NASL: Flores, Johnson Net Goals in 3-2 Loss to Rowdies

-
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Rowdies came out on top, 3-2, over the Jacksonville Armada FC at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night in the clubs' first-ever North American Soccer League (NASL) regular season meeting.

 Jemal Johnson and Marcos Flores scored for the Armada FC. It was both players' second goals of the season. In front of a crowd that sounded much louder than the announced attendance of 5,461, the clubs traded momentum.

After the Rowdies went up 1-0 on a penalty kick from Tampa Bay's Maicon Santos in the 12th minute, Jacksonville took control of the rest of the half and seemingly sucked the life out of the home crowd.

 The Armada FC (1-2-0) answered in the 14th minute when Flores drew a penalty and tapped in a rebound off his penalty kick attempt to knot the score at 1-1. Johnson sent Armada FC fans that made the trip into a moment of euphoria in the 31st minute when he blasted a shot from 20 yards out that tapped the upper right post and trickled into the goal to give Jacksonville a 2-1 lead.
After the Armada FC went into halftime on a high note, Tampa Bay answered back with the equalizer in the 59th minute when Rowdies midfielder Martin Nunez beat Gallardo on a curling shot from 16 yards out.
Tampa Bay (2-1-1) retook the lead in the 77th minute on header by Maicon Santos on a Georgi Hristov assist.
Despite trailing 3-2 with the minutes waning, the Armada FC continued to create chances that Rowdies goalkeeper Kamil ÄŒontofalský consistently shut down. Jacksonville's last chance in second half stoppage time missed the top of the goal by inches when defender Fabricio Ortiz's shot made enough contact with ÄŒontofalský's fingertips.
Tampa Bay's win gave them three points to pull even with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the Coastal Cup standings. The Rowdies also pulled into second place in the North American Soccer League Spring Season table.
The Armada FC, in ninth place in the NASL Spring Season standings, will return home for a 7:30 p.m. showdown on Saturday, May 2 with defending NASL champions San Antonio Scorpions 2 at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Tickets, starting as low as $10, can be purchased by calling 1.844.2.Armada or going to armadafc.com.

Popular posts from this blog

ReliaQuest Bowl Goes to LSU Tigers over Wisconsin Badgers, 35-31

-
Image
(Photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)   TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) - Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU is confident he's capable of thriving as Jayden Daniels' successor. The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) launched the team's post-Daniels era with a 35-31, come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, with a calm Nussmeier leading a 98-yard drive to produce the winning touchdown in the closing minutes. "You do what you have to do to win the football game. It doesn't matter if you start from the 1, the 2 ... you just stick to the process play-by-play, move the chains, move the chains and put the ball in the end zone," the third-year sophomore said. "That doesn't just speak to me, it speaks to our entire group," Nussmeier added. "You can't do it by yourself. And to go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more." Stepping in to make his f...
Read more

Golf: Remembering Kathy Whitworth, the Game’s Greatest Winner

-
Image
  The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth yesterday. Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off. In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life. Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world.” – LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (From the LPGA) By Ron Sirak The dining room at Trophy Club Country Club near Flower Mound, Texas, gazes upon the rolling hills and old oak trees through which two courses meander, one named for the club’s most famous member, Kathy Whitworth, the other the lone design by the icon of Texas golf, Ben Hogan. Inside the dining room the wall opposite the windows appears at fi...
Read more

DAYTONA 500: Byron uses instincts, luck to steer to improbable victory

-
Image
Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images) William Byron celebrates Sunday's Daytona on Victory Lane By Don Coble   DAYTONA BEACH – William Byron’s race-winning move started when the field stormed off the second turn on the final lap of the rain-delayed Daytona 500 Sunday night. As the leaders frantically jockeyed for position on the backstretch, the cars on the inside lane seemed the most out of control. He went for broke by moving next to the outside wall at the Daytona International Speedway. “I just trusted my instincts,” Byron said after becoming the first driver to win consecutive 500s since Denny Hamlin won in 2019-20. “I was getting in the third lane, regardless, because I was probably sixth coming out back.” As he expected, the inside turned into a high-speed game of bumper cars along the backstretch. Although cars were crashing and sliding in every direction, his Chevrolet darted through the carnage unscathed in an improbable rally that took him from ninth place to Victory Lane...
Read more