ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – As Birmingham Legion FC walked off the field at Highmark Stadium on June 29, it looked like the club’s inaugural season was at a dead end.

The 4-1 defeat to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC that night – which concluded a month during which the side conceded 18 goals in six games – left Legion FC in 15th place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference, seven points out of the playoff positions.

With the club’s next game not arriving until July 13, it was time for a reset.

“We had a few days off [around 4th of July] to kind of clear our heads and see our family, recharge and go,” said Birmingham winger Eddie Opoku. “We came back and had a meeting and just said maybe we aren’t training hard enough, maybe we can do more, and collectively we came together and mapped out some targets that we have to hit, whether that’s in training or whether it’s in weightlifting or whatever.”

Fair to say, the effect of the reset has been transformative both for the team, and its playoff prospects.

This Saturday night, Legion FC earned the biggest win of its short history as Opoku’s goal gave the side a 1-0 victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium. When Saint Louis FC and the Charleston Battery finished in a 1-1 draw later in the night, it meant Birmingham would end the week’s action above the playoff line in 10th place.

“It’s probably the most rewarding win, obviously being on the road and beating Tampa [Bay] is tough to do, but as I look at the group we continue to grow together,” said Legion FC Head Coach Tom Soehn, who on Wednesday was named the Championship’s Coach of the Month for July. “It’s been a really good stretch, and now we’re five games in without a goal against, which is amazing.”

The five consecutive shutouts – which has the side on an active 465-minute shutout streak – has maybe been the biggest indicator of the renewed focus that Legion FC has brought since it reconvened following its Fourth of July break. The side has allowed only 3.4 shots on target per game over its 4-0-1 run, with six of the 17 shots on target it has faced coming against the Rowdies.

But arguably more impressive in the performance against Tampa Bay was the chances the visitors were able to create against one of the better defenses in the league. Birmingham recorded eight shots on goal, and if not for a pair of outstanding one-on-one saves by Macklin Robinson on Brian Wright’s breakaway in the 39th minute and a similar chance for Opoku three minutes later, the visitors would have taken the lead before Opoku’s second-half strike as the tactics employed by Soehn gave his attackers the chance to shine.