With the World Cup right around the corner, what better way to get ready for the action than the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the ultimate knockout soccer tournament in the United States. Considered the oldest ongoing soccer competitive event in the country’s history, the Cup is open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from the amateur ranks up to Major League Soccer.
- Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Georgi Hristov moves down the field against Fort Lauderdale, which the Tampa Bay Rowdies beat 3-2 on Saturday after trailing 2-0. Hristov keyed the comeback, assisting on the Rowdies’ first goal by Willie Hunt. The Rowdies will face the Orlando City Soccer Club in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Sanford.
On Wednesday at 8 p.m., the Tampa Bay Rowdies travel East to face Orlando City SC at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Sanford in the first competitive match between the two clubs. The Rowdies have lost all four times when the teams have faced each other in friendlies.
The Rowdies will be looking to advance to the fourth round of the event a year after they faced two MLS clubs, beating the Seattle Sounders in the tournament’s third round before losing to the Portland Timbers, who beat the Rowdies by a 2-0 margin.
For fans wanting to attend, the team has announced a Rowdies Express bus service will be available on Wednesday with a 5:15 p.m. pickup time at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg and a 5:45 p.m. pickup time at IKEA in Tampa. The bus is free for 2014 season ticket holders and $20 for non-season ticket holders.
Coming off a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Fort Lauderdale at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, the Rowdies (2-3-2, 6 points in the NASL) hope to use the excitement to mirror what it did last year in the Cup.
“We want to win the Open Cup, first and foremost,” Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said. “I treat it with the utmost respect because it’s a cup competition. I’ve always believed that any team can beat any other team over the course of a 90-minute game. There’s no two ways about that. Irrespective of status or current form or anything like that, anything can happen in 90 minutes. I don’t think we’ve beaten Orlando in the last two seasons of friendlies, but now it’s for real. All the previous games have been dress rehearsals for Wednesday night. It’s all about making sure our name is in the hat for the next round on Thursday morning.”
Orlando City, which leads the USL Pro league with an 8-3-0 record, enters the match having lost an international friendly 1-0 to Italian side AS Roma last Friday night. The club advanced to the third round of the Cup with a 4-1 victory over the Premier Development League’s Ocala Stampede on May 14.
For more information, visit www.rowdiessoccer.com. Find them on Twitter at @rowdiessoccer or follow live updates of games at @RowdiesGameday.
This article appears in May 22-28, 2014.
