With the 2025 USL Championship soccer season winding down, the Tampa Bay Rowdies find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

The Rowdies are on the verge of elimination from the USL Championship playoffs. If things do not break their way in their final game against Detroit City FC, this season will be the first time they do not make the postseason in seven years.

Three weeks ago, the Rowdies had a crucial win against Monterey Bay FC, 4-0, in what was their best game of the year.  Rowdies star forward Woobens Pacius scored two goals and kept pace for the top goal scorer of the season, Danny Crisostomo and Manuel Arteaga added goals of their own. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid kept Monterey Bay out of the net and gave the Rowdies their second clean sheet of the season.

According to Rowdies blogger, The Rowdies Rambler, “The Rowdies did exactly what they needed to at this point in the season and more”.

Unfortunately, the Rowdies followed up their best performance with their worst in a 5-0 loss to Rhode Island FC two weeks ago. This was a big game that the Rowdies needed to win, as Rhode Island was in the eighth and final playoff spot going into the match.

Tampa Bay went without their leading scorer, Pacius, who was called up to play for Haiti’s national team. The Rowdies could not overcome early goals from Rhode Island and only had one shot on goal for the entire match. The loss did not eliminate the Rowdies, but it helped Rhode Island clinch a playoff berth.

On Oct. 20th, the Rowdies played Hartford Athletic in another must-win game. Pacius added another goal to remain a top five scorer in the USL Championship. Manuel Arteaga scored an absolute banger from distance when he found the upper left corner to extend the Rowdies lead. Hartford scored twice in the waning moments of the first and second half, but the Rowdies dominated the match for 90’.

This weekend, the Rowdies will need all three points against Detroit City, a lot of goals and some help with an Indy Eleven loss. After a long season marked by injuries, inconsistent goal keeping and the transition to a new head coach, the Rowdies will be left thinking about what could have been if their early losses were won instead.