2025 Match Recap: Tampa Bay Rowdies 0, Sacramento Republic FC 2

It was a homecoming of sorts of Neill Collins returned to visit a former team of his in the Tampa Bay Rowdies. And it would be Neill Collins and his Sacramento Republic side to take all three points thanks to a pair of goals from Rodrigo Lopez and Russell Cicerone.

This isn't the Tampa Bay Rowdies we are accustomed to seeing as USL fans. Usually you'd find them fighting at the top of the Eastern Conference table at this time of the year. But it's been a down year for the Rowdies. Coming into this match they were in 10th place in the conference standings with 21 points out of 21 games played. The gap between them and Indy in the final playoff place was 5 points. This season got off to a rough start after the Rowdies fired Robbie Neilson as their manager four games into the regular season. Since then he's been replaced by Dominic Casciato who many thought would be a long-term manager of Union Omaha in USL League One. The defence is the biggest question mark for the Rowdies as they've only kept one clean sheet in the league this season, conceding 32 goals. The last time out for the Rowdies was a 2-1 win against the Charleston Battery. And the last time they met Sacramento, it was a 1-0 win for the Rowdies in Sacramento.

Sacramento bounced back in their last game, notching a 2-0 win on the road to New Mexico. It was a solid display against another team competition for the playoff places in a tough road environment. Khori Bennett was the standout player on the night, as he recorded the first brace on the season for the Republic. The team were in 2nd place in the Western Conference standings coming into the night. The gap between them and Tulsa in 1st place was 8 points. But the gap between them and 3rd place El Paso was only 2 points. But also just to demonstrate how congested the Western Conference is, the gap between Sacramento and 8th place Colorado Springs was 5 points. Sacramento will need to stay hot during this final stretch to not get bogged down in the standings heading into the playoffs.

Coach Dominic Casciato made this selection for Tampa Bay:

Coach Neill Collins had this lineup for Sacramento:

Some moving parts for this game as Neill Collins has to keep an eye on the USL Cup semi-final match in the midweek. Blake Willey was slotted into the midfield to be paired with Nick Ross. Rodrigo Lopez moved into the left winger position. And this moved Russell Cicerone over to the right winger position.

The teams were feeling each other out in the early stages of the match. Both teams were trying to find their wingbacks out wide and get in behind the opposition's backline. There were no real tests for either keeper in the first 20 minutes of the game.

And the first chance of the night gave the Republic the lead in the 30th minute. Sacramento were doing well to pin Tampa Bay deep in their own territory and chase the game. The ball was won in the midfield and got to Russell Cicerone. He passed the ball back to Rodrigo Lopez in the midfield. Lopez took a crack at net a few yards outside of the Tampa Bay box. The shot deflected off of Tampa Bay's Aaron Guillen and there was nothing that Ethan Bandre could do as the shot got in the upper corner and into the back of the net.

There wasn't a lot more action in the first half as the teams entered the halftime break. Sacramento had the lead at the interval thanks to a strike from distance by Rodrigo Lopez. The Republic looked in control in the first half as they held Tampa Bay to zero shots on target. Sacramento looked especially good winning clearances and forcing Tampa Bay to sit in their defensive shape for extended periods of time. The team was doing what they needed to get a result out of this tough road match.

Coach Collins made a substitution at halftime bringing on Cristian Parano for the goalscorer Rodrigo Lopez.

And Tampa Bay opened the second half brightly. The first chance for them came in the 47th minute as the ball bounced around outside of Sacramento's box. The ball fell to Juan Azocar who took a swing at it. The shot got through the backline and forced Danny Vitiello to come over and push the ball out for a corner kick.

Juan Azocar got another shot in the 53rd minute. Woobens Pacius took a shot at the top of the Sacramento box that was deflected and fell to Azocar on the right side. His shot went under his defender but Danny Vitiello smothered the chance.

Tampa Bay was giving Sacramento a taste of their own medicine as they were now able to pin Sacramento back in the second half. However, Sacramento did well to usher the Tampa Bay attackers into areas of the field where they weren't a threat.

The second substitution for the Republic came in the 67th minute. Sebastian Herrera took to the field to replace Khori Bennett.

Luis Felipe was the third substitution in the 76th minute. He came in to replace Blake Willey.

And as the clock hit the 90th minute one more substitution was made. Ryan Spaulding stepped onto the pitch to take the place of Rayan Djedje. Jack Gurr moved into the central defense with Spaulding taking the left back spot.

And as the game moved into stoppage time, Sacramento found the dagger to kill off the game. A long ball over the top from Jack Gurr found Sebastian Herrera running into acres of space behind the Rowdies' back line. He turned and took a look to the center of the Tampa Bay box where Russell Cicerone was making a run and played the ball towards him. Cicerone had no defenders to cover him and was able to cleanly slot the ball away into the back of the net.

A solid showing for the Republic to get their first win against Tampa Bay. You could argue that the first goal was a lucky deflection to get past the keeper. But afterwards Sacramento did well to absorb the pressure from Tampa Bay and remain clinical in the attack to get the second goal. Just a great showing overall to power their way to a win over a team they should be getting all three points against. It will be a busy week as the East Coast road trip continues into the USL Cup semi-finals against Rhode Island. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

  • Great performance in Neill Collins' return to Tampa Bay.
  • Sacramento is exerting their dominance and forcing teams to feel the pressure deep in their own territory.
  • The Republic were clinical in front of goal. Converting their two chances on net into goals.

Sacramento Republic FC: 2 goals, 7 shots, 2 shots on target, 44.3% possession, 6 corners, 3 offsides, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Tampa Bay Rowdies: 0 goals, 11 shots, 4 shots on target, 55.7% possession, 5 corners, 1 offsides, 0 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Lee Desmond, Rayan Djedje (OUT, 90'), Freddy Kleeman, Jack Gurr, Michel Benitez, Nick Ross, Blake Willey (OUT, 76'), Russell Cicerone, Khori Bennett (OUT, 67'), Rodrigo Lopez (OUT, HT')

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, AJ Edwards, Ryan Spaulding (IN, 90'), Dominik Wanner, Luis Felipe (IN, 76'), Cristian Parano (IN, HT'), Sebastian Herrera (IN, 67'), Lewis Jamieson

What were your thoughts on the match? Sound off in the comments below!

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Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo thanks to Sacramento Republic FC)

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