News

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (April 18, 2012) - The Rowdies tied 1-1 against the Carolina Railhawks at Al Lang Stadium.

The Rowdies had a good opportunity in the 31st minute when midfielder Shane Hill sent a nice feed into the box and forward Tsuyoshi Yoshitake was just wide with a header.

Both teams struggled to find possession in the first half, resulting in few scoring chances. In the 40^th minute, a Rowdies corner kick resulted in their best scoring opportunity of the half with a fury of four shots on goal. The last play of the half was a RailHawks corner kick that found its way to the goal before being saved on the goal line by the Rowdies.

Carolina scored first in the 65th minute when Brian Shriver gave the RailHawks a 1-0 lead after an assist from Mike Palacio. The Rowdies reacted quickly and in the 70th minute, the equalizer came. The play started with a cross that came from the right delivered by defender Frankie Sanfilippo, which Antoniuk headed into the heart of the six-yard box where Yoshitake was placed perfectly, drilling it to the back of the net with a one-time volley.

“We came away with a point on the road. We had to weather a storm to earn it, but it is important to still be undefeated and securing points on the road,” said RailHawks Head Coach Colin Clarke. “We had a few chances and we were able to score a goal. Unfortunately we let them score quickly, but overall I saw a lot of positives and now we have to focus on our next game on Saturday.”

“We dominated the start of the second half and that was the only chance I can remember them having,” said Mulholland. “As soon as they scored the goal, we got the ball quickly and got back on the front again trying to get that equalizer.”

“I felt that we always kept that belief that the way we were playing we would create opportunities,” said Rowdies Head Coach Ricky Hill. “All credit must go to the players for keeping their composure, managing to still play in a certain style, not to panic and resort to trying to get hopeful balls in. From a team perspective I was pleased with our play.”

After the goal Tampa Bay continued to look for the game winner, creating several opportunities on Carolina’s goal. Mulholland came close to giving the Rowdies the lead when his shot from outside the 18-yard box was saved by Burse, who sent the ball out for a corner kick. Overall the Rowdies outshot the RailHawks 22-10 and Burse made eight saves on the night.

“I think anyone that was here will obviously feel that we deserved the win,” said Hill. “I am a bit disappointed but we managed to salvage one point. It’s good since it gives us our second game unbeaten and it gives the players a lot of confidence. I felt the players were resilient and they kept us in the game after going one down.”

Scoring Summary
Carolina: Brian Shriver - 65th minute (assisted by Mike Palacio)
Tampa Bay: Tsuyoshi Yoshitake - 70th minute (assisted by Daniel Antoniuk)

Tampa Bay Rowdies
GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D JP Rodrigues, D Andres Arango, D Takuya Yamada, M Stuart Campbell, M Shane Hill (Daniel Antoniuk 65'), M Keith Savage, F Luke Mulholland, F Mike Ambersley, F Tsuyoshi Yoshitake (Matt Clare 79')

Carolina RailHawks
GK Ray Burse, D Kupono Low (Captain), D Greg Shields, D John Krause, D Austen King, M Amir Lowery, M Cory Elenio, M Nick Zimmerman, M Mike Palacio (Ty Shipalane 72'), F Jason Garey (Breiner Ortiz 77'), F Brian Shriver