# 2021 Tampa Bay Rowdies season

The 2021 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the club's twelfth season of existence, their fifth in the United Soccer League, and third in the USL Championship. Including the previous Tampa Bay Rowdies, this is the 28th season of a franchise in the Tampa Bay metro area with the Rowdies moniker. Including the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny, this is the 34th season of professional soccer in the Tampa Bay region.

## Club
### Roster

    As of June 3, 2021
| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Since | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Games Played | Goals Scored |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Evan Louro | GK | 2020 | (1996-01-19) 19 January 1996 (age 28) | New York Red Bulls | 16 | 0 |
| 25 | Ian McGrane | GK | 2020 | (1995-11-22) 22 November 1995 (age 28) | Stumptown Athletic | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Raiko Arozarena | GK | 2021 | (1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 27) | Cafetaleros de Chiapas | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Conner Antley | RB/DF | 2021 | (1995-03-22) 22 March 1995 (age 29) | Indy Eleven | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Forrest Lasso | CB | 2020 | (1993-05-11) 11 May 1993 (age 31) | FC Cincinnati | 16 | 3 |
| 5 | Jordan Scarlett | CB | 2020 | (1995-07-08) 8 July 1995 (age 29) | New York Red Bulls II | 16 | 1 |
| 16 | Max Lachowecki | LB | 2020 | (1992-06-30) 30 June 1992 (age 32) | Free Agent | 24 | 0 |
| 33 | Aarón Guillén | CB | 2020 | (1993-06-23) 23 June 1993 (age 31) | North Carolina FC | 16 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 4 | Lewis Hilton | CM | 2020 | (1993-10-22) 22 October 1993 (age 30) | Saint Louis FC | 16 | 0 |
| 7 | Yann Ekra | CM | 2019 | (1990-10-12) 12 October 1990 (age 33) | Charlotte Independence | 31 | 1 |
| 8 | Zach Steinberger | AM | 2019 | (1992-05-10) 10 May 1992 (age 32) | Indy Eleven | 29 | 3 |
| 11 | Leo Fernandes | LM | 2017 | (1991-12-23) 23 December 1991 (age 32) | Philadelphia Union | 82 | 11 |
| 21 | Dayonn Harris | RW | 2021 | (1997-08-29) 29 August 1997 (age 27) | Real Monarchs SLC | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Jordan Doherty | DM | 2019 | (2000-08-29) 29 August 2000 (age 24) | Sheffield United FC Academy | 38 | 2 |
| 23 | Sebastian Dalgaard | WM | 2020 | (1991-08-23) 23 August 1991 (age 33) | Hartford Athletic | 13 | 0 |
| 27 | Laurence Wyke | DM | 2021 | (1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 (age 28) | Atlanta United FC | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Matthew Srbely | AM | 2021 | (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 25) | Toronto FC II | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Luiz Fernando | WM | 2021 | (1997-06-23) 23 June 1997 (age 27) | Atlanta United FC | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Juan Tejada | CF | 2019 | (1997-01-14) 14 January 1997 (age 27) | Lakeland Tropics | 42 | 12 |
| 10 | Steevan Dos Santos | CF | 2021 | (1989-09-17) 17 September 1989 (age 35) | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Sebastián Guenzatti | CF | 2017 | (1991-07-08) 8 July 1991 (age 33) | New York Cosmos | 82 | 32 |
| 14 | Foster Langsdorf | CF | 2021 | (1995-12-14) 14 December 1995 (age 28) | Loan from Minnesota United FC | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Jordan Adebayo-Smith | CF | 2021 | (2001-01-11) 11 January 2001 (age 23) | Sutton United FC | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | Lucky Mkosana | CF | 2019 | (1987-09-30) 30 September 1987 (age 37) | Louisville City FC | 62 | 12 |

### Team management and staff

Front Office :
| Owner | Stuart Sternberg |
| President & C.O.O. | Lee Cohen |
| Vice chairman | Matthew Silverman |
| Vice chairman | Brian Auld |
| Technical staff ||
| Head coach/Technical director | Neill Collins |
| Assistant coach | Stuart Dobson |
| Assistant coach | Kevin Foley |
| Assistant coach | Chad Burt |
| Performance coach | Pete Calabrese |
| Chief scout | Eric Rudland |
| Medical staff ||
| Head athletic trainer | Andrew Keane |
| Assistant athletic trainer | Michelle Leget |
| Orthopedic surgeon | Dr. Mohit Bansal |
| Primary care physician | Dr. Mathew Vermeer |

## Competitions
### Exhibitions

The Rowdies initial preseason schedule was announced on March 10, 2021.

### USL Championship
#### Standings — Atlantic Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 32 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 55 | 23 | +32 | 71 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | Charlotte Independence | 32 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 59 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 58 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 4 | Miami FC | 32 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 54 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 5 | Hartford Athletic | 32 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 41 | |
| 6 | Charleston Battery | 32 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 37 | |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls II | 32 | 7 | 18 | 7 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 28 | |
| 8 | Loudoun United FC | 32 | 4 | 25 | 3 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 15 | |
* ↑ Regular season only
* 1 2 The USL decided to replay the sides' October 16 match from the 67th minute after the referee wrongly disallowed a Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC goal. The original score was 0–0.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 19 September 2021. Source: Match reports

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Stadium | H | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Results
### USL Championship playoffs
#### Bracket

| Conference Quarter-finals November 5–7 | Conference Quarter-finals November 5–7 | Conference Quarter-finals November 5–7 | | | Conference Semi-finals November 13 | Conference Semi-finals November 13 | Conference Semi-finals November 13 | Conference Finals November 20 | Conference Finals November 20 | Conference Finals November 20 | | USL Championship Final November 28 | USL Championship Final November 28 | USL Championship Final November 28 |
| A1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | FC Tulsa | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | FC Tulsa | 2 | | | A1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | C2 | Birmingham Legion FC | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Birmingham Legion FC | w/o | | | C2 | Birmingham Legion FC | 0 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | | | | | | | A1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (a.e.t.) | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | A1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (a.e.t.) | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | C1 | Louisville City FC | 2 | | | | |
| A2 | Charlotte Independence | 3 | | | | | | | | | C1 | Louisville City FC | 2 | | | | |
| C3 | Memphis 901 FC | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Memphis 901 FC | 1 | | | A2 | Charlotte Independence | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | C1 | Louisville City FC | 1 | | | | | | | |
| C1 | Louisville City FC | 1 | | | C1 | Louisville City FC | 1 | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Miami FC | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Miami FC | 0 | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | P2 | Orange County SC | 3 |
| M1 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | P2 | Orange County SC | 3 |
| P4 | Oakland Roots SC | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| P4 | Oakland Roots SC | 1 | | | P4 | Oakland Roots SC | 0(5) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | P2 | Orange County SC (p) | 0(6) | | | | | | | |
| P2 | Orange County SC | 1 | | | P2 | Orange County SC (p) | 0(6) | | | | | | | |
| M3 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| M3 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 0 | | | | | | P2 | Orange County SC (p) | 1(5) | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | P2 | Orange County SC (p) | 1(5) | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | M2 | San Antonio FC | 1(3) | | | | |
| M2 | San Antonio FC | 2 | | | | | | | | | M2 | San Antonio FC | 1(3) | | | | |
| P3 | San Diego Loyal SC | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| P3 | San Diego Loyal SC | 0 | | | M2 | San Antonio FC | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | M4 | Rio Grande Valley FC | 1 | | | | | | | |
| P1 | Phoenix Rising FC | 3(3) | | | M4 | Rio Grande Valley FC | 1 | | | | | | | |
| M4 | Rio Grande Valley FC (p) | 3(4) | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Results
### U.S. Open Cup

On March 29, 2021, the Rowdies were confirmed as one of four representatives of the USL Championship to compete in the Open Cup. On July 20, it was announced that the tournament would be cancelled for the second straight year, and would resume in 2022.

## Honors

* USL Regular Season Champion
* USL Eastern Conference Champion
* USL Atlantic Division Champion

### Individual honors

* Golden Glove
    Evan Louro
* Coach of the Year
    Neill Collins
* Goalkeeper of the Year
    Evan Louro
* Defender of the Year
    Forrest Lasso
* USL All-League
    Evan Louro
    Forrest Lasso
    Sebastián Guenzatti
    Aarón Guillén (second team)