ST PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct 25, 2012) - The North American Soccer League held its Championship Series Media Day today at Al Lang Stadium. Attendees included  NASL Commissioner David Downs, St Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, Tampa Bay Rowdies Owner/President Andrew Nestor,  Rowdies Technical Director Perry Van Der Beck, Rowdies Coach Ricky Hill, Stars Coach Manny Lagos and several players from both teams. 

Reporters from radio, print and TV media in the Tampa Bay area attended the event. Hill was formally presented with the NASL Coach of the Year Award and the Rowdies organization was also formally presented the NASL Fair Play Award.

St Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster said "We're very proud to have a Championship game here in St Petersburg. We know everyone is excited about Saturday's game."

Rowdies Coach Ricky Hill said "We know it is going to be a tough match on Saturday especially after going down 2-0 in the first leg. The late goal (by Martin Nunez in the first leg) really changes the circumstances."

“With a full game to play, Tampa Bay can still take their time to create meaningful chances. They don’t have to throw everything at us right away,” Stars head coach Manny Lagos said. “On the ball, we need to be selective about when we move forward. Another goal would be fantastic, but we don’t need to take unnecessary risks and leave ourselves vulnerable because we know who quickly Tampa can counter. We’ll need to stay organized in defense and work to limit their midfield like we did in the second half.”

The second and final leg of the NASL Championship Series will kickoff at 7:30pm EDT on Saturday, October 27th from Al Lang Stadium in St Petersburg. You can watch live on ustream or buy tickets here.