CHARLESTON, SC (April 5, 2025) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies ended their four-match road trip in a 2-1 defeat to Eastern Conference rivals Charleston Battery at Patriots Point on Saturday night. Rowdies forward Woobens Pacius netted his second goal in as many matches, but it was not enough to secure a result for the club.
“At times we had some real belief, we moved the ball well and had some good opportunities that could have been goals,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “At other times we just didn’t implement what we wanted to do as a team, which is probably my biggest frustration. The opportunities that we gave [Charleston] were of our own making.
The Rowdies unfortunately had to pull from their bench early. Making just his second start of the year, wingback Nick Moon was forced out of the match with an injury only eight minutes after the opening whistle. Pacifique Niyongabire came in to take over and played the remainder of the match.
Just as the match looked to be heading for a scoreless stalemate at halftime, the hosts were given a chance from the penalty spot when Rowdies wingback Blake Bodily was whistled for a foul just inside the box. Charleston’s Cal Jennings converted the effort with a strike into the bottom left corner to take the lead.
Suddenly down a goal, the Rowdies came inches away from equalizing just moments before the halftime whistle. A cross from defender Laurence Wyke made its way to the back post, where teammate Robert Castellanos rushed in to redirect the service toward the net. Castellanos’ effort rattled off the post to stay out of the goal.
Charleston doubled their advantage in the 73rd minute, as substitute MD Myers headed home a cross sent in by Chris Allan from the left flank.
“We spoke after the game about having belief in yourself,” said Neilson. “You’ll make mistakes. That’s part of the game. The worst thing in football is when you’re not playing positive. When you get the ball, your first thought has always got to be trying to go forward… There were moments in the game tonight where we were just always looking to go backward. That’s not football in my opinion. It’s certainly not the club we want to be.”
The Rowdies answered Charleston’s second tally immediately, however. Substitute Thomas Vancaeyezeele fed Pacius with a pass at the edge of the box and the Rowdies striker did well to push the ball into open space with his first touch. Pacius then beat Charleston keeper Luis Zamudio to the ball and deftly chipped it over him to put the Rowdies back within one.
Next up, the Rowdies make their long-awaited return to Al Lang Stadium to face Loudoun United FC next Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s been over 200 days since the Rowdies last took the field at Al Lang. After starting off the season with one win from four straight road matches, the friendly confines of Al Lang will be a welcome sight for the Green and Gold.
“It’s been seven months since we’ve been in our stadium,” said Neilson. “We’re excited to get home, play on the great surface at Al Lang, be with our fans again and try to implement what we want to do on the field. Pass forward, run forward, play positive. When we do those things, we’re a really good team.”
Scoring Summary
CHS – Jennings (Penalty), 45+1’
CHS – Myers (Allan), 73’
TBR – Pacius (Vancaeyezeele), 75’
Caution Summary
TBR – Pacius, Yellow Card, 44’
TBR – Bassett, Yellow Card, 45+3’
CHS – Houssou, Yellow Card, 52’
TBR – Niyongabre, Yellow Card, 87’
Lineups
Rowdies: Campisi, Moon (Niyongabire, 8’), Wyke, Castellanos, Bodily (Guillen, 46’), Crisostomo (Vancaeyezeele, 66’), Hilton (Worth, 66’), Pacius, MacPherson, Bassett, Arteaga
Rowdies Bench: Bandre, DeJesus, Guillen, Lasso, Vancaeyezeele, Niyongabire, Worth,
Charleston: Zamudio, Houssou, Archer, Smith, Dossantos, Allan, Molloy, Torres (Akpunonu, Ycaza, Klein (Rodriguez, 82’), Jennings (Myers, 69’)
Charleston Bench: Myers, Rodriguez, Akpunonu, Garner, Drack, Ortiz, Martinez, Soto
