

Under the format of the Jägermeister Cup, the Rowdies earned a point by virtue of the fact the match finished in a stalemate after 90 minutes, but Miami gained an extra point in the group standings as the winners of the penalty shootout.

"The first half, we implemented everything we've been working on in the past couple of weeks," said Crisostomo, "...obviously everyone knows the second 45 was the complete opposite of what we wanted, how we wanted to play. There's definitely positives, but it's something we have to put together for 90 minutes."

The Rowdies will play three more rounds in the group stage of the Jägermeister Cup as they aim to advance into the knockout round. Their next bout in the tournament will be at Al Lang against South Georgia Tormenta FC on May 31. In the meantime, the Rowdies return to regular season action in the USL Championship when they host Birmingham Legion FC next Saturday, May 3.

Scoring Summary

TBR - Pacius (Crisostomo), 8'

TBR - Castellanos (MacPherson), 28'

TBR - Arteaga (Bassett), 32'

MIA - Blanco (Penalty), 57'

MIA - Zarate, 61'

MIA - Melano, 77'

Penalty Shootout Summary

Miami: Saved (Akinyode), Converted (Lawrence), Converted (Gavilanes), Converted (Celeste), Saved (Cardona), Converted (Hoyos),

Rowdies: Converted (Bassett), Converted (Arteaga), Converted (Fernandes), Saved (Crisostomo), Saved (Mustali), Saved (Worth)

Caution Summary

TBR - Guillen, Yellow Card, 56'

TBR - Lasso, Yellow Card, 60'

MIA - Melano, Yellow Card, 69'

MIA - Bonfiglio, Yellow Card, 82'

MIA - Knutson, Yellow Card, 84'

Lineups

Rowdies: Bandré, Vancaeyezeele, Castellanos, Lasso, Guillen, Niyongabire (Fernandes, 61'), MacPherson (Worth, 45+1), Crisostomo, Bassett, Pacius (Mustali, 61'), Arteaga

Rowdies Bench: Campisi, DeJesus, Hilton, Worth, Fernandes, Mustali, Rodriguez

Miami: Hamid, Mitrano (Lawrence, 46'), Knutson, Akinyode, Romero, Mercado, Veron (Celeste, 46'), Cardona, Zarate (Melano, 68'), Bonfiglio (Hoyos, 87'), Blanco (Gavilanes, 75')

Miami Bench: Rodriguez, Arana, Felipe Rodriguez, Celeste, Diaz, Gavilanes, Hoyos, Lawrence, Melano

Check out the Tampa Bay Rowdies Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 26, 2025


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.

Other Recent Tampa Bay Rowdies Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central