It took until the 10th round of penalty kicks for the struggling Tampa Bay Rowdies to show that they were the better side on the night against the lower division hosts, FC Naples. This game proved that the slightest of margins divides the bottom of the Championship division from the top of League One. A fitting match-up for the two leagues that have agreed to bring promotion and relegation to at least part of the United States soccer pyramid.
Promotion was not at stake on Wednesday night in Florida, but what was at stake was the opportunity for the victors to advance into the next round and possibly face an MLS side as that league joins the US Open Cup.
Tampa Bay Rowdies interim head coach, Steve Coleman, did not think his team was the better one on the night. He added, “It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s important to build momentum in games like tonight. I think in this game in our week of three games in seven days is likely to be one of the tougher ones with the big crowd here tonight looking and smelling for an upset.” His message emphasized why this tournament is so important for the fans and the teams to win. Because it does come in the midweeks and during the regular season. It was a Wednesday night and still the FC Naples crowd showed up en masse to the tune of 3418 in stadium that at capacity holds 4600.
Tampa Bay earned the lead in the 26th minute when Manuel Arteaga fed a ball to Pacifique Niyongabire inside the FC Naples box and Niyongabire found the far post. The celebration for the visitors would be short-lived when Luka Prpa scored the equalizer just two minutes later. The teams would trade chances for the rest of the game but it would end tied and go into extra time. FC Naples had one of their best chances to win in the last minute of regulation as Jayden Onen would find himself running past the Rowdies backline into space. The defense recovered only to have Onen pass off to Naples striker, Karsen Henderlong, who then gave it up to Andres Ferrin. Ferrin would beat the Tampa Bay keeper with his effort but center back, Forrest Lasso, was there on the goal line to save the moment.
Lasso would be the hero of the match for the visitors eventually putting away the game winning penalty. The captain praised his teammates for their effort saying, “We used a lot of guys that maybe have not been used through out the year and everybody carried their weight. We made it to 10 PK’s so literally everyone on the field had to do something tonight.” He added, “The Open Cup is magical, there’s chaos, there’s opportunities left and right. Every team brings everything they have.” When asked about the next round of opponents Lasso ended in saying that as a team they don’t really watch the other results, they focus on themselves and getting ready for the next league match on the weekend.