Pictured above: The Rowdies defensive line shut out Miami, not allowing a single shot on target throughout the entire game.
Courtesy of Max Steele | The Crow’s Nest
By Max Steele
On Oct. 20, the Tampa Bay Rowdies capped off their final home game of the regular season with a 3-0 victory over Miami FC at Al Lang Stadium. After clinching the United Soccer League Championship’s (USLC) Atlantic Division title earlier this month, Wednesday night’s
win secured the Rowdies the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
The first goal came early, as Rowdies forward Sebastián Guenzatti wasted no time finding the back of Miami’s net and put his team ahead in only the third minute of play. This marked Guenzatti’s 20th goal of the season, a new record for the organization.
With no other goals in the first half, Tampa Bay held the advantage at 1-0 as the two teams headed into the locker rooms.
The Rowdies kept the pressure on in the second half and Guenzatti added another tally mark to his historic season with a second goal in the 71st minute.
Only five minutes later, forward Steevan Dos Santos sealed the game as he crushed a volley past Miami’s goalkeeper and put Tampa Bay up 3-0.
Despite only possessing the ball for 36% of the game, the Rowdies were able to capitalize off their opportunities and come out victorious.
Thanks to an impressive match from his defensive line, Rowdies’ goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena secured a clean sheet in his debut game for the team. Raiko’s older brother, Tampa Bay Rays’ star outfielder Randy Arozarena, was seen in attendance supporting his brother’s first start.
With playoffs not kicking off until November, the Rowdies hit the road for the last two games of the regular season, traveling to Virginia to face Loudoun United on Oct. 23 and then Nevada to finish off against the Las Vegas Lights FC on Oct. 30.
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Max Steele is a junior digital communication and multimedia journalism major at USF St. Petersburg.
