MIAMI – MD Myers scored a pair of goals as the Tampa Bay Rowdies took a 4-1 victory against Miami FC in Group 7 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup on Saturday night at Pitbull Stadium as the visitors continued their undefeated start to the season and moved into first place in the group with two wins from two.
The Rowdies had the better of the early going and took the lead in the 12th minute as they won possession in midfield before Sebastia Cruz found Louis Perez 30 yards from goal, from where the French midfielder curled a pin-point finish in off the left post. Tampa Bay doubled its lead three minutes before the halftime break with another outstanding finish as after a corner from the left was half-cleared, Charlie Ostrem delivered an angled cross back into the box that was volleyed home on the turn by Myers into the right side of the net.
Myers added his second of the night 66 seconds into the second half as he headed home from a near-post cross from the right by Dion Acoff before Max Schneider added a fourth in the 67th minute as a corner kick from the right came all the way through to the back post allowing him to finish inside the left upright. Miami pulled a goal back with 10 minutes to go when Mason Tunbridge played a clever give-and-go inside the penalty area with Rodrigo da Costa before shooting low to the right corner, but that would be all for the hosts as the Rowdies took control of the top of the group.
FC NAPLES 1 (3), SPORTING CLUB JACKSONVILLE 1 (1): Julian Cisneros scored a stoppage-time equalizer before Joshua Grant made the decisive save in a penalty shootout to send FC Naples to victory from the spot against Sporting Club Jacksonville after the sides ended all square in Group 4 of the Prinx Tires USL Cup at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex on Sunday evening.
Following a short weather delay before kickoff, Jacksonville took the lead in the 17th minute on a rapid counterattack that sprang Edgardo Rito into space on the right side, allowing the Venezuelan wingback to deliver a cross for Ahmad Al-Qaq to put home a first-time finish from the top of the six-yard-area. The visitors then had a pair of chances fall to Emil Jääskeläinen that were denied in the second half from the top of the six-yard area as Lalo Delgado made a pair of big saves, and after Delgado was injured with 13 minutes to go substitute Grant also made a fingertip stop on an effort by Al-Qaq four minutes after coming on.
That proved key as Naples equalized in second-half stoppage time with Cisneros tucking home a close range finish off a low feed from the right by Andrés Ferrín to send the game to a shootout. After Ferrín converted for the hosts to open the shootout, Jääskeläinen sent his effort high to give Naples the early advantage, an edge that was cemented after the hosts’ Aidan Mesias also found the net before Jacksonville’s Ryan Edwards hit the crossbar. Grant then denied Jacksonville’s Kieran Sadlier in the fourth round to earn Naples the bonus point.