Away to Charleston Playoff Preview
Date: Sunday November 10, 2024
Kickoff Time: 3:00 pm EST at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, SC
Records: Tampa Bay Rowdies (50 pts 14W-8D-12L); Charleston Battery (64 pts 18W-6D-10L)
Standings: The Rowdies were 6th in the East and the Battery were 2nd.
In soccer, there are draws that feel like losses, draws that feel like wins, and draws that feel just like they are. In playoffs, though, there are no draws, and Tampa Bay held their mettle all the way through a penalty shootout to get past Detroit City this past weekend! With that victory, the Rowdies move on to play fellow southeastern USL side Charleston Battery. If you’re not going to the game, make sure you find the team’s watch party on social media and join in this weekend!
Can we talk about momentum again?!
In this column, the final stretch of the 2024 regular season has been beaten to death. It seemed like the worst possible way to enter the postseason – up until the final week. In that time, Tampa Bay drew a formidable opponent and then beat another that looked even better. Suddenly, the team looked different. They had some intensity and belief. It has carried over.
In a very tough environment, the boys took on a team with a reputation for solidity. After scoring first, the Rowdies faced some adversity. They gave up a goal, and they stared down the crowd. But, they never blinked. When it came time for a penalty shootout, Jordan Farr lived up to a long line of Tampa Bay goalkeepers and proved his own quality. Now that is belief.
For Tampa Bay, two names stand out after this one. The aforementioned Farr and forward Cal Jennings both contributed mightily, as a forward and keeper are often wont to do. Jennings’ header in the first half came when his side were dealing with some of the problems posed by Detroit. It completely turned the match around, which ultimately led to the shootout.
The home team had been able to dictate play for stretches in the first half, and were ultimately able to do so for much of the match. Their positioning prevented buildup from the sources the Rowdies would prefer, with Blake Bodily and Nick Moon hemmed in. Ultimately, it led to there being one outlet for the away team in possession: the old hit-it-and-hope option.
When you’re hitting and hoping and have the strikers Tampa Bay does, it’s actually got a decent chance of working. Jennings has shown in many instances his ability to get the ball in a position far away from net, beat a man or two, and score from nothing. That isn’t how he got his first on Saturday; but, this scenario did lead to a corner. That’s close enough for Cal.
After holding on for the rest of the match, batting away multiple chances, it was time for Jordan Farr to step up. He’s a goalkeeper who had admitted in press conferences that some things have gotten away from him this season. However, he would write his name in the history books with two saves and mind games enough to force one player into missing the net entirely.
Jennings and Farr are emblematic of what this Rowdies team can be. They are both obviously talented players, with the former leading scoring charts for many seasons and the latter winning Goalkeeper of the Year awards in the past. They had down moments in 2024, to be sure. However, if they come good now in October, they could rewrite the whole narrative of the year.
Can the Battery attack be stopped?
If there are two juggernauts in lower division American soccer, they can both be found in the USL Championship. One is Louisville City, and the other is Nick Markanich. The latter has done so well that he’ll be moving to Spain come January. He has broken records and has one thing on his mind: leaving the United States with a league title to his name.
In 2023, it was Pittsburgh who looked the most likely to win anything during the season. After losing in the first round of the playoffs, the Battery beat LouCity in the Eastern Conference final to earn a date with destiny. Their destiny, though, was ultimately to lose on penalties to Phoenix Rising. True cardiac kids, the Rising needed a 90th minute equalizer to get that far.
It was heartbreaking for Charleston’s fans and players. It was likely particularly hard on Markanich, who had scored the Battery’s only goal in that game. Since then, he seemingly decided that Erling Haaland was his closest competitor. He has become one of the most in form attackers across the world over the course of the last ten months.
All the individual accolades are certainly nice. They earn you better contracts and better name recognition. But, most children playing sports don’t dream of that; they dream of trophies. Mr. Markanich is still out of those right now. Intent to shift things, wouldn’t you know it was him who scored in their first round 1-0 win over Pittsburgh to set up this match against Tampa Bay.
The Rowdies have already shown a vulnerability to the Battery attack this year. In their 4-2 win at home in Al Lang, the team needed to come back from conceding two before the 15th minute had passed. The reverse fixture featured no such heroism from Tampa Bay. They were down within five minutes, always looked vulnerable, and gave up another two to… well, you know who.
This was the game in which Markanich broke the USL Championship single season record. He and wing partner Juan Torres know how to hit the Rowdies. They even did so in September without midfield metronome Aaron Molloy. The Irishman was injured and returned for the last ten minutes, seeing off the Floridians in a 3-1 victory.
The point here is that Tampa Bay has their work cut out for them. Shutting down Charleston requires more than just planning and execution; it also requires some luck. You can make your own luck, though, and the Rowdies probably have built some up in 2024 following their league-leading 69 Big Chances missed. At some point, it just can’t keep going that badly.
So how do the Green and Gold win this game? Quite possibly on penalties again. Markanich can’t be marked out of the match. But, they can probably put so many players in front of him that his shots can’t hit the target. It will be defense first for the visitors and that’s not a bad thing following their performance against Detroit City. Just sit nine players behind the halfway line and leave Cal and Manuel Arteaga up top to do it all on their own. What’s so hard about that?
Score Predictions from the RBLR Rowdies Podcast:
Carlos: 1-1 D, AET W
James: 2-2 D, W on Penalties
Yurika: 1-0 W
