Enemy Scouting Report - Tampa Bay Rowdies

(image via Tampa Bay Rowdies/Twitter)

The Houston Dynamo come into their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup fixture against the Tampa Bay Rowdies after beating Inter Miami over the weekend to extend their perfect streak at home to four games. Now the team will need to get their first road win of the season, at all costs, to not be eliminated from the tournament.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies are not having the best start to their season. The Rowdies currently stand in 11th place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference. It is rare to see for this team as they have been a powerhouse for the last four years. In 2020, they made it to their first final since the club was founded in 2008 paying tribute to the original Tampa Bay Rowdies from the 1970s. That final was cancelled the day before because several Tampa Bay Rowdies players and staff tested positive for COVID-19, with the championship not being awarded. The Rowdies would make the trip to the final again in 2021, where Orange County SC would beat Tampa Bay 3-1, spoiling the goods. Last season, the Rowdies were close to making their third straight appearance in the USL Championship Final but fell in extra time, 1-0 against Louisville City FC, in the Conference Finals.

Now in 2023, the Rowdies are struggling. In seven matches in their regular season, the Rowdies have only scored five goals, with one being an own goal by the opposition and have conceded ten goals. Tampa Bay has lost two games at home out of the four that they’ve hosted so far this season. But again, Houston have not won an away match with Ben Olsen at the helm yet.

The players that Houston Dynamo will need to contain will be forwards Cal Jennings and Felix Schroter. Jennings was brought in this season after scoring a ton of goals playing with Las Vegas Lights the last couple of seasons. He only has one goal and one assist so far, but he will pose a danger in Tampa’s attack. Schroter was also brought in this off-season to booster the attack after the departure of the Rowdies’ all-time scoring leader, Sebastian Guezatti. The German forward has taken some time to adapt to the league, he has scored just one goal in the limited minutes that he has played. Regardless of their current form, elimination matches are different, and we already saw one “cupset” yesterday, when Monterey Bay beat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0.

Tampa Bay Rowdies Regular Season Record: 1W-2L-4D

Results in the last 30 days:

March 25 – Charleston Battery 3-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies

April 1 – Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0 Birmingham Legion FC

April 4 - Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0 NONA FC (USOC 2nd Round)

April 8 – Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0 Miami FC

April 12 - Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-2 Charleston Battery

April 23 - San Diego Loyal SC 1-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies

Past Match Staring XI (from fotmob.com)

There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.

2023 Active Roster

Goalkeepers: Raiko Arozarena, Phil Breno, Connor Sparrow

Defenders: Aaron Guillen, Freddy Kleemann, Santi Castaneda, Tate Johnson, Forrest Lasso, Conner Antley

Midfielders: Sebastian Dalgaard, Jordan Doherty, Dayonn Harris, Zach Herivaux, Charlie Dennis, Leo Fernandes, Jake Areman, Yann Ekra, Lewis Hilton

Forwards: Lucky Mkosana, Ariel Martinez, Cal Jennings, Felix Schroter, JJ Williams

Can the Houston Dynamo get their first road victory on the season and move on to the next round of the US Open Cup?