— Hey, remember that time, just a week ago, when North Carolina FC scored six goals, the most for the team in a league match since 2009, to steamroll their in-state rival and climb to within a point of a possible playoffs spot?

Soccer is a funny game. Just seven days later, still in the cozy confines of Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, North Carolina FC hosted the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who hadn’t won a game since July 21. But on Saturday, the Rowdies roughed up NCFC, 3-0, thanks to wayward defending and a hat trick by Sebastián Guenzatti.

“Early on we dominated possession, moved it very well, created some chances, and then we gave up a bad goal,” said NCFC manager Colin Clarke. “From there, it was a struggle.”

“Credit to our strikers for taking their opportunities,” said Rowdies manager Neill Collins. “But the way the team defended is all you can ask for, in terms of putting their bodies in front of balls and heading balls out of the box.”

Tampa Bay came into Saturday on a six-match winless skid, including a 2-0 home loss to NCFC on August 11. Meanwhile, North Carolina FC haven’t lost in Cary since June 9, a span of seven home games. North Carolina FC reintegrated Kyle Bekker, who missed last week’s match due to suspension, back into the starting XI by shifting Bekker out to the right wing in place of Tiyi Shipalane. The squad also morphed into a 4-2-3-1 formation that, for the first half, earned them nearly 63 percent possession, five corner kicks to none for the Rowdies, and 15 crosses to just four for the visitors.

However, it also left the attack predictable and the back line skittish, so while the Rowdies only put two balls on frame in the opening 45, that was good enough for a two-goal lead that began in the 23rd minute. North Carolina FC defender D.J. Taylor missed his sliding clearance of a cross off the right flank by Rowdies midfielder Junior Flemmings. That left Guenzatti to gather the ball and chip his shot over goalkeeper Alex Tambakis for the 1-0 lead.

“Junior, as always, is putting great balls in the box,” Guenzatti said. “He saw me make the run, and we have a great connection. He played around their back line, I took a touch, and when the goalie came out I had no option but to chip it over.”

Clarke said that sequence set the stage for the remainder of the match.

“If you go back to the first goal we conceded, Daniel Rios is in their box, cutting back to score,” Clarke said. “If he cuts that back and finishes, we’re 1-nil up. [Instead], five seconds later they’re down on the other end, and we’re 1-nil down. Those little things just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The same Rowdies duo linked up again in the 43rd minute. This time, NCFC defender Wuilito Fernandes whiffed on Flemmings’ cross into the keeper box, leaving Guenzatti for an easy sliding putaway and a 2-0 advantage heading in to halftime. Tampa Bay’s two first-half goals were as many as they’d scored in their preceding five matches combined.

“Again, me and Junior linked up in the front,” Guenzatti said. “I play off of him a lot, so I know he’s a really smart player. Same ball [as the first goal], just closer to the six-yard box. I just put my foot in and it went in—it was too close to the goal to go somewhere else.”

Guenzatti got his hat trick in the 56th minute as NCFC’s defending horror show continued. Leo Fernandes won a looping long ball from Taylor, heading it ahead before catching up to it before Wuilito Fernandes and making a run on goal. When Wuilito Fernandes flared away from Leo Fernandes and Connor Tobin moved over to commit, it left Guenzatti open in front of goal for the easy putaway.

“We’ve been working a lot on our first-touch finish,” Guenzatti said. “Leo gave me a great ball."

Guenzatti entered the media room post-match with a ice pack wrapped around his right foot, presumably from overuse taking shots. With the Rowdies having dropped 10 points out of playoff contention, Guenzatti admitted that his team saw Saturday’s game as playing for their playoff lives.

“We needed a win,” Guenzatti said. “Last week at home, we had a tough loss when we deserved the win. Today we showed that we deserve it. The early goals gave us a little breather. North Carolina is a good team that passes the ball and keeps the ball and plays from the outside.”

Meanwhile, North Carolina FC looked disjointed throughout, making errors of both omission and commission. For example, after Bekker put four corner kicks into dangerous spots in front of goal early in the match, NCFC abandoned that plan and played at least four straight, ineffective short corners to end the first half and start the second.

“Tampa [Bay] are a good team with a lot of talented players,” Clarke said. “You look back through their game last week, they were very unlucky to lose it to Cincinnati … They were coming in here desperate with a lot of talent in their group. We had a great result last week, but if we had stayed out there another hour we probably wouldn’t have found the back of the net tonight.”

The Rowdies now have just three wins out 12 road matches this season, two of them at WakeMed Soccer Park against North Carolina FC.

“We were playing a team that was full of confidence on the back of a fantastic victory,” Collins said. “We’re a team that, despite our good performances in the last three or four games, is probably struggling for the same confidence. So it was a big ask.”

Meanwhile, North Carolina FC (9-7-10, 34 pts.) sits tenth in the USL Eastern Conference table, four points outside of the eighth and final playoff spot. That position is currently held by Nashville SC, which comes to Cary next Saturday to face NCFC as the opening act to a doubleheader also featuring the North Carolina Courage’s final regular season match. In the meantime, Clarke said he will review Saturday’s loss to see what changes need to be made.

“It was tough, and our defending wasn’t good on their three goals, particularly the first two,” Clarke summarized. “Those are the ones that changed the game.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

NC: Tambakis, Guillen, Tobin, W. Fernandes (Lomis, 68’), Taylor, G. Smith, da Luz , Miller, Bekker (Shipalane, 68’), Steinberger, Rios

TBR: Vega, Górskie, Morad, Portillos, Taku, Poku (Lachowecki, 83’), Oduro, Cole (Vingaard, 74’), L. Fernandes, Flemmings, Guenzatti (Hristov, 89’)

GOALS

NC: ---

TBR: Guenzatti, 23’ (Flemmings); Guenzatti, 43’ (Flemmings); Guenzatti, 56’ (L. Fernandes)

CAUTIONS

NC: Guillen, 61’; Tobin, 81’; da Luz 90+2’

TBR: Oduro, 49’

EJECTIONS

NC: ---

TBR: ---

ATTENDANCE: 4,102