Brooklyn, NY. (June 20th, 2026) – Brooklyn FC Men fell 2-0 to Eastern Conference leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night at Maimonides Park.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the 29th minute from forward Russel Cicerone. Tampa Bay defender Dion Acoff ran through on goal and his 1-on-1 shot was saved by Brooklyn goalkeeper Lukas Burns. Acoff recovered the rebound and delivered a cross to the back post which found Cicerone’s head.
Just a few minutes later, the Rowdies found their second goal of the night with a penalty. A tackle from Brooklyn midfielder Malik Pinto found the foot of Tampa Bay forward MD Meyers. In the 33rd minute, Meyers calmly put the penalty past Burns.
Brooklyn tried to respond immediately with a long shot from JC Obregon which was saved from the Tampa keeper. Tampa Bay had a few more chances to score including hitting the crossbar in the 45th minute from a free kick, but Brooklyn went into halftime down 2-0
In the second half, Brooklyn came out with more control but were unable to take advantage of key chances. CJ Olney in particular created several dangerous chances, including a volley shot in the 62nd minute which flew just over the bar. It nearly caught the goalkeeper out of position with a long shot from midfield but ultimately did not have enough power.
Substitute Johnny Klein had a couple chances from headers, including a free kick in the 78th minute that flew slightly over the bar, and then a late chance minutes before full time.
Forward Pierre Da Silva came on in the 77th minute to make his USL Championship debut with Brooklyn as he tried to make an impact on the game. HIs free kick in the 87th minute was deflected by the wall and rolled out for a corner.
Unfortunately, Brooklyn’s pressure did not lead to any goals and they were unable to break through the strongest defence in the USL Championship. However, they limited Tampa Bay’s attack to just two shots in the entire second half.
SCORING SUMMARY
Brooklyn FC: N/A
Tampa Bay: Russell Cicerone 29’, MD Meyers 33’
DISCPLINE
Brooklyn FC: Callum Frogson 45’ (Yellow), Vuk Latinovich 56’ (Yellow)
Tampa Bay: Sebastian Cruz 42’ (Yellow),
LINEUPS
Brooklyn FC – Lukas Burns; Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Gabriel Alves, Callum Frogson, Vuk Latinovich, Tommy McNamara (Rocco Romeo 88’), Stefan Stojanovic (Abdoulaye Kanté 63’), Malik Pinto (John Klein 63’), Jaden Servania (Peter Mangione 63’), CJ Olney Jr., Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. (Da Silva 77’)
Unused Substitutes: Jackson Lee, Shaan Hundal
Tampa Bay – Jahmali Waite; Dion Acoff (Pedro Dolabella 45’), Charlie Ostrem, Leland Archer (Yanis Leerman 63’), Nathan Dossantos, Max Schneider, Louis Pérez (Hilton 82’), Sebastian Cruz, Mattheus, Russell Cicerone (Evan Conway 63’), MD Myers (Karsen Henderlong 70’)
Unused Substitutes: Joshua Kachurak, Isaiah LeFlore, Marco Micaletto
UP NEXT FOR BROOKLYN FC MEN
Brooklyn FC Men heads back on the road for three consecutive matches. Their next match is on July 4th, 2026 at 7 PM ET against reigning league champions, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. They will then take on Rhode Island FC in their final Prince Tires USL Cup match on July 11th and Sporting JAX on July 18th. The club will return home on July 25th to face San Antonio FC. Multiple home match ticketing options, including multi-game and single-game, are available. Tickets are available on SeatGeek.
