CARY, NC (October 19, 2024) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies were on the losing end of 2-0 result to North Carolina FC on the road at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday evening, as the hosts converted on their only two attempts on target of the match.
A win would have secured a playoff spot for the Rowdies. Instead, the Rowdies will look to lock up their postseason position in their final two regular season matches next week.
“We were easily beaten on the two goals, but there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves at this point in the season,” said Assistant Coach Nicky Law. “We’ve got to secure that playoff position. Once we do that, it’s an open game for everyone to try and win it.”
Tampa Bay and North Carolina split the possession evenly at 50 percent in the first 45 minutes, with neither team managing to direct an effort on goal. The Rowdies came the closest in the 31st minute when Cal Jennings connected on a cross from teammate Pacifique Niyongabire in the center of the box but sent his header over the crossbar.
The scoreless stalemate didn’t last for much longer following the halftime break. In the 49th minute, North Carolina’s Oalex Anderson outpaced two Rowdies defenders for a through ball played into Tampa Bay’s defensive end. Rowdies keeper Jordan Farr charged toward North Carolina’s oncoming attacker at the top of the box, but Anderson poked the ball just past Farr to put the hosts in front.
North Carolina doubled their advantage through another transition opportunity in the 70th minute. A pass threaded through Tampa Bay’s back line set North Carolina’s Evan Conway for a free run into the final third. Farr rushed out of the box to force a 50-50 challenge, but the rebound fell favorably to send the ball bouncing toward goal. Rowdies defender Jordan Doherty made a valiant effort to chase the ball down, but Conway was able to reach the ball first and buried the close-range effort into the net.
“That was the biggest disappointment, because we know [Oalex] Anderson can do that and the pace they’ve got in the wide areas,” Law noted on the two counterattack goals given up. “We switched off twice and gave up two goals. That’s the difference, in my opinion, between winning and losing the game today. We’ve got to make sure we’re more concentrated in these moments”
Next up, the Rowdies continue their push to clinch a playoff spot in a home matchup with Hartford Athletic on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be played at IMG Academy, with a limited number of Rowdies season ticket members set to attend due to capacity limitations at the facility.
“The community has been hit hard and all we want to do is work hard and try and win games for them,” said Law. “We’ve got two games down at IMG Academy. Hopefully a number of our fans will come and watch, but it’s up to us to work hard, be together and give some good spirit back to the community.”
Scoring Summary
NC – Anderson (Da Costa, 49’), 49’
NC – Conway, 70’
Caution Summary
TBR – Bodily, Yellow Card, 35’
NC – Conway, Yellow Card, 41’
NC – Batista, Yellow Card, 75’
TBR – Niyongabire, Yellow Card, 81’
Lineups
Rowdies: Farr, Doherty, Kleemann (Munjoma, 72’), Guillen, Niyongabire, Hilton (Worth, 82’), Bender (Crisostomo, 57’), Bodily, Jennings (Rivera, 72’), Perez (Fernandes, 57’), Arteaga
Rowdies Bench: Akin, Munjoma, Crisostomo, Worth, Fernandes, Rivera, Mustali
North Carolina: McGuire, Craig, Washington, Batista, Martin, Maldonado, Armstrong, Mentzingen (Brewer, 90+4’), Da Costa (Perez, 82’), Anderson, Conway (Servania, 90+1’)
North Carolina Bench: Fitzgerald, Navarro, Servania, Malou, Hayes, Perez, Brewer
