The Basics

Tampa Bay Rowdies at San Antonio Scorpion

Saturday, July 11 8:30 p.m. ET

Watch the match at ESPN3.com

Official Watch Parties at the Rowdies Den in Downtown St. Petersburg or Shamrock Pub in Sarasota.

Scouting the Scorpions

San Antonio hasn’t had much luck in either of their season openers in 2015. First the Rowdies crashed the party in the Spring with a 3-1 win in San Antonio’s house and this past Sunday, when Edmonton trounced the Scorpions 4-0 in Canada. The wheels truly came off for San Antonio in the Edmonton match after keeper Daryl Sattler and defender Nana Attakora were sent off with straight red cards midway through the second half. Accordingly, both players will be unavailable for selection on Saturday.

The absence of Sattler (a player from the not too distant FC Tampa Bay days) puts the Scorpions in an interesting keeper situation. Matt Cardone is the presumptive starter for. The 22-year-old started his first professional match in the Scorpions’ scoreless draw with Ottawa in the Spring finale and entered the match. Cardone and Sattler are the only keepers listed on the roster at moment, so we’ll have to wait and see how head coach Alen Marcina handles the backup situation for Saturday.

Attakora’s suspension is a blow for a defense that is already reeling. The porous back line has conceded 19 goals in its 11 matches, the third highest number in the league. Attakora has been a regular starter, but Marcina has used nine different back line combinations. The constant lineup changes and shifting of players between positions are likely reasons why the Scorpions have struggled to keep opponents off the scoresheet. There is a good chance that former Rowdies player Brad Rusin will make his firs appearance for San Antonio since being traded away for Richard Menjivar in the Spring. Rusin picked up an injury in his first week of training with the club, but made his first bench appearance last week against Edmonton.

The Scorpions may not be as overall dangerous as they were 2014, but forward Omar Cummings and Billy Forbes are still worthy scoring threats. Cummings doesn’t have the speed that made him successful in MLS, although he did show in the short Spring that he still has a keen nose for goal. Five goals so far leave him tied with Fort Lauderdale’s Stefan Pinho for second most in the league. He’s shown some creative flair scoring, but most of his tallies have been poaching opportunities like the one he scored against the Rowdies in week one. Meanwhile, Forbes’ speed and excellent vision has created a number of scoring chances for his club this year.

What to Watch For

The Rowdies need to be better on the road. Flat out, you cannot be considered one of the top teams in the league if you consistently underperform in away matches. The best road performance came, coincidentally, against San Antonio in the Spring opener. Since that match, the team has lost once and drawn three times and really only looked competitive in the 1-1 draw with Carolina. Hopefully a more consistent starting lineup across the board will help the team improve its road form. Thomas Rongen has started the same midfield and forward units in three straight matches.

A primetime kick off on Saturday should ensure that the Rowdies are able to go full throttle for the entire match. You can only get by with cruise control a few times in a NASL season before you get bitten. The team should bring pressure and attention in every area of the field even if they jump out to another early lead. Thus far, San Antonio has only shown that it will crumble under persistent pressure. They have yet to put forth a noteworthy defensive effort.

Juan Guerra should prove to be an important part of the Rowdies game plan again. He can be used to man-mark either Cummings or Forbes in the defensive end to provide support. If the Rowdies can shut one or both of those players out and cut off distribution between them, they should be able to easily get a positive result.