October 1, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
Matchday 31 Info:
Tampa Bay Rowdies at Monterey Bay FC
Sunday, October 2, 10 p.m. ET
Cardinale Stadium, Seaside, CA
Watch: Fans can stream the match live on ESPN+.
Follow Along: Live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday
After having two matches postponed due to the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Gulf Coast of Florida, the Tampa Bay Rowdies will retake the field again this Sunday, October 2 at Monterey Bay FC’s Cardinale Stadium.
Tampa Bay was spared a direct hit from the storm, allowing Rowdies to resume training on Friday morning. The team will have another training session on Saturday in Tampa Bay before heading out to the west coast.
“People here in the area will totally understand what this week has been like,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “To have the players come back on Friday and for us to get a chance to assess them, and then get them out on the field was really good. The level of performance in training was actually really high considering what they’ve had to deal with the last few days. In that respect, things are positive. It’s just good to see everyone and know their families are safe and everyone’s houses are still intact. That’s what’s most important.”
Collins and his staff started the week thinking they would face both El Paso Locomotive FC and Monterey Bay. Hurricane Ian caused the match with El Paso to be moved to October 12 at Al Lang Stadium and the match in Monterey to be pushed a day later to Monterey. The Rowdies had a chance to see Monterey in action during the week as the USL Championship newcomer fell 4-0 on the road to Las Vegas Lights FC.
Sitting 9th in the Western Conference and two spots back of a playoff spot, Monterey will have no shortage of motivation to grab a win against Tampa Bay this Sunday.
“Not having that Wednesday game definitely changes your approach slightly,” said Collins. “The opportunity to watch Monterey on Tuesday night was good. We should be well prepared in terms of what to expect from them having not faced them before as a club. On the other hand, we haven’t had much time on the training field to make much use of that. That’s the one thing that’s a little bit of a negative, but our players are way into the season now and they know what we want.”
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