The Basics
Tampa Bay Rowdies at FC Edmonton
Sunday, September 21 at 4:00 p.m. ET
Clarke Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The match can be seen live online at NASLlive.com and ESPN3.com.
Follow us for live updates on Twitter at @RowdiesGameday.

Records (W-T-L)
Tampa Bay: 5-1-4, 16 points Fall; 7-5-7, 26 points overall
FC Edmonton: 4-3-4, 15 points Fall; 6-5-9, 23 points overall

Series History
Since FC Edmonton’s debut in the inaugural year of the North American Soccer League in 2011, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have had the better of the series. Tampa Bay is 6-5-2 (23 points out of a possible 39) all-time against the Eddies. Their only prior meeting this year was a 1-1 draw in St. Petersburg on April 12. The Rowdies are 3-1-2 all-time in Edmonton.

Rowdies Notes
The Rowdies venture northwest following a disappointing 2-0 home loss to Ottawa Fury FC on Sept. 13 at Al Lang Stadium. This is the Rowdies’ first time playing a league match this season. Edmonton’s 5,000-seat Clarke Stadium is sold out for this match.

Georgi Hristov leads the Rowdies in scoring this season with six goals. He also shares the team lead in assists with three, along with midfielder Shane Hill.

Lucky Mkosana started his first match since August 2 in last weekend’s loss to Ottawa, deployed on the left side of midfield for the first time this season. Despite making just eight starts, Mkosana is one of just three Rowdies to have appeared in all 19 matches. Hristov and Hill are the other two.

Tampa Bay currently sits in fifth place in the NASL Combined Standings, one point behind the Carolina RailHawks. The Rowdies have played one fewer match than Carolina this season.

Scouting FC Edmonton
FC Edmonton was the hottest team in the NASL in August with three wins over the Carolina RailHawks (3-2 on the road), the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2-1 at home) and Minnesota United FC (2-1 at home) in a span of 16 days. The Eddies have cooled off a bit since then, with a 3-0 loss in Texas to San Antonio and 1-1 draw with the Eleven in Indy.

In the last five matches, FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller has usually preferred a 4-5-1 formation with forward Tomi Ameobi leading the line and St. Petersburg native Chad Burt playing a creative role behind Ameobi. Forward Daryl Fordyce leads the Eddies with six goals, but hasn’t started a match since August 9.

Jamaican winger Lance Laing has impressed in the Fall Season, earning a spot in the NASL Team of the Week three times in the Fall Season. He was the NASL Player of the Week in Week 7 after notching a goal and assist in Edmonton’s 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale.

Quotable
Rowdies Coach Ricky Hill: "We’re going to a very tough place and FC Edmonton are in a good spell currently, which is great for them and for Colin Clarke. I'm really pleased for him because he's a great guy. Our purpose is to go and get all three points. We've got to get back to winning ways. We haven't played badly, we just have to be more resilient so that when we can't score, we can ensure that the other team won't score either. It's great news for us and for Edmonton that this game is on ESPN3 because it's another chance to show the USA that we try to play an attractive style of football. We want it to be a winning style of football as well, and Edmonton does as well. It'll be an exciting game."

Up Next
Following this match, the Rowdies return home to host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the 2014 Coastal Cup decider on Sept. 27 before welcoming FC Edmonton to Al Lang on Oct. 4. For tickets to either match, click here .

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada — Lance Laing’s 64th minute goal lifted FC Edmonton over the Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 at Clarke Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Laing played a quick give-and-go with Neil Hlavaty just across the midfield line, with Laing taking a few dribbles before shooting past Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens from about 15 yards out on the left side of the box.

"It's a lapse in concentration on our part," Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said. "Credit goes to Laing for exploiting that moment and being clinical with his finish. Unless we score goals, we're always vulnerable to concede goals and then get nothing. Today was another situation whereby we had more than enough opportunities to score a goal. Whether it would have been enough to win or they would have reacted, I can't say. At the moment, when we can't score, teams make us pay."

The Rowdies’ Keith Savage had the first great scoring chance of the match in just the fourth minute, volleying a ball toward John Smits in Edmonton’s net, but his shot went just over the crossbar before dipping down.

The match started to settle down a bit after that, with the Rowdies starting to establish a bit more possession as the half progressed.

Edmonton’s first chance came in the 20th minute with Horace James eyed up a shot from a sharp angle on the right side, but his effort went untouched all the way out for a Rowdies throw-in.

Blake Wagner had a brilliant scoring chance in the 26th minute when Eddies right back Beto Navarro misplayed a ball and allowed Wagner to race in on goal unopposed. His attempted chip over Smits wasn’t high enough and was pushed out for a corner kick.

Edmonton ended the first half well, with Tomi Ameobi finding space for a shot in the right channel, which was saved well by Matt Pickens. The rebound went directly to Lance Laing on the opposite side, but his effort went wide of net on the stroke of halftime.

The Rowdies controlled much of the second half, including a 59th minute shot by Shane Hill that was saved by Eddies goalkeeper John Smits. Smits had four saves on the afternoon.

Laing’s goal in the 64th minute put a little urgency into the Rowdies’ effort with forwards Brian Shriver and Luciano Olguin entering the match in the 66th minute. It was Olguin’s first appearance in an NASL match for the Rowdies.

The two fresh players nearly combined for a goal in the 69th minute, with Shriver taking a free kick from the right that nearly found Olguin at the back post for a tap-in. It was headed clear at the last moment by an Edmonton defender.

Rowdies coach Ricky Hill made his final substitution in the 74th minute, inserting Lucky Mkosana for Blake Wagner as the Rowdies chased a goal.

Olguin nearly scored the equalizer just before stoppage time, but Smits was in the right spot at the right time to make the save and preserve the Eddies lead.

An extra time free kick by the Rowdies was sent into the wall shortly before the referee blew the final whistle.

"Even with just a few minutes left, the guys were still pressing and still pushing, still trying to get back in the game," Ricky Hill said. "We have to be a lot more steely and clinical in both boxes in order to not concede goals. On days like this where we can't score, let's get away with a nil-nil. It's disappointing because Edmonton are one of our closes rivals on the table right now. In fairness to Edmonton, we didn't deserve to lose this game. We deserved something out of it but it didn't happen, so now we've got seven cup finals to play and decide our season."

Next, the Rowdies turn their attention on the Coastal Cup, with the rival Fort Lauderdale Strikers visiting Al Lang on Sept. 27. The 2014 Coastal Cup standings are currently tied and this is the final regular season meeting between the teams. For tickets, click here.

Scoring Summary
FC Edmonton - Lance Laing - 64th minute (Assisted by Neil Hlavaty)

Starting XI
Tampa Bay (4-4-2) - GK Matt Pickens; D Willie Hunt, D JP Rodrigues, D Tamika Mkandawire (C), D Anthony Wallace; M Keith Savage (Brian Shriver 66'), M Shane Hill, M Darel Russell, M Blake Wagner (Lucky Mkosana 74'); F Georgi Hristov, F Amani Walker (Luciano Olguin 66')

FC Edmonton (4-4-1-1) -  GK John Smits; D Beto Navarro, D Albert Watson, D Mallan Roberts, D Kareem Moses; M Horace James, M Neil Hlavaty, M Eddie Edward (Milton Blanco 77'), M Lance Laing (Massimo Mirabelli 86'); M Chad Burt (Hanson Boakai 79'); F Tomi Ameobi

Up Next 
Following this match, the Rowdies return home to host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the 2014 Coastal Cup decider on Sept. 27 before welcoming FC Edmonton to Al Lang on Oct. 4. For tickets to either match,  click here .