ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – Today, the Tampa Bay Rowdies continued to bolster the club’s roster ahead of the 2023 season with the announcement that three-time USL Championship Defender of the Year winner Forrest Lasso is making his return to the squad.
Tampa Bay acquired the 29-year-old center-back from Swedish side GIF Sundsvall, where he spent 2022 playing in Sweden’s top tier. Per club policy, the terms of the deal to bring the veteran defender back were undisclosed.
“My job is to constantly look at how we get better, and we can be successful,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “When someone like Forrest becomes available, I think I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t make sure we were in line to make his return a possibility. We all know how successful Forrest was here. That was in large part due to the people Forrest had around him and the environment he was in. I think we both recognized that. We definitely missed some of the things that Forrest brought at times last year. We look forward to bringing that back into the fold.”
Lasso was an essential piece of Tampa Bay’s two Eastern Conference Championship titles in 2020 and 2021, anchoring the club’s back line to 24 shutouts in 55 league appearances. In 2021, Lasso helped guide the defense to a record-setting 891-minute shutout streak as the club went on to finish with the best regular season record in the league.
“As soon as my wife and I touched down in Tampa, we’ve been smiling ear to ear,” said Lasso. “It feels like home. It just feels right.
“Playing for the Rowdies the two years that I did and now being able to come back, it’s special. It’s a club and system that makes you feel valued and respected. You’ve got your best friends in the locker room with you. If you have these few things, going out on the pitch and getting results is kind of easy at that point. To come back here and have that camaraderie again is amazing.”
A native of North Carolina, Lasso play college soccer at Wofford College before making his professional debut with the Charleston Battery in 2015. After three seasons with the Battery, Lasso made the move to FC Cincinnati in 2018. That year, Lasso won his first USL Defender of the Year award as Cincinnati claimed the USL’s regular season championship. Lasso remained with Cincinnati when the club moved to Major League Soccer in 2019, making five appearances before being sent on loan to Nashville City SC for the remainder of the year.
“I’ve been here for two years but now I’m also a new guy,” said Lasso. “Things change, things adapt, clubs evolve. I’m just gonna come in and try to do what I can to help the squad. We want to win a lot of games. We don’t want to concede a lot of goals. I don’t think it’d be naïve for us to say our goals are an Eastern Conference Championship, a regular-season championship, and a USL Championship. Obviously, that’s pretty far away. We’ve gotta focus on one game at a time.”
This week, the USL Championship revealed the full schedule for the 2023 season. The Rowdies are set to kick off the 34-match campaign at home on Saturday, March 11 versus Indy Eleven. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public in February. Fans can secure season ticket packages by visiting rowdiessoccer.com/seasontickets or calling 727-222-2000.
Current 2023 Rowdies Roster
Goalkeepers: Raiko Arozarena, Connor Sparrow
Defenders: Conner Antley, Aaron Guillen, Freddy Kleemann, Forrest Lasso
Midfielders: Jake Areman, Sebastian Dalgaard, Charlie Dennis, Jordan Doherty, Yann Ekra, Leo Fernandes, Dayonn Harris, Zach Herivaux, Lewis Hilton
Forwards: JJ Williams
