by JAKE NUTTING

The Tampa Bay Rowdies have tallied two goals through three matches in the Spring Season, and midfielder Eric Avila has managed to act as a critical catalyst on each one.

Avila first helped the Rowdies rally to a vital 1-1 result on the road in Miami by drawing a deserved penalty for veteran Georgi Hristov to convert in the final 10 minutes of the match.

He followed that up last week with a cross delivered with pinpoint precision into the area for the head of Tommy Heinemann to earn the team their first goal from open play and, more importantly, three points of the year.

“I think there was definitely some relief for us,” Avilla said of that crucial goal. “When we were in the corner celebrating after scoring, we all kinda looked around at each other and were like, ‘alright we got one, let’s go get the three points now.’ That was an important moment for us, and there was definitely a sense of relief that we felt from that.”

Two major contributions so early in a player’s stint at a new club can be a serious confidence booster. Avilla was the last midfielder to join the club in the preseason, but impressed enough in training to earn the starting spot in the first few weeks after healthy competition for minutes in the midfield. Now, with positive play to point to in competitive matches, he’s content with the path he’s put himself on.

“For me, and I think everyone really has this mindset, I came here to be a starter and contribute as much as I can,” Avilla said. “That’s always the goal. So to be able contribute as much as I have so far is huge for me. I’m happy that I’ve come in and helped out in any way I can. And I want to continue that by scoring goals, getting assists, or whatever I can do.”

His on-the-mark assist to Heinemann could likely go a long way toward entrenching him in the starting lineup. It’s the kind of play head coach Stuart Campbell has been preaching constantly in training. The rapid nature of the play in particular has been something the team has been trying to produce more often. All told, it took only four seconds from the initial throw for the Rowdies to bury the ball into the back of the net.

“I think sometimes we can definitely overdo it with the passing in that area of the field, which allows the other teams to set up better,” Avilla said. “We’ve worked on being quicker and more aggressive around goal a lot in training. On that play we were fortunate that someone grabbed the ball quickly for the throw in. I was the second guy into the area and it came to me, and really with my first touch I looked to create something. Luckily it worked out for us and their defense really didn’t have a chance to set up. We’d love to do more of that.”

While this Saturday’s clash with the first-place Carolina RailHawks will provide the Rowdies with their toughest challenge of the year so far, Avila believes Carolina’s style will also give the attack with even more opportunities to exploit going forward.

“It’s going to be a tough one,” he admitted. “I think the best thing they have going for them now is the confidence of winning three straight to start out. It’s going to be a good challenge for us, but the way they play could also benefit us. The first few teams we’ve played so far have all been really organized at the back, with a lot of players behind the ball. We don’t expect Carolina to do that. They like to throw numbers forward and that should help open things up for us. That should make things exciting. I think it’s going to be a really entertaining game of soccer.”

IMAGE, PATRICK PATTERSON