North Carolina, Tampa Bay Square Off in Top-Five Clash on ESPNews

With two top-five clashes in the Eastern Conference taking place on Wednesday, eyes first turn to ESPNews where North Carolina FC host the Tampa Bay Rowdies with an opportunity to climb as high as second in the standings should results play in their favor later in the evening.

STREAM: North Carolina FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

WHEN AND WHERE

Tonight’s action takes places at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. ET.

The match will be available on ESPNews as well as on WatchESPN, with additional coverage via the USL Championship social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

TV: ESPNews

STREAM: WatchESPN

WHERE THEY STANDNorth Carolina FC:

12-5-7, 43 pts – 5th in ECTampa Bay Rowdies:

13-3-7, 46 pts – 2nd in EC

MOMENTUM SWING

North Carolina FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies enter Wednesday’s clash in contrasting form, with NCFC having won its last two games and the Rowdies losing two out of their last three. Tonight’s hosts put on an impressive display in their previous two outings, defeating Memphis 901 FC by a goal on the road before thrashing Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 5-0, at home to kick off Supporters Week.

The Rowdies, meanwhile, have dropped only one place in the Eastern Conference standings after dropping two out of their last three contests—split in the middle by their own 5-0 victory against the Charleston Battery. Tampa Bay’s three losses are still the fewest in the conference, but their only previous loss outside recent weeks came in the form of a 3-1 loss to NCFC at Al Lang Stadium on June 8.

With a minimum of 12 games left in the season, the top of the Eastern Conference is a free-for-all with Tampa Bay trailing New York by a point in the standings, with a game in hand. The Rowdies can usurp New York with a win against North Carolina tonight should the Red Bulls II fail to take victory in their visit to Nashville SC that kicks off an hour later on Wednesday night, while NCFC has an opportunity to move up as many as three places up the table should they defeat Tampa Bay and New York get the better of Nashville.

NCvTBR REWIND

Heading into June 8, the Rowdies were one of just a few Eastern Conference teams to maintain an unbeaten start at home, and the only undefeated in the Championship after 13 games in the campaign. Collecting impressive home wins over the likes of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and the New York Red Bulls II, the Rowdies were prepared to welcome NCFC to town, with the visitors having posted a mixed bag of results after wins over the likes of Louisville City FC and New York Red Bulls II canceled out by losses to ATL UTD 2 and draws with Charleston, Memphis, and Hartford.

The first half saw NCFC take the lead with Nazmi Albadawi playing in Dre Fortune for the game’s opening goal. Fresh legs for Tampa Bay came in the form of Zach Steinberger and then-Rowdie Antoine Hoppenot in for Andrew Tinari and Mohamed Kone, but the swaps were nullified quickly as North Carolina doubled their advantage, again through Fortune, three minutes after the interval. The Rowdies managed to pull one back six minutes later as Steinberger beat NCFC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis, but the visitors all but put the game to bed in the 77th minute when Ben Speas found Steven Miller for their third and final goal to seal the result.

HIGHLIGHTS: Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. North Carolina FC - June 8