July 4, 2018 USL Toronto FC II--Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Toronto FC II game review (from rowdiessoccer.com)
Georgi Hristov Sets All-Time Rowdies Scoring Record By Rowdies Communications, 07/04/18, 5:00PM EDT ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 4, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies have a new all-time goal scoring champion in Bulgarian forward Georgi Hristov. Hristov scored his 58th goal for the Rowdies on Wednesday night in a 3-1 win over Toronto FC II. Derek Smethurst had held the record since 1978 with 57 goals for the Rowdies. Hristov scored his 57th on April 21 in a 2-0 win over Real Monarchs SLC, but then had a lengthy delay before finally breaking through Wednesday night. The record-setting goal came only eight minutes into the match when he ran onto a long kick from goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald and spotted Toronto goalkeeper Borja Angoitia off his line. Hristov lobbed the ball over him and into the net from about 27 yards to put Tampa Bay ahead 1-0 and the claim the record all to himself. “It means a lot to me,” Hristov said after the match. “The Rowdies are such an old club with a lot of history, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the three points. Let’s not take away the effort that the guys put in tonight. We deserved the win, so I’m even more happy that we won the game.” Hristov has played for the Rowdies since 2013 and quickly became a fan favorite. He scored his first goal for Tampa Bay on April 13, 2013 in a road win over the San Antonio Scorpions. That year, he scored 12 goals and had eight assists to win the Golden Ball as the NASL’s Most Valuable Player. He scored 11 combined goals in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, but then matched that in 2015 alone. He had 15 goals last season and has five so far in 2018. He also has four goals in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play to reach the mark of 58 goals.
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