TAMPA, Fla. (May 12, 2017) — Rowdies U23 Head Coach Keith Fulk has assembled the roster for the inaugural Rowdies U23 PDL season, which is set to kick off later this month.
The opening day squad includes some of the best college players from across the United States, many of which have ties to Tampa Bay and Florida. The squad will be introduced at halftime of Saturday’s first-team match against Louisville City FC at Al Lang Stadium.
Twelve of the 27 players on the roster attend and play soccer for a college in Florida. The full roster is below.
Notable players on the U23 roster include forward Arion Sobers-Assue (Florida Gulf Coast University) and midfielder Noah Franke (Creighton University), both of whom landed a spot in the PDL 50 Players to Watch list for the upcoming season. The PDL placed Rowdies U23 in the No. 3 spot in the Southern Conference in its 2017 preseason power rankings.
Rowdies U23 will also have a family feel, as first-team players Leo Fernandes and Damion Lowe both have younger brothers that will have joined the Rowdies organization to play for the U23 team, midfielder Gabriel Fernandes and defenders Gustavo Fernandes and Andre Lowe.
Fulk opened training with the Rowdies U23s earlier this week ahead of the season opener May 27 in South Florida against Weston FC. The U23s will play their home games at the Waters Soccer Complex in Tampa beginning Wednesday, May 31 against IMG Academy Bradenton. The full schedule is available here.
