Men’s Soccer Hosts Rowdies’ Cup Saturday

8/17/07

TAMPA, Fla. – For the third consecutive year, the University of South Florida men’s soccer team will battle the University of Tampa’s squad in a home exhibition match known as the Rowdies’ Cup. The match is scheduled for Sat., Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and will be the unofficial kickoff for the 2007 season.



The battle between cross-town rivals USF and UT was introduced in 1972. During a span of 16-straight seasons (1977-1992), the two teams played annually. In those 16 years, the Bulls edged the Spartans with an 8-6-2 head-to-head record. The teams played once more in 1997, a 4-1 win for Tampa. USF holds an all-time 10-7-2 series lead in regular-season contests, dating back to 1972.



Since renewing the rivalry in exhibition play in 2005, the Bulls own a 2-0-0 mark against the Spartans. Following a 7-0 win in the inaugural Rowdies’ Cup, USF claimed back-to-back victories with a 2-0 defeat of UT last year.



The Rowdies team defeated the Portland Timbers, 2-0, to claim the 1975 Soccer Bowl championship in their inaugural season, becoming Tampa Bay’s first professional championship team. Tampa Bay played for 10 seasons in the NASL, posting a 147-135 record, including two more appearances in the Soccer Bowl (1978 and 1979). It also fielded an indoor soccer team from 1975-1984, winning two championships. After the demise of the NASL in 1984, the Rowdies operated as an independent team for two seasons before joining the American Indoor Soccer Association in 1986. During the summer of 1988, Tampa Bay joined the American Soccer League. It would stay in the league and its successor (the APSL) until the team folded in 1993.



The winner of each USF/UT exhibition match is awarded the actual 1975 NASL Championship trophy.



This year, the Spartans received 76 points and were picked to finish fourth in the Sunshine State Conference preseason poll, while the Bulls were selected to finish third behind St. John’s and Rutgers in the BIG EAST’s Red Division.



Tickets for the 2007 Rowdies’ Cup are available at $5 for adults and $3 for youths 16-and-under.



The Bulls’ 2007 regular season will commence with a home date against in-state rival UCF on Fri., Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. USF will see a total of eight regular-season home dates, six of which are against BIG EAST foes.





Rowdies’ Cup Series History



Year Site W-L-T Score

2005 USF 1-0-0 7-0

2006 USF 2-0-0 2-0



OVERALL 2-0-0