2020 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

Tampa Bay Rowdies
2020 season
ChairmanStuart Sternberg
Head coachNeill Collins
StadiumAl Lang Stadium
USL Championship1st (Group H)
USL CupFinalist[1]
U.S. Open CupCancelled
Top goalscorerLeague: Sebastián Guenzatti (8)
All: Sebastián Guenzatti (10)
Highest home attendanceLeague: 403
All: 1,098
Lowest home attendance140
Average home league attendance218.43
Biggest winMIA 0–3 TBR (August 7)
TBR 3–0 MIA (September 2)
Biggest defeatCHS 1–0 TBR (Aug. 29 & Sept. 11)
← 2019
2021 →

The 2020 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the club's eleventh season of existence, their fourth in the United Soccer League, and second in the USL Championship. Including the previous Tampa Bay Rowdies, this was the 27th season of a franchise in the Tampa Bay metro area with the Rowdies moniker. Including the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 33rd season of professional soccer in the Tampa Bay region.

Club

Roster

As of August 5, 2020[2]
No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Evan Louro  United States
2 DF Obafemi Awodesu ([A])  United States
3 DF Forrest Lasso  United States
4 MF Lewis Hilton  England
5 DF Jordan Scarlett  Jamaica
7 MF Yann Ekra  France
8 MF Zach Steinberger  United States
9 FW Kyle Murphy  United States
10 MF Kevin Mendoza  Mexico
11 MF Leo Fernandes  Brazil
13 FW Sebastián Guenzatti  Uruguay
14 MF Malik Johnson  Canada
16 DF Max Lachowecki  United States
17 FW Juan Tejada  Panama
18 MF Dominic Oduro  Ghana
19 MF Adam Najem  Afghanistan
21 GK Macklin Robinson  United States
22 MF Jordan Doherty  Republic of Ireland
23 MF Sebastian Dalgaard  Denmark
24 DF Mustapha Dumbuya  Sierra Leone
25 GK Ian McGrane  United States
26 MF Hayden Morgan ([A])  United States
27 FW Landon Ameres ([A])  United States
28 MF Julio Plata ([A])  United States
33 DF Aarón Guillén  Mexico
44 DF Alex Pendjos  Scotland
77 FW Lucky Mkosana  Zimbabwe
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract

Technical staff

Medical staff

  • United States Andrew Keane – head athletic trainer
  • United States Michelle Leget – assistant athletic trainer
  • United States Dr. Mohit Bansal – team physician and orthopedic surgeon
  • United States Dr. Vania Reyes – team physician, sports medicine

Front office

Competitions

Exhibitions

The Rowdies hosted Major League Soccer teams in the Suncoast Invitational for the fifth year in a row.

February 1, 2020 Preseason Tampa Bay Rowdies v Chivas Florida U23 St. Petersburg, FL
Murphy
Mkosana 		Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: closed-door
Note: Result not made public.
February 8, 2020 Preseason UNF Ospreys 0–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Jacksonville, FL
13:30 EST (UTC−5) Report Guillén (Hilton)
Murphy (Tejada)		 Stadium: Hodges Stadium
February 12, 2020 Preseason Orlando City SC 2–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Orlando, FL
Bender 70'
Urso 76'		 Report Murphy 49' Stadium: Exploria Stadium
Attendance: closed-door
February 15, 2020 Suncoast Invitational Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Montreal Impact St. Petersburg, FL
19:00 EST (UTC−5) Guenzatti 14', 66' (Mkosana) Report Quioto 90' (pen.) Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
February 22, 2020 Suncoast Invitational Tampa Bay Rowdies 0–1 Inter Miami CF St. Petersburg, FL
19:00 EST (UTC−5) Report Robinson 21' Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
February 23, 2020 Preseason Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–3 Tormenta FC St. Petersburg, FL
Mkosana 57' (pen.)
Lachowecki 60'		 Report Mayr-Fälten 1'
Micaletto 28'
Coutinho 33'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: closed-door
February 28, 2020 Preseason USF Bulls 1–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Tampa, FL
19:00 EST (UTC−5) Billhardt 27'
Claudel Yellow card 2nd H' Yellow-red card 66'		 Report Tejada 90+2' Stadium: Corbett Soccer Stadium
July 1, 2020 Midseason Tampa Bay Rowdies v Norwich City U23s St. Petersburg, FL
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Note: Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

USL Championship

Main article: 2020 USL Championship season

Standings — Group H

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 16 10 3 3 25 11 +14 33 2.06 Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
2 Charleston Battery 15 9 3 3 26 15 +11 30 2.00
3 Miami FC 16 4 4 8 20 34 −14 16 1.00
4 Atlanta United 2 16 3 3 10 23 33 −10 12 0.75
Source: USL

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
16 10 3 3 25 11  +14 33 5 2 1 15 7  +8 5 1 2 10 4  +6

Last updated: 19 January 2020.
Source: Match reports

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516
StadiumAHHAHAAHHAHHAAHH
ResultWWDDWWWDWLWWLWWL
Position1111111111111111
Updated to match(es) played on 20 January 2020. Source: Match reports
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

March 7, 2020 1 New York Red Bulls II 0–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Montclair, NJ
19:00 EST (UTC−5) Muyl Yellow card 40'
Kilwien Yellow card 43'		 Report Fernandes Yellow card 30', 56' (Steinberger)
Hilton Yellow card 66'
Dumbuya Yellow card 86'		 Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field
Attendance: 1,002
Referee: Kevin Broadley
July 11, 2020 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Atlanta United 2 St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Doherty Yellow card 52'
Mkosana 61' (Tejada)
Fernandes 87', Yellow card 90'		 Report Bashti Red card 7'
Conway 11' (Gannon)
Reilly Yellow card 90+7'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 140[3]
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
July 17, 2020 3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–2 North Carolina FC St. Petersburg, FL
18:45 EDT (UTC−5) Guenzatti 7' (Fernandes)
Fernandes 22'
Mkosana Yellow card 40'		 Report Fortune 56'
Kristo 83' (Taylor)		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 141
Referee: Gabriele Giusti
July 25, 2020 4 Birmingham Legion 1–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Birmingham, AL
19:30 CDT (UTC−5) Crognale 16' (Lapa)
Akinyode Yellow card 45+1'
Asiedu Yellow card 66'		 Report Lasso Yellow card 13'
Guenzatti 51' (Tejada)		 Stadium: BBVA Compass Field
Referee: Chris Ruska
July 31, 2020 5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–0 Charleston Battery St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−4) Lasso Yellow card 31'
Guenzatti 40' (Doherty)
Fernandes Yellow card 68'
Johnson 88' (Guenzatti)		 Report Gdula Yellow card 3'
Zarokostas Yellow card 43'
van Schaik Yellow card 63' Yellow-red card 81'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski
August 7, 2020 6 Miami FC 0–3 Tampa Bay Rowdies Miami, FL
19:00 EDT (UTC−5) Rozeboom Yellow card 36'
Williams Yellow card 64'
Thiaw Yellow card 76'		 Report Guenzatti 38'
Johnson 85' (Doherty)
Tejada 90+4' (Hilton)		 Stadium: Riccardo Silva Stadium
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
August 12, 2020 7 Atlanta United 2 0–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Kennesaw, GA
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Goodrum Yellow card 22'
Diop Yellow card 90+6'		 Report Lasso 34' (Hilton)
Tejada 81' (Ekra)		 Stadium: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
Referee: Kyle Johnston
August 16, 2020 8 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–1 Miami FC St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Guillén Yellow card 31'
Mkosana 59' (Johnson)		 Report Velásquez 7' (Saydee)
Griffiths Yellow card 11'
Othello Yellow card 45+4'
Heath Yellow card 76'
Thiaw Yellow card 82'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 244
Referee: Tori Penso
August 22, 2020 9 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Atlanta United 2 St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Doherty 21' (Ekra)
Murphy 39' (Ekra)
Ekra Yellow card 45+2'		 Report Macky Diop Yellow card 37'
Njie Yellow card 45+1'
Goodrum 90' (pen.)		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 281
Referee: Gabriele Giusti
August 29, 2020 10 Charleston Battery 1–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies Charleston, SC
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Zarokostas 22' (Kelly-Rosales)
Kelly-Rosales Yellow card 41'
Archer Yellow card 47'		 Report Johnson Yellow card 34'
Scarlett Yellow card 45+3'		 Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium
Attendance: 203
Referee: Matthew Thompson
September 2, 2020 11 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–0 Miami FC St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Steinberger Yellow card 11'
Scarlett 39' (Hilton)
Guenzatti 64' (Lasso)
Fernandes 83' (pen.)		 Report Sam Yellow card 37'
Thiaw Yellow card 42'
Rozeboom Yellow card 82'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 180
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
September 6, 2020 12 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–0 Philadelphia Union II St. Petersburg, FL
21:56 EDT (UTC−5) Lasso Yellow card 4'
Guenzatti 6' (Johnson)
Ekra 39' (Steinberger)
Louro Yellow card 60'		 Report Aaronson Yellow card 50'
Ofeimu Yellow card 56'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 140
Referee: Tori Penso
September 11, 2020 13 Charleston Battery 1–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies Charleston, SC
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Lewis 54' (Cichero)
Archer Yellow card 58'
Zarokostas Yellow card 81'
Paterson Yellow card 89'		 Report Oduro Yellow card 14' Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium
Attendance: 250
Referee: Kevin Broadley
September 16, 2020 14 Atlanta United 2 1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Kennesaw, GA
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Scarlett 55' (o.g.)
Goodrum Yellow card 61'
Fortune Yellow card 67'		 Report Lasso 29' (Fernandes)
Fernandes Yellow card 81'
Murphy Yellow card 82'
Guenzatti 90+5' (Dalgaard)		 Stadium: Fifth Third Bank Stadium
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
September 26, 2020 15 Miami FC 0–1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Miami, FL
22:01 EDT (UTC−5) Williams Yellow card 75'
Granitto Yellow card 88'
Ndam Yellow card 90+1'		 Report Scarlett Yellow card 16'
Ekra Yellow card 25'
Guenzatti 37' (Scarlett)		 Stadium: Riccardo Silva Stadium
Referee: Natalie Simon
October 3, 2020 16 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–2 Charleston Battery St. Petersburg, FL
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Guenzatti Yellow card 39'
Doherty Yellow card 43'
Lasso 62'
Najem Yellow card 68'
Oduro Yellow card 90'		 Report Bosua Yellow card 14'
Nelson Yellow card 34'
Zarokostas 57', 84' (Adesodun), Yellow card 87'
Marini Yellow card 80'
Crawford Yellow card 85'		 Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 403
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski

USL Championship playoffs

Main article: 2020 USL Championship Playoffs

Bracket

Conference quarter-finals
October 10 		Conference semi-finals
October 17 		Conference finals
October 24 		USL Championship
cancelled
            
A1 Reno 1868 FC 4
B2 LA Galaxy II 1
A1 Reno 1868 FC 2 (4)
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (p) 2 (5)
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (a.e.t.) 1
A2 Sacramento Republic FC 0
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (p) 1 (4)
Western Conference
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC 1 (2)
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC (p) 2 (4)
D2 FC Tulsa 2 (2)
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC (p) 1 (5)
C2 New Mexico United 1 (3)
D1 San Antonio FC 0
C2 New Mexico United (a.e.t.) 1
B1 Phoenix Rising FC Ø
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Ø
E1 Louisville City FC 2
F2 Pittsburgh Rivehounds 0
E1 Louisville City FC 2
E2 Saint Louis FC 0
F1 Hartford Athletic 0
E2 Saint Louis FC 1
E1 Louisville City FC 1
Eastern Conference
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
G1 Charlotte Independence 1
H2 Charleston Battery (a.e.t.) 2
H2 Charleston Battery 0
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4
G2 Birmingham Legion FC 2


Results

October 10, 2020 EC Quarterfinal Tampa Bay Rowdies 4–2 Birmingham Legion FC St. Petersburg, Florida
19:30 EDT (UTC−5)
Report
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 1,098
Referee: Eric Tattersall
October 17, 2020 EC Semifinal Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 Charleston Battery St. Petersburg, Florida
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) Scarlett Yellow card 38'
Mkosana 79' (Steinberger)		 Report Archer Yellow card 57' Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 1,301
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24) EC Final Louisville City FC 1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Louisville, Kentucky
19:30 EDT (UTC−5) McMahon Yellow card 27'
Lachowecki 47' (o.g.)		 Report Steinberger 3' (Fernandes)
Lasso Yellow card 29'
Dalgaard Yellow card 38'
Guenzatti 45+3'
Guillén Yellow card 83'
Ekra Yellow card 90+1'		 Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 4,900
Referee: Jon Freemon
November 1, 2020 (2020-11-01) USL Final Tampa Bay Rowdies cancelled Phoenix Rising FC St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Note: The Final was cancelled the day before because several Tampa Bay players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. No league champion will be chosen.[1]
Phoenix relinquished the right to host the final as a gesture of respect to the LGBTQ community for the incident between Phoenix Rising and San Diego Loyal on September 30.[4]

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2020 U.S. Open Cup
April 7, 2020 2nd Round Tampa Bay Rowdies Florida Canceled Florida The Villages SC or
Georgia (U.S. state) Tormenta FC 2 		St. Petersburg, FL
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Note: Tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[5]

Honors

  • USL Championship finalist
  • USL Group H Champion
  • USL Eastern Conference Champion

Individual honors

Forrest Lasso
Forrest Lasso (2020)[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "USL Championship Final Cancelled, Season Concludes with Tampa Bay, Phoenix as Conference Title-Winners". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  2. ^ "Roster". Tampa Bay Rowdies. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Romano, John (July 12, 2020). "Rowdies fans cheered, they sang, they-partied ... all 140 of 'em". tampabay.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Phoenix Rising FC Relinquishes 2020 Championship Final Hosting Rights". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "U.S. Soccer Temporarily Suspends 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Due to COVID-19 Outbreak". ussoccer.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Tampa Bay's Forrest Lasso Named Championship's Defender of the Year". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.