Game preview: Saturday marks start of Tropics, Rowdies rivalry at Bryant Stadium

LAKELAND – The Lakeland Tropics face an early season showdown Saturday night at Bryant Stadium when the Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 side invades in a key Premier Development League matchup. Kickoff is at 7:35 p.m.

The game should provide for an instant rivalry. Both teams are expansion teams in the PDL this season,  and both are part of the nine-team southeast division. The Rowdies franchise has  long drawn support from Polk County dating all the way back to their genesis in 1975 in the original North American Soccer League. Also, the Rowdies geographically are the franchise located closest to Lakeland in the PDL. The Rowdies parent franchise now plays in the United Soccer League, which earned Division II status this past off-season, and which sponsors the PDL.

“The Rowdies have always had fans here in Polk County, but many have seemed to switch their allegiance already to the Tropics. We have been thrilled with the connection the Tropics have made to Lakeland and Polk County in such a short period of time,” Majority Owner Dr. Panos Iakovidis said. “We are all looking forward to another exciting match Saturday night, and kicking off a rivalry that will do nothing but grow in the coming years. We know we'll have lots of our fans cheering us on, and I'm sure the Rowdies will bring a few fans with them as well.”

 The SIMA Aguilas lead the southwest with a perfect 5-0 mark. Lakeland will meet SIMA – which is the Soccer Institute of Montverde Academy – twice later in the season, including a holiday weekend matchup July 1 at Bryant Stadium, and the team's final regular season game on July 11 at SIMA in Orlando.

Lakeland has outshot its first four opponents 51-45, and Tropics goalkeeper Jonathan Valerio comes in with a save percentage of .742, and goals against average of 2.00, including a 2-0 blanking of the Palm Beach Suns last weekend.

The Rowdies are led by the No. 3 ranked prospect in the 72-team PDL, Ricky Lopez. Tampa Bay fell to IMG Academy 2-1 in a game Wednesday at Al Lang Stadium, giving up the game winner in the 90th minute. Kevin Mendoza is the team's leading scorer, getting both goals in a season-opening 2-0 win over Weston FC.

Lakeland team captain Ricardo Diegues will also look to continue his goal scoring streak, with at least one goal in each of the Tropics wins, and both in a 2-1 win at Weston FC on May 24. Teammate Victor Rojas is second on the team in goals with two, and first in shots with 16.

Tickets start at just $5, and are buy-one-get-one free for Saturday's game. Free tickets are also available to all active or retired military personnel.  They can be obtained by calling the team office at 863-204-0101, or by emailing tropicstickets@gmail.com More information is also available online at www.lakelandtropics.com. Additionally, Saturday's game will be broadcast live through the team's website.