Conference Final Preview: Rowdies at Louisville City
November 4, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
Matchday Info:
Eastern Conference Final
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Louisville City
Saturday, November 5, 7:30 p.m. ET
Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY
Winner advances to play winner of Western Conference Final between San Antonio FC and Colorado Spring Switchbacks FC in USL Championship Final on Sunday, November 13.
Watch: Saturday’s match can be streamed on ESPN+.
Follow Along: Live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Louisville City FC will meet in the Eastern Conference Final for the third consecutive year this Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium.
“This is the time of year you want to be involved,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “There’s only four teams left in the whole thing… We’ll need to improve a certain things going into Louisville, but equally I know there’s a lot of players in great form.”
It will be the fourth straight season that the two sides have met in the USL Championship playoffs. Louisville knocked the Rowdies off in the Quarterfinal round with a 2-1 victory in 2019, but the Rowdies have gotten the better of Louisville in the last two meetings.
While the Rowdies and Louisville clashing in the Conference Final has become a common occurrence, the path to reach this point this year was anything but easy. At one point, Louisville trailed Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 2-0 last week but quickly erased that deficit in the final ten minutes before prevailing 5-3 in penalties. Meanwhile, the Rowdies pushed past Memphis 901 FC in stoppage time with a heroic penalty stop by Phil Breno followed by a penalty conversion from leading scorer Leo Fernandes.
Regular Season Series
Both regular season contests between Tampa Bay and Louisville 1-0, with the home side claiming victory each time. Fernandes tallied the winning goal for Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium back on June 5, while Louisville’s Wilson Harris notched Louisville’s winner at Lynn Family Stadium on August 13. On both occasions, the road team failed to register a shot on target. The Rowdies will aim to improve upon on that when they met Louisville on the road this Saturday.
End of the Year Awards Finalists
The USL Championship announced finalists for its end of the year awards and several Rowdies are in consideration for top awards. Forward Jake LaCava is a finalist for Young Player of the Year after bagging 12 goals and 5 assists in the regular season. Rowdies veteran center back Aaron Guillen is nominated for Defender of the Year after leading the Rowdies in minutes played for the third straight season. Leo Fernandes is up for league MVP after tallying 28 combined goals and assists for Tampa Bay’s league-leading attack. Guillen and Fernandes also earned their first-ever USL All-Leage First Team selection for their standout performances in the regular season.
Set Pieces
Dead ball opportunities could end up playing a pivotal part in deciding a winner in Saturday’s Conference Final. Louisville led the league with 28 goals from set pieces, while the Rowdies five goals allowed from set pieces is the fewest conceded by any team this season.
Prior to last week’s late penalty concession in Miami, the Rowdies had not given an opponent a chance from the spot since October 10, 2021. Phil Breno’s stop last week bodes well for the Rowdies should penalties play a factor again in the playoffs.
Championship Final Scenarios
The Rowdies are still hoping to have one more night of soccer at Al Lang Stadium this year. To have that happen, they need to dispatch Louisville this Saturday and hope for Colorado Spring Switchbacks FC to upset the league’s top overall seed San Antonio FC on Sunday night.
Injury Report
OUT: CJ Cochran, Thomas Vancaeyezeele
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