Tampa Bay Rowdies Next Up For Saint Louis FC Saturday, Open Cup Match Tuesday
Saint Louis FC will try to get back on the winning track in league play this weekend in Tampa Bay. They face the Tampa Bay Rowdies (6-2-3) on Saturday night with kickoff set for 6:30 pm CST.
The local United Soccer League club has lost three of their last four USL matches after winning three of their first four.
Tampa Bay is currently second in the USL East with 20 points on the season. Saint Louis is ninth, one spot out of the playoffs with 11 points. The Rowdies, however, have played 11 matches to STLFC’s 8.
Scroll down to stream the match live on YouTube Saturday night.
Saint Louis FC (3-2-3) returns to Toyota Stadium at World Wide Technology Soccer park on Friday June 2 against Toronto FC II.
Huge Second Roundup Open Cup Matchup Coming Tuesday
STLFC will take on the Michigan Bucks on Tuesday May 30 in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Saint Louis outlasted FC Wichita in the opening round of the tournament earlier this month.
Tyler David saved STLFC with a goal in second half stoppage time to send the match to extra time tied at 3. Jose Angluo would score in extra time to give Saint Louis FC the 4-3 win.
Check back to RealLifeSTL on Tuesday for a preview of the Michigan Bucks match. Tuesday’s winner will host the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer in the third round of the tournament.
Joe Cole Leads Tampa Bay In First USL Season
Back in October, Ottawa and Tampa Bay announced their intention to jump from the North American Soccer League to the USL. With Tampa Bay came their captain, former English Premier League and English national Joe Cole. Cole made the jump to the United States and the Rowdies last year. It was a decision that he told Bob Williams of The Telegraph took two days to make.
Cole would make 24 appearances for the club last season, recording nine goals and seven assists.
While no one will argue with the face that Cole’s EPL days are behind him, he did score on the bicycle kick last season.
This season, Cole has three goals in nine appearances. He’s tied with Deshorn Brown for second on the team behind Georgi Hristov and his five goals on the season. Cole also leads the team in assists with three.
In the Rowdies have outscored their opponents 16-8 and recorded six clean sheets thus far on the season.
Tampa Bay saw their four-game unbeaten streak snapped last Wednesday in Rochester by a 1-0 score.
Tampa Bay will be without centerback Damion Lowe tomorrow night. Lowe received a yellow card against Rochester and will sit out the match due to accumulation. Lowe has played every minute of Tampa Bay’s USL matches up to this point as well as the full 90 minutes in their first round Open Cup match.
Cole did not play for Tampa Bay against Rochester. No word on what his status is for Saturday’s contest.
Saturday’s match will be the sixth of the month for Tampa Bay. Saint Louis, on the other hand, will be playing just their third of the month.
Rested Volesky Will Look To Get Back In Goal Column
Christian Volesky and Jose Angulo lead STLFC in scoring with three goals apiece in league play. While Angulo did score a brace against FC Wichita, neither player has scored in league play since Angulo scored in a 2-1 loss to Charlotte on April 22.
The pair both scored in an April 12 win against Pittsburgh. Those three goals mentioned are the only goals the club has scored in its last five games.
Volesky sat out against FC Wichita and should be well-rested for tomorrow’s contest.
Milan Petosevic also returned to action against FC Wichita and played the full 120 minutes. He should see action this weekend.
Saint Louis FC signed St. Louis Scott Gallagher player and Seattle Sounders SuperDraft pick Emir Alihodžić earlier this month to give the club midfield depth. Alihodžić started the Open Cup contest and played the full match. The Bosnian played his high school soccer locally for Mehlville High School. He also played for the St. Louis Lions of the Premier Development League during the 2013 season.
Stream Saint Louis FC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies Live On YouTube
All USL matches are streamed live on YouTube. Watch the match between Saint Louis FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies below Saturday night.
Need to get in the mood before the start of the game? Listen to the latest episode of the This Is Silly! podcast from the St. Louligans.
Need more Louligan characters in your life? Head down to International Tap House in Soulard for the official watch party. ITap Soulard was recently named one of the top places in the country to watch USL action. Watching the game with friends is much better than watching it at home. Some might say it’s like putting ketchup on a steak.
Saint Louis FC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies Livestream
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