After finishing just a point off of first place in the Spring Season, the Tampa Bay Rowdies had everything to play for in the fall.

A rough start came for Thomas Rongen and his squad, though, and changes needed to be made at Rowdies headquarters. On Aug. 21, after a 2-5-1 start to the Fall Season, the front office did just that.

President and general manager Farrukh Quraishi and head coach Rongen were relieved of their duties as the Rowdies attempted to capitalize on a fine spring campaign and head to the NASL Soccer Bowl.

Assistant coach Stuart Campbell was chosen as Rongen’s replacement, and under the leadership of the former Rowdies defender, the team controls its postseason destiny heading into its final match of the Fall Season on Saturday.

“Obviously it was a surprise when it sort of came. It was like a whirlwind. It all happened really quick,” Campbell told SBI of the coaching change. “We had to stop the slide, and you can’t just flip a switch.”

The manager hit the nail on the head with that statement, because while the Rowdies have seen considerable improvement during his tenure, a record of 3-4-4 isn’t lightyears ahead of his predecessor.

Campbell told SBI that draws have been “a killer” to the team in recent weeks. His side gave up two points late in Indianapolis at the end of September, and those points against one of NASL’s lowest-ranked teams could have allowed the Rowdies to rest their stars against this Saturday. Instead, they travel to New York needing a result against the Cosmos to control their postseason fate.

Funny enough, though, Campbell has already shocked the league this season with an unprecedented win over the Cosmos in September. Brilliant team goals finished off by Corey Hertzog and NASL Young Player of the Year candidate Darwin Espinal gave the Rowdies a 2-0 win at home to help spark a Fall Season turnaround.

However, Campbell isn’t taking that result for granted by any means.

“It’s been an up-and-down sort of season,” Campbell said. “But I try to stay pretty level, not too excited when we win or too down when we lose, and I try to ask that of the players so that they focus on the task at hand.”

Gio Savarese’s Cosmos have had a noteworthy Fall Season of their own, but for different reasons. It started with a loss and a draw against two of NASL’s weakest sides, picked up in the middle with six wins in nine games, and then tailed off once again with a four-game winless streak.

That streak ended at the start of October, however, and the Cosmos have now recorded three straight wins, outscoring their opponents eight to two.

“It’s going to take another monumental effort,” Campbell said. “It was a big result and a big performance. The Cosmos are a very good side, it’s going to take our very best to go there and get a result.”

Securing a result on Saturday is certainly no small task, as the Rowdies have failed to string together consecutive wins this fall.