ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (January 31, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies will play eight matches in advance of the 2019 USL Championship season, including two matches in the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational and an out-of-state trip.

The Rowdies will kick off their preseason slate February 2 against Birmingham Legion FC in the first of three closed-door exhibitions. After another week of training, the Rowdies will take on the UCF Knights on February 9 before facing off against USL League One’s Orlando City B on February 13.

Tampa Bay will then line up against Wayne Rooney and D.C. United on February 16 at Al Lang Stadium on the first night of the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational. The Rowdies will play the Ignacio Piatti and the Montreal Impact on Wednesday, February 20 before departing for a preseason camp in Georgia.

While in Georgia, the Rowdies will play USL League One’s South Georgia Tormenta and Georgia Southern University on February 23 and 24, respectively.

Tampa Bay will wrap up the preseason on March 2 with its annual match against the USF Bulls at Corbett Stadium in Tampa.

“Preseason is all about building toward March 9 against Memphis 901 FC and being ready for the season ahead,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “We need to play games as the new players build relationships with each other on the field, but we also need to grow as a family, which the trip to Georgia will help us achieve. It will be good to get the guys together away from home and free from distractions. With eight games, we’ll have plenty of minutes available to get everyone up to game fitness and we’re looking forward to it.”

2019 Preseason Schedule

Feb. 2 vs Birmingham Legion FC (closed-door)

Feb. 9 vs UCF Knights (closed-door)

Feb. 13 vs Orlando City B (closed-door)

Feb. 16 vs D.C. United (Al Lang Stadium, 7:30 p.m.)

Feb. 20 vs Montreal Impact (Al Lang Stadium, 7:30 p.m.)

Feb. 23 at South Georgia Tormenta (Statesboro, Georgia)

Feb. 24 at Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, Georgia)

Mar. 2 at University of South Florida (Corbett Stadium, Tampa, 7 p.m.)

*schedule subject to change