The uneven nature of the Spring and Fall Season in the NASL season can throw evaluations off a little bit. The reality is that this past weekend’s 1-1 draw in Carolina was the exact midpoint of the Tampa Bay Rowdies 30-game regular season. We would be remiss in our duties if we failed to take time at such a juncture to highlight some important notes from the past 15 games and where they leave the club heading into the final 15 games.

Record: 6W-5D-4L (23 pts, Combined. 4 pts, Fall)

Fall Season Standings: The Fall Season picture isn’t a pretty one at the moment. The Rowdies are even with Jacksonville and San Antonio at the bottom of the table, behind Fall standings leader Ottawa by 12 points. The good news is that Ottawa has played one more game than Tampa Bay so far and the Rowdies still have two head to head matches to gain ground on the Canadians.

Combined Standings: In terms of the combined standings the Rowdies are still on solid ground thanks to the strong Spring Season. They sit in third place, four points behind Ottawa and two points behind New York. If the season ended today the Rowdies would be the third seed in the playoffs. However, nipping at the heels of the Rowdies are Carolina and Minnesota, who are behind by only one point. In fact the league table is tight all over. Only nine points separate last place Jacksonville from league-leading Ottawa.

Midfield Philosophy: Thomas Rongen’s personal preference is to play a fluid, aggressive attacking style whenever possible. Whether or not he follows through on that preference depends on how he sets up the midfield diamond in his 4-3-3 formation. In eight matches he’s gone offensive with two attacking midfielders to earn a record of 4W-1D-3L and 12 goals conceded. It’s important to note, though, that one of those wins came when he shifted to a more conservative midfield at halftime against Jacksonville in week four. With a record of 2W-4D-1L, the club has found much more consistency in a defensive approach with two holding midfielders. Unsurprisingly, the Rowdies have allowed considerably fewer goals (6) when playing with a conservative mindset. They didn’t earn many full three point results, but were completive in all but one of the matches (2-0 L in New York) with the defensive midfield diamond. Winning as many matches as possible is always the goal, but a big reason why Ottawa is top of both the Fall and Combined standings is that their defense has kept them close in nearly every match.

Transition Defense: The back line has held strong for most of the year. The one area where the defenders have shown vulnerability is on squashing counter attacks. In the club’s recent three-game losing streak, the defense was burned for six counter attack goals. Speed is not a strength for either Tamika Mkandawire or Stefan Antonijevic, so with Rongen’s predilection for getting the fullbacks up field as much as possible, the defense can quickly get torched by good transition teams. This is where having an extra defensive midfielder helps out tremendously.

Health: The fitness of Marcelo Saragosa for the remainder of the year will likely be crucial to the Rowdies playoff hopes. The Brazilian brought an undeniable calming presence to the midfield on Saturday against Carolina. Injuries plagued the 33 year old for much of the Spring Season. If that trend repeats in the Fall, the Rowdies have a suitable replacement in NASL veteran Richard Menjivar. However, due to international duty and personal reasons Menjivar has only made four appearances since coming over in a trade in May. Nailing down understanding between players and having Menjivar play catch up in some regards is not an enviable position to be in for the final stretch of regular season games.

Set Piece Frustration: The Rowdies simply aren’t getting enough done on dangerous set piece opportunities. It’s not just that they’ve only converted on three set pieces (2 corners, 1 free kick) so far, but also that they rarely get an attempt on frame in those situations. Target forward Maicon Santos has missed long stretches, so that could be hampering the team on set pieces. At a certain point though, you need to adjust and figure out a way to at least challenge keepers when the chance arises.

Fall Additions: Thomas Rongen continued his reclamation project for former U.S. Under 20s with the signings of Freddy Adu and Omar Salgado (loan) for the Fall Season. Adu has only seen the field as a late substitute in the loss to Fort Lauderdale and Salgado will likely receive his international clearances this week before the Jacksonville match. Adu provided a clear spark off the bench as a creative midfielder, so it will be interesting how Rongen works him into the lineup. Creative midfielder Georgi Hristov has been one of the most consistent players when he’s been on the field. At 6ft4in, Salgado is a welcome addition to the forward pool. The Rowdies had no options for a traditional target center forward outside of Maicon Santos, whose output has been largely inconsistent.

The Schedule: The Rowdies still have to face Ottawa, New York and Minnesota twice in the back half of the year. So there is ample opportunity to gain ground or create space with many of the top clubs in the league. Seven of the remaining matches on the schedule are at home where the club has seen most of its success (5W-1D-2L). Five of the eight road matches will be played on turf, a surface that has troubled the Rowdies all year. Tampa Bay’s schedule is spread out very evenly. After a quick two-game road trip to Fort Lauderdale and Indy in August, the club alternates between home and away for the remainder of the season.