The 2015 season was the current Tampa Bay Rowdies sixth season of existence, and fifth playing in the North American Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer pyramid. Including the original Rowdies franchise and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 28th season of professional soccer in the Tampa Bay area.
Summary The Tampa Bay Rowdies' new manager was Thomas Rongen, replacing Ricky Hill, who was dismissed after the 2014 season. Rongen had a prior connection to soccer in the area, as he was the first manager of the MLS Tampa Bay Mutiny during their inaugural season of 1996. The Rowdies brought back another familiar local figure when Farrukh Quraishi, who had been a player and a youth development director for the original Rowdies, was named general manager.
In March 2015, the Rowdies traveled to Portugal to play several preseason friendlies against clubs in the Portuguese second and third divisions. It was the first time that the current club had undertaken an international tour.
The Rowdies lost only one match during the NASL spring season, good for second place in the table. After starting the fall season 2–1–6, however, club owner Bill Edwards dismissed both manager Thomas Rongen and general manager Farrukh Quraishi, much to the chagrin of many of the team's fans. "They had a five-year plan, and I have a one-year plan," said Edwards regarding the firings. Assistant Stuart Campbell was promoted to manager and led the team to a 3-4-4 record. The Rowdies finished the fall season in 8th out of 11 teams in the league table and missed the playoffs.
Club as of November 14, 2015
No.PositionNationPlayer #8 Forward, Marcelo Saragosa of Brazil served as team captain
Technical staff Farrukh Quraishi – President & General Manager (fired August 21, 2015) Perry Van der Beck – Assistant General Manager/Vice President of Community Relations Thomas Rongen - Head Coach (fired August 21, 2015) Stuart Campbell – Assistant Coach (promoted to head coach August 2015) Stuart Dobson - Goalkeeper Coach Eric Arbuzow - Assistant Coach Ryan Spurr – Director of Team Operations Jason Riley – Strength & Conditioning Coach Malcolm Phillips – Equipment Manager Dr. Koco Eaton - Team Physician/Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Sanjay Menon – Team Physician/Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Christopher Salud – Team Physician Andrew Keane - Head Athletic Trainer Laura Tllinghast Hine - Yoga Instructor Dr. Samuel Meyers - Team Chiropractor
Front office Bill Edwards – Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & Governor Andrew Nestor – Director David Laxer – Director Lee Cohen – Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Competitions
Friendlies
NASL Spring season
Standings
Results summary
Results by round
Match reports
NASL Fall season
Standings
Results summary
Results by round
Match reports
U.S. Open Cup
Transfers
In DateNo.Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesSourceDecember 19, 2014 16 MF Juan Francisco Guerra Deportivo Lara - December 22, 2014 22 DF Darnell King Fort Lauderdale Strikers - December 22, 2014 44 DF Gale Agbossoumonde Colorado Rapids - December 23, 2014 7 MF Martin Nuñez Fort Lauderdale Strikers - December 23, 2014 20 FW Darwin Espinal Darton State College - December 24, 2014 3 DF Brad Rusin Orlando City - December 30, 2014 0 MF Robert Hernández Deportivo Anzoátegui - January 6, 2015 5 DF Stefan Antonijevic Fort Lauderdale Strikers - January 29, 2015 22 MF Keith Savage None Signed after being released on November 7 February 3, 2015 8 MF Marcelo Saragosa None - February 4, 2015 29 FW Maicon Santos None - February 5, 2015 13 MF Justin Chavez Fort Lauderdale Strikers - February 23, 2015 14 MF Jeff Michaud Eastern Florida State College - February 23, 2015 23 MF Marquez Fernandez Maryland-Baltimore County - February 23, 2015 24 GK Chris Glodack Clemson University - February 23, 2015 15 DF Zac Portillos University of Akron - February 24, 2015 33 FW Zak Boggs Charlotte Eagles - February 25, 2015 1 GK Kamil Čontofalský Fort Lauderdale Strikers - March 2, 2015 4 DF Ben Sweat Columbus Crew SC - March 30, 2015 19 MF Verneri Välimaa University of North Carolina - April 29, 2015 3 MF Richard Menjivar San Antonio Scorpions Traded for Brad Rusin July 29, 2015 28 FW Omar Salgado Tigres UANL -
Out DatePos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesSourceNovember 7, 2014 GK Diego Restrepo Charlotte Independence - November 7, 2014 GK Cody Mizell Knattspyrnufélagið Fram Free Transfer November 7, 2014 DF J. P. Rodrigues None Retirement. November 7, 2014 DF Jay Needham None - November 7, 2014 DF Willie Hunt Pittsburgh Riverhounds - November 7, 2014 MF Darel Russell None - November 7, 2014 MF Keith Savage None - November 7, 2014 MF Anthony Wallace New York Red Bulls - November 7, 2014 MF Ricardo Morris Montego Bay United F.C. - November 7, 2014 FW Devin Del Do None - November 7, 2014 FW Luciano Olguín None - November 7, 2014 FW Casey Townsend Oklahoma City Energy - November 7, 2014 FW Lucky Mkosana New York Cosmos - January 13, 2015 DF Frankie Sanfilippo Fort Lauderdale Strikers - January 13, 2015 MF Shane Hill None - April 29, 2015 DF Brad Rusin San Antonio Scorpions Traded for Richard Menjivar
Squad statistics
Goal scorers PlacePositionNationNumberNameNASL Spring SeasonNASL Fall SeasonU.S. Open CupTotal1 FW29Maicon Santos31042MF7 Martin Nuñez30033 FW20Darwin Espinal2002FW11Corey Hertzog2002FW10Georgi Hristov11025 DF5 Stefan Antonijevic1001FW26Robert Hernández1001DF25Rich Balchan1001FW21Brian Shriver1001DF2 Darnell King0101 Own goal0101TOTALS154019
Disciplinary record NumberNationPositionNameNASL Spring SeasonNASL Fall SeasonU.S. Open CupTotal2 DFDarnell King201000303 DFRichard Menjivar100000104 DFBen Sweat200010205 DFStefan Antonijevic311000417 FWMartin Nunez001000108 FWMarcelo Saragosa1000001010FWGeorgi Hristov2200002211MFCorey Hertzog0010001013MFJustin Chavez1000001015DFZac Portillos1000001016MFJuan Francisco Guerra2020004017DFTamika Mkandawire4000004020FWDarwin Espinal1000001022MFKeith Savage1000001026FWRobert Hernández3010105029FWMaicon Santos1100001133FWZak Boggs1000001044DFGale Agbossoumonde10100020TOTALS2748020374
References