Hilton Earns Team of the Week for Week 20

July 23, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 20 of the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, with Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Lewis Hilton earning a spot for his performance in the team’s 2-0 win over Indy Eleven last week.

Hilton and his teammates contended with travel delays that meant the squad didn’t arrive at their hotel in Indianapolis until 2 a.m. the morning of the match. Despite that, the Rowdies put in a dominant performance to claim victory and extend their lead over Indy in the standings to four points.

“Most of us now have been in the league long enough that you’ve experienced stuff like that,” said Hilton. “You know how to deal with it. You kind of use it as fuel to add motivation so that we can go out and show how good we can be even when we have to deal with these things. It was just an attitude, mindset first weekend where we don’t let those things affect us.”

This is the first Team of the Week selection of the campaign for Hilton, who picked up an assist on Tampa Bay’s opening goal against Indy. The Englishman delivered a corner kick right on the mark at the near post for Cal Jennings to head home. Hilton also won three of three tackles during his shift versus Indy and finished up with two chances created.

Now in his fifth season with the Rowdies, Hilton has established himself as an integral part of the club with 125 appearances across all competitions.

“First and foremost, Lewis’ character has been key for us,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “He does a lot of work for us in the center of the pitch. It’s a role that doesn’t often score a lot of goals, it’s more about controlling the game and breaking things up. He’s done that exceptionally well. His work ethic is top-rate. When I came in, we asked him to try and be a bit more aggressive with the ball, playing through the lines, playing it forward. He’s definitely been doing that a bit more recently.”

This Saturday, the Rowdies host the Charleston Battery, who sit five points ahead of the Rowdies in second place. The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Al Lang Stadium and will be broadcast locally on Tampa Bay 44 and available to stream on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased.

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