MD Myers Guides Rowdies to Impressive Home Win Against Birmingham

The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ attack looked unstoppable as they soared past Birmingham Legion FC in a final score of 4-0. 

Immediately, the Rowdies were off to a flying start, looking the best they have in months. 

They were hunting for a goal, with the new signing Jürgen Locadia hitting the woodwork in the first 15 minutes. 

Locadia was a thorn in the Birmingham side all night long. He was constantly creating chaos and was a goal scoring threat every time he got the ball. 

I would like to see Locadia shoot more though. There were times he’d get a great look, and optioned to pass instead. 

After testing the Birmingham defense, the Rowdies got their first goal of the night. After some questionable Legion set piece defending resulted in an own goal for Arthur Paterson, taking a deflection off goalkeeper Jassem Koleiat on the way in. 

While it was a good corner delivery from Charlie Ostrem, it was a rough goal to concede from Birmingham’s perspective. 

Ten minutes later, the boys in green and gold got their second of their night. A Charlie Ostrem corner found the head of Locadia, who directed it towards goal. Koleiat saved the initial effort, but MD Myers was there to poke in the rebound. 

The teams went into the Al Lang locker rooms with the Rowdies ahead 2-0 at the half.

Coming out of halftime, it was Birmingham’s time to hit the post. A Tyler Pasher shot from outside the box slammed off the post. After a cross from another Birmingham player, the ball was back in Rowdie possession, and the chance fizzled away. 

On the other side of the field, a perfectly weighted through ball from Max Schneider found an mid-stride MD Myers, whose right footed shot found the back of the net. 

While Myers had the finish, that pass from Max Schneider pass was perfection. He could not have played that pass any better. 

Myers wasn’t quite done, as he secured his hat trick only a few minutes later. Evan Conway’s shot was blocked and popped into the air. Myers shot the ball on the volley, and squeezed through Koleiat’s legs for his third of the night. 

Despite some late Birmingham attacks, it was too little too late for any hope of a comeback. 

The team played really, really well Saturday night. This was the best I have seen them play in months, and that is a very encouraging sign for the future. 

After some rough-looking away performances in August and September, it is nice to see the team that took the league by storm in the early stage of the season. 

With a tough road trip next week, I am excited to see this team against a strong San Antonio FC side. 

Around the League:

With the Rowdies having a decent lead in the Eastern Conference, being 8 points clear of 2nd place Charleston Battery. I think it is important to check up on the Player’s Shield race. 

New Mexico United (2nd place in the Western Conference) has a game in hand over Tampa Bay and El Paso. However, New Mexico drew their third straight game, a 0-0 thriller against Colorado Springs on Saturday night. 

El Paso Locomotive FC (1st Place in the Western Conference), had a result away from home. El Paso had a 3-1 win against a 10-man Phoenix Rising FC. 

After being even 1-1 at the half, Locomotive took the lead in 50th minute through Eric Calvillo. His outside-the-box shot was hit perfectly in the corner of the net, giving the visitors the lead. 

After a silly challenge from Luke Biasi saw him get a second yellow, Phoenix were in a difficult spot to get a point from the game. An overextended Rising were caught in a counterattack from Rubio Rubín in stoppage time. Rubín sealed the win for El Paso, who won in Arizona 3-1. 

With their win, Tampa Bay are the first team to 50 points, getting 51 points after their win. El Paso moves to 46 points with the same amount of games played as the Rowdies. New Mexico still has a game in hand, and has 43 points. 

The Eastern Conference is also getting interesting near the playoff line. With their win over Loudoun United, Louisville move to 36 points and are in 6th place. 7th place Indy Eleven have 33 points, with 8th place Rhode Island FC having 32 points. Rhode Island FC has two games in hand over Lou City, and a game in hand over Indy Eleven. 9th place Miami FC are five points behind Rhode Island, so they are in the conversation as well. 

There are only six points between 4th place and 8th place in the Eastern Conference, so much can change until the end of the season. 

Coming Up/Match Prediction:

The Rowdies are on the road again, heading to the Lone Star State to face off with Western Conference powerhouse San Antonio FC.

Recently, San Antonio have been in rough form, being winless in their last four games. This includes their USL Cup Semi-Final loss to Louisville City on penalties. 

Offensively, Jorge Hernández has been their best player. The Mexican international has 14 goal contributions in 31 games this season. It has been over a month since his last assist, which was in the middle of August. 

In fact, San Antonio FC have only scored once this month, an Emil Cuello goal in a 2-1 loss to Colorado Springs Switchbacks. 

The Rowdies have been defensively solid despite injuries all season. With Sebastian Cruz and Brian Schaefer returning from injury, that is a big boost to this defense. 

I am predicting a 2-0 win. I am really excited to see how Coach Casciato will line up the team. The team had no issue finding the back of the net against Birmingham, so it is expected to see a similar looking attack against San Antonio. 

The centerback position is where it is the most interesting. Nathan Dossantos is a guaranteed starter, so that begs the question whether Brian Schaefer or Ethan Bartlow will get the nod to start. This could be thrown out entirely if Coach goes with a three-centerback look, which he has used as well. 

While Brian Schaefer was one of the best players this season before his injury, it feels risky to play him over Bartlow. Bartlow has been playing much more recently, and seems to be the safer pick. Coach Casicato likes to mix up the lineup, so any option seems entirely possible. 

Regardless, I hope the Rowdies can keep up the momentum. They are within touching distance of the Player’s Shield. They need to keep on the winning train to keep the gap away from New Mexico United and El Paso Locomotive.