Rowdies Clinch USL Cup Knockouts After 2-0 Win In Jacksonville
Recap:
First-half goals from Sebastian Cruz and MD Myers secured the 2-0 win for the Rowdies against Sporting JAX, and clinched a place in the USL Cup knockouts in the process.
The first chance of the game came from Rowdies’ striker MD Myers. A long pass from Laurence Wyke goes over the Jax defense and falls to MD Myers. Myers, now past the defense, ran closer to the goal, whose shot was horribly off for a striker of his class. This chance also started the trend of missing chances that should have resulted in a goal.
Just after 20 minutes, a Marco Micaletto volley flew past Sporting Jax goalie Jack McGuire. It was a really good finish after controlling a well-hit cross from Max Schneider. However, Micaletto was (very) offside, and the goal did not count for Tampa Bay.
Ten minutes later, the Green and Gold had their next big chance of the match. A Louis Perez corner found the head of MD Myers. Myers’ header was hit high into the air, and hit the crossbar. After being bounced around in the box, the ball was eventually cleared away by Sporting Jax.
In the 35th minute, the ball was won by Laurence Wyke, who cleared the ball to Sebastian Cruz. Cruz played the ball to Schneider, who quickly passed to Micaletto. Micaletto one-timed a beautiful through ball to a full-pace Ostrem, who had the left wing wide open.
Ostrem, after taking a few touches, played a sublime cross to Sebastian Cruz. Cruz one-timed Ostrem’s pass and fired it past McGuire, giving the Rowdies the lead.
This was fantastic build-up play from the Rowdies. A full team goal, and I think Ostrem’s cross could be up for grabs for “Assist of the Year”. This cross is really one of the best passes I have ever seen.
In stoppage time of the first half, the ball was won at midfield, and was passed to Louis Perez, who played the ball to a wide-open Sebastian Cruz. Cruz played a perfect through ball to MD Myers, who was in a full sprint. Myers perfectly timed his run, and found himself in a 1v1 against Jax’s keeper. Myers calmly slotted home the left-footed attempt, giving the Rowdies a two-goal lead in the first half.
Another great team goal from Tampa Bay. This team just seems to know where everyone is at all times.
The Rowdies went into the half with a two-goal lead.
In the 60th minute, the Rowdies had a golden opportunity to add another goal to the lead. Evan Conway was played through by Pedro Dolabella. Dolabella’s pass was very similar to Cruz’s pass to Myers. However, Myers was able to finish the opportunity, while Conway wasn’t. Conway hit the post, and the chance fizzled out.
With 15 minutes to go, Evan Conway found himself in another opportunity to add his name to the score sheet.
After fielding a pass from Gino Vivi, Conway cut onto his left foot and fired a well-hit shot right to McGuire, which was parried away and cleared.
Right at the end of the game, a similar situation happened with Vivi passing to Conway in the box. This time, Conway had the ball taken away from him before he got a shot off.
Regardless of the attacking struggles in the second half, the Rowdies won 2-0, and clinched a shot in the USL Cup playoffs.
The Bigger Picture:
The Good: Sporting Jax finished this game with zero shots on target. ZERO. This Rowdies defense continues to impress me every time they take the field.
The defense had a change that I thought was interesting, with Laurence Wyke starting in place of Dion Acoff. Wyke played nearly sixty minutes, before being replaced by Yanis Leerman.
While the defense played well, both goals were absolute beauties. I personally think the first goal was perfect.
Marco Micaletto played a fantastic through ball to Charlie Ostrem, who ran past the Sporting Jax defender. Ostrem then played one of the best crosses I have ever seen to Sebastian Cruz, who had no issue finishing the chance.
The cross from Ostrem was hit just hard enough to get past the defender marking Cruz, but slow enough for Cruz to one-time the shot for the goal. Just a fantastic play from Micaletto, Ostrem, and Cruz.
The Bad: The one thing that concerned me about this game was the lack of finishing. The big chance that stands out to me is the Evan Conway chance in the 60th minute.
Pedro Dolabella played a perfect ball through to Conway, who ended up having a 1v1 against McGuire. Conway hit the ball too far to the left, and the ball bounced off the post.
He needs to score there. Against better teams, missing chances like those come back to haunt you. Fortunately, it didn’t in this game, but the Rowdies need to be scoring those amazing chances.
Final thoughts: Despite not capitalizing on the golden chances, it was a comfortable win for Tampa Bay. The defense held strong, and the attack scored two team goals. I am happy the boys are onto the next round.
Keeping Up With The Group:
While Tampa Bay and Sporting Jax kicked off at 7pm, the other game in Group 7 kicked off at 7:30pm. The game was between two League One teams, FC Naples vs Sarasota Paradise, known as the “Battle for Paradise”.
Sarasota took the lead early in 10th minute through a Declan Watters header. After a nice set piece, Watters jumped on the delivery, and headed the Paradise into an early lead.
Right before halftime, FC Naples got their best look on goal. Naples’ striker Dominick Bachstein jumped on a high cross from Julian Cisneros. Bachstein got the timing of the jump right, however, the shot lacked the power needed to get past Sarasota keeper Rockson Amedeka.
FC Naples had the first great chance of the second half, with an Ian Cerro shot going just wide of the Sarasota net. The build-up play was very good from Naples, with Cerro finding himself wide open on the edge of the eighteen-yard box.
With 20 minutes today, another FC Naples chance was stopped by Amedeka. A lovely Marc Torrellas run through the Sarasota defense, ending up with the shot. The shot was aimed right Amedeka, and was cleared away by a Paradise defender.
In the 83rd minute, Sarasota scored their second of the night. A cross found Ethan Bryant, who chipped the ball to a wide-open Chandler O’Dwyer. O’Dwyer controlled the pass, and buried the point-blank effort, securing the win for Sarasota.
In the last minutes of stoppage time, FC Naples had a great look at goal, but failed to convert. A shot by Alex Bulai-Tudor was aimed for the bottom right corner of the goal, and was saved by Amedeka. The save was parried right to Naples player Luca Mastrantonio. Mastrantonio crossed the ball right across the goalline, but there was no one there to knock the ball in.
Despite the chances they had, FC Naples failed to score, and Sarasota Paradise left Paradise Coast Sports Complex as the winners.
With the win, Tampa Bay clinched their spot in the USL Cup knockout rounds after getting three wins in three games.
Tampa Bay is atop the group with 9 points with three games played. Miami FC sits in second with 6 points and three games played. Sporting Jax has 4 points and has played all four of their games. Sarasota is now in fourth place now, after winning in their derby vs FC Naples and have 4 points. Finally, FC Naples is now in fifth place with two points.
Coming Up/Match Prediction:
The Rowdies are back in USL Championship league play, and are back at Al Lang Stadium this Wednesday.
This time, the Rowdies are hosting Charleston Battery in the second edition of the No Quarter Derby in 2026.
The teams met on April 18th, with the teams splitting the points 1-1, after goals two minutes apart.
The Rowdies took the lead in the 79th minute through Sebastian Cruz. Charleston answered immediately with Douglas Martínez’s header in the 81st minute.
Both teams were unable to find the winner, and shared the points in South Carolina.
Now, the teams meet again in Al Lang Stadium, in a midweek game, on nationally televised TV.
Charleston have had mixed form leading up to this match. In the USL Cup, they had a scoreless draw against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which Charleston won on penalties 4-2.
Their last game in the USL Championship was a win against Detroit City FC at home. Charleston scored two goals within 15 minutes, and won against Detroit, who were in 2nd place at the time.
The player I think that the Rowdies need to watch out for is Nate Messer. In the Rowdies game against Charleston, Messer assisted Martínez’s goal that tied up the game. Messer has four assists in the USL Championship, most recently getting an assist in the game against Detroit City FC.
However, I think the Rowdies are up to the task of stopping Messer and the Charleston attack. I am going with a 3-1 win for the Green and Gold.
