ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – When the 2018 USL schedule was announced it didn’t take long for Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Kyle Curinga to circle Saturday night’s game against his former club, Real Monarchs SLC.

One of the few interconference matchups on the schedule this season, the two contenders square off on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET | Match Center) with Curinga set to make his regular-season debut for the Rowdies.

A native of Clearwater, Fla., the 24-year-old will get the call into the lineup for the first time after it was announced on Friday that teammate David Najem had suffered a torn ACL in last weekend’s loss to the New York Red Bulls II. While Curinga was clearly disappointed for Najem, he’s looking forward to squaring off against his former teammates.

“I knew at the beginning of the year we would be playing these guys, and I was really looking forward to it,” said Curinga. “It’s going to be interesting seeing all the guys this week and this weekend. I’m grateful to get an opportunity, gutted for Naj, but that happens in sports sometimes.”

With the USL’s conference and regular-season structure, the number of interconference games between sides is always limited, but the Rowdies will be facing a Western Conference opponent for the second time in as many years after last season’s trip to face San Antonio FC at Toyota Field. The game is an intriguing one considering the position each team holds in its respective conference, with the Monarchs on a perfect 4-0-0 start to the season in defense of the 2017 USL Regular Season Championship and the Rowdies considered among the leading candidates to win the Eastern Conference this year.

Given the caliber of opponent arriving to face his side, Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell is looking forward to one of the high-points of the regular season for the club.

“It’s a unique experience for us,” said Campbell. “It’s the only time we’ll come up against them in the regular season, so it’s a game we’re really looking forward to. They've got a good team, got some really good players, so it's going to be a really tough game for us.”