by JAKE NUTTING

A new attendance record at Al Lang Stadium and a 1-0 win over Orlando City are about as good as the Rowdies could have asked for to kick off their first season in the United Soccer League.

Facing off with Orlando was an easy adjustment from the North American Soccer League for Tampa Bay’s supporters. It’s simple, really. It’s Orlando and they wear purple, that’s all you really needed to grasp to get into Saturday’s match.

However, there’s a whole host of newer, more unfamiliar teams in the USL. The league has over two times more teams in it in than the NASL did last year, and the Eastern Conference where the Rowdies reside has 14 other teams for them to play.

This regular feature on our site will focus specifically on the Eastern Conference in an effort to hopefully keep Rowdies supporters better informed and more engaged when it comes to the new home we all find ourselves in.

Results

Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 Orlando City B

Louisville City 0-0 Saint Louis FC

Richmond Kickers 1-0 Harrisburg City Islanders

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-3 New York Red Bulls II

Charleston Battery 2-1 FC Cincinnati

Phoenix Rising FC 0-1 Toronto FC II

Hertzog and the Ball Boy

If you were looking for goals in week one, Pittsburgh’s waterfront was the place to find them. The six goals between the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and New York Red Bulls II matched the total scoring output of every other Eastern Conference team combined over the weekend.

A few former Rowdies were on the field for the Riverhounds’ opener. Rich Balchan and Gale Agboussomonde got the starting nods on the back line, while ex-Rowdies forward Corey Hertzog earned the team’s Player of The Match honors for a brace, including the tying goal five minutes after Red Bulls II had equalized late in match.

Hertzog deserves a special shout out, not just for the poise he showed along the endline to tally his first, but for following through on his promise to include a ball boy he coaches every week in his celebration.

The 3-3 scoreline was a notable change up for both teams. Red Bulls II allowed three goals in a single match just once during last year’s championship season in which the team conceded a league-low 21 goals. On the opposite end, Pittsburgh only managed three or more goals in a match twice last year. The Riverhounds finished second from last in the conference standings, scoring just 31 goals in 30 matches.

Richmond Celebrates 25 Years and a Clean Sheet

The Rowdies weren’t the only ones to draw a record crowd for their home opener on Saturday. 8,021 strong showed up to help the Richmond Kickers launch their 25th season, helping the team finish number one at the gate in both the NASL and USL this weekend.

Richmond’s supporters group River City Red Army marked the milestone with a gorgeous tifo that took up multiple sections of City Stadium.

D.C United loanee Travis Worra kept the festive atmosphere alive for the Kickers with an outstanding kick save to deny a penalty driven straight down the middle by Harrisburg City’s Aaron Wheeler in the 13th minute. With Worra’s stop, the Kickers were able to carry over the stout defensive form they showed at home last year where they posted 11 shutouts.

Paging PRO

If this weekend was any indication, the Video Assistant Review system might get a workout in as the USL expands its use to 25 games throughout the season. Referees whistled for five penalties in the conference in week one, an uneasy note from last year when it seemed as if the Rowdies had over a dozen penalties go against them (the real number is probably around half that).

Three out of five keepers actually managed to block the initial strike from the spot, but only Worra was able to avoid seeing the rebound chance cross the line.

Late Penalty Sinks Cincy in Charleston

A penalty that never in a million years wold require the VAR system cost FC Cincinnati a point on the road. With 20 minutes left to go, Cincinnati’s Captain Austin Berry took out forward Romario Williams from behind with a challenge so blatantly reckless that Williams didn’t even bother lingering on the ground to make sure the whistle came. Justin Portillo made easy work of the penalty to put the Battery out in front. The USL, Charleston and Cincinnati don’t seem to have posted highlights of the match yet, so this screenshot of a disgusted Jimmy McLaughlin after witnessing the sequence will have to do.

Preki’s New-Look Saint Louis Holds in Louisville

Louisville barraged Saint Louis with 21 shots on Saturday only to end in a scoreless stalemate. New Saint Louis Head Coach Preki’s revamped defense put in a decent shift for the first week of the season, though Louisville helped the visitors out by firing less than a third of its shots on frame.

TFC II Spoils the Party

Based on Saturday’s performance, Phoenix may have to increase its reported offer to Ivory Coast international and Chelsea great Didier Drogba.

Phoenix focused on bringing firepower into the fold this offseason, but none of it amounted to goals in the opener. In front of a record home crowd, Mexican forward Omar Bravo was kept completely off the board, finishing his 90-minute shift without a single shot taken in his first match for the team. Phoenix and Toronto both maxed out on two shots on net, but the Canadian side slipped one of theirs by Phoenix in the 8th minute and coasted from there.

Bye Week Blues

Watching all our @USL pals play without us this weekend pic.twitter.com/Y3ztScSEGH — Independence (@CLTIndependence) March 25, 2017

The Rochester Rhinos, Charlotte Independence, Ottawa Fury FC and Bethlehem Steel FC all drew the short straws and sat out the USL’s kickoff weekend, but that doesn’t mean they all sat on their hands all weekend. Bethlehem fell 3-1 in a scrimmage with its parent club Philadelphia Union. Ottawa faced off with an MLS squad too, beating out the Montreal Impact 2-0 from goals by Jose Sito Seoane and Steevan Dos Santos. Meanwhile, Charlotte closed out its preseason by battling to a 2-2 result with the NASL’s Jacksonville Armada FC.