by JAKE NUTTING

Gameday Information

Tampa Bay Rowdies at Jacksonville Armada FC

Saturday, June 11 at 4 p.m. ET

TV/Streaming: ESPN3

Referee: Mark Kadlecik

Jacksonville’s Last Five: L (1-0), L (2-0), L (1-0), D (1-1), D (0-0)

The Rowdies aren’t out of the Spring Season title race yet, but they sure do have a difficult road to getting hold of the trophy and the coveted spot in the postseason that comes with it. With 15 points under their belt, they can only pull even with the New York Cosmos at the top of the table with a win over Jacksonville and then hope to jump ahead in the title race through tiebreaker.

Trailing the Cosmos by five in both the first and second tiebreakers of goal differential and goals scored, only a six-goal win by a margin of five or more will see the Rowdies pull off the miraculous standings leap.

Indy Eleven and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers are also looking to spoil the party for the Cosmos through tiebreaker, but both are set to kick off after the Rowdies. So if by some miracle the Rowdies do pull off the rout on Saturday afternoon, they would still need to wait and see if Indy and Fort Lauderdale can somehow do the same.

Scouting Jacksonville

Of the three teams chasing the Cosmos for the top spot this weekend, the Rowdies have lucked out with the lowest team in the standings. Winless in their last seven matches in the league, Jacksonville occupies last place with a disappointing six points and only one win to hang their hat on.

In desperate need of goals for the spring title, though, the Rowdies could find a stiffer challenge than one might expect from the league’s cellar dweller. While Miguel Gallardo has certainly been suspect in moments, the rebuilt defense has been relatively steady.

Haitian international center back Mechack Jerome is away for the Copa America, but center backs Beto Navarro and Tyler Ruthven, as well as Shawn Nicklaw and Bryan Burke on the outside have remained solid. Jacksonville has conceded 10 goals through nine matches and has only allowed an opponent to tally multiple goals twice this year.

It’s on the attacking end where the Armada FC has truly struggled under first-year head coach Tony Meola. Despite having respectable offensive firepower on the roster, Jacksonville has shockingly only come up with four goals. The team’s leading scorer Matt Bahner (2) is out for Saturday due to a concussion and one of the only other scorers Pascal Millien is away on international duty. The only goalscorer available against the Rowdies is midfielder Junior Sandoval.

A player who recorded an impressive three goals against the Rowdies last year, Alhassane Keita, has been a total non-factor this season. Last year’s USL scoring champion Matt Fondy has been equally ineffective, recording a measly two shots on goal in eight appearances.

What to Watch For

Possible Changes: Why mess with a good thing? Kalif Alhassan has emerged in the midfield and is tied for second in the league with 16 scoring chances created. Joe Cole is likely to be fit for Saturday after exiting with a slight ankle knock last week and he should hopefully continue to do what he does, creating and relieving pressure in the midfield. Stuart Campbell is also unlikely to switch things up at forward after three quality showings from Georgi Hristov.

Going for it: Campbell is as competitive as they come, but it’s difficult to see him sacrificing the team’s normal structure and shape to chase goal differential from the outset. He’s more likely to push for it in the second half if the Rowdies find themselves within spitting distance of six goals. Tommy Heinemann would probably be the first pull from the bench to provide another target up top. Heck, Campbell might even throw total caution to the wind and give Freddy Adu his first minutes of the year just to see what happens. Sounds like fun.

Coastal Cup Factor: Jacksonville may be dead last in the NASL but they are the current leaders in this year’s Coastal Cup standings. They hold a slight lead over the Rowdies by virtue of having scored one more goal in the competition between all the NASL teams based in Florida. After a disastrous Spring Season, Jacksonville’s players might be extra motivated to finish with some pride and take an outright lead in the Coastal Cup.

Keep it Clean: With one more match to go, Matt Pickens has a pretty good shot at equalling Cosmos keeper Jimmy Maurer’s league-best five clean sheets. Pickens can’t catch Maurer on goals against average this weekend (Maurer has 0.67 to Pickens’ 0.89), but only because New York’s netminder took one week off for the birth of his child. One more shutout would be a great way to cap off a consistent spring for Pickens and the entire defense. All they have to on Saturday is hold off Jacksonville.