The boys are back! Following back-to-back Eastern Conference titles, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have begun again their quest for the club’s first USL Championship. This Saturday, the men in green and yellow host their 2022 home opener at Al Lang Stadium, kicking off against the Indy Eleven at 7:30 p.m.
While it’s the first home game for the Rowdies, it will be their second of the season after opening the 2022 campaign on the road in a draw with Birmingham Legion FC. The Rowdies enter the season as one of the favorites to again reach the Championship game, an unsurprising expectation given the success of their 2021 run through the conference. Led by Coach of the Year Neill Collins, the Rowdies had more wins than anyone else in the Eastern Conference last year, and the majority of the pieces driving that run have returned for 2022.
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Most of the key players leading Tampa Bay’s record-breaking offense last year are back, and some new additions to the attacking group may result in the Rowdies being even stronger on that end of the field.
On the defensive side, however, two important faces from last year are no longer around. USL Defender of the Year Forrest Lasso signed with a Swedish club, and dominant goalkeeper Evan Louro is out for the year after tearing his ACL during the celebration after Tampa Bay won last year’s Eastern Conference Championship. How Collins and the team replace those two stalwarts will go a long way in determining whether the Rowdies can repeat last year’s stellar run.
Tickets are available now for Saturday’s game, and the full schedule can be found here.
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