2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies season
The 2012 season was the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ third year overall and their second in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The team played at Al Lang Stadium, was owned by Andrew Nestor, and coached by Ricky Hill. They had regained the Rowdies name after playing as FC Tampa Bay.
In the regular season, the Rowdies finished second in the NASL with a 12-9-7 record. In the playoffs, they beat the Carolina RailHawks 5-4 on aggregate in the semifinals to reach the Soccer Bowl. There they faced the defending champions, the Minnesota Stars, and won 3-2 on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate tie, earning the NASL Championship. This marked the Rowdies’ first NASL title in the Tampa Bay area since the original club won Soccer Bowl ’75.
Beyond the league, the Rowdies won the Ponce De Leon Cup (a fan-based Florida derby trophy) and the Coastal Cup. In the U.S. Open Cup, they reached the Third Round.
Top scorer Mike Ambersley led with 8 league goals (11 in all competitions). Attendance highs and lows varied, with the largest crowd 4,710 on July 4 against Fort Lauderdale and the smallest 2,194 on April 12 against Carolina; the average home league attendance was about 3,116.
Background notes: the Ponce De Leon Cup honors a regional rivalry among teams from Florida and Puerto Rico. The trophy had reportedly been destroyed in 2010, and 2012 was its final year due to the Puerto Rico Islanders ceasing operations after the NASL season.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:57 (CET).