Boys in Blue Seek to Cool Down Red-hot Rowdies Side Saturday
#INDvTBR Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
Saturday, July 30, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
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Local TV: WISH-TV
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio (Spanish): Exitos 94.3 FM / exitos943.com
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #INDvTBR MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 6W-10L-4D (-7 GD), 22 pts.; 9th in Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Rowdies: 12W-6L-3D (+22 GD), 42 pts.; 2nd in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: Aris Briggs (R shin), Bryan Meredith (R hand fracture), Stefano Pinho|
QUESTIONABLE: None
DISCIPLINE REPORT
IND: none
TBR: none
* IND’s Raul Aguilera & Sam Brown will receive a one-game suspension from USL for caution accumulation (eight) should they receive a yellow card in any game up to and including Aug. 27 vs. SA
Indy Eleven is staying in the Circle City for the second of a three-match homestand this Saturday night at Carroll Stadium against a former NASL rival in the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The meeting is the second between the sides this season, the first being a 2-0 home win for the Rowdies back on Matchday 2.
The Boys in Blue broke a six-match losing streak and a five-match scoreless streak last Saturday night against Memphis 901 FC, its 1-1 draw helping the squad get back on track for playoff positioning as the final third of the season approaches. The Eleven sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, currently nine points outside the playoff picture but with two games in hand on both seventh place Miami (31 pts.) and FC Tulsa (25 pts.).
Two new Boys in Blue made their IXI debuts last week in Sean Lewis and former Rowdies striker Juan Tejada, and two more could do the same on Saturday. On Monday, defender Jesus Vasquez was added to the squad from RGV Toros FC in a loan exchange for Jonas Fjeldberg, and 18-year-old Orlando City forward Wilfredo Rivera also joined Indy for the remainder of the season on loan. The match will allow for some quick reunions for Tejada and ex-Eleven midfielder Nicky Law, as the duo will face their former squads just nine days after being traded for each other last Thursday.
Across the pitch, the Rowdies have been one of the top performers in the league all season long – but especially so since the calendar hit May. Tampa Bay currently sits second in the Eastern Conference, just a point behind top of the table Louisville City FC, and is undefeated since an April 30 loss to San Diego Loyal. Since then, the Floridian side has rattled off a 9-0-2 unbeaten run, including five straight wins overall and four consecutive road wins heading into this weekend.
A variety of ticketing options for Saturday night’s Eastern Conference clash are available at indyeleven.com/tickets.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 1 : 1 Memphis 901 FC
Sat., July 23 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven garnered its first point since mid-June via a 1-1 draw with Memphis 901 FC at Carroll Stadium. Two-time USLC MVP Solomon Asante scored his first goal in an IXI shirt just nine minutes in, making him the 17th player to score 50 regular season goals in the Championship’s 12 seasons. The fastest goal of the 2022 campaign to this point for Indy allowed the Boys in Blue to stretch their now two-year undefeated streak when scoring first to 25 games.
Indy goalkeeper Sean Lewis tied an Eleven season high with seven saves in his debut for the Boys in Blue, including a club-record tying six in the first half, but he couldn’t deny Phillip Goodrum’s 23rd minute tally that gave him an Eastern Conference best 12th goal of the season.
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3 : 1 Atlanta United 2
Sat., July 23 | Stats
The Rowdies continued their winning ways Saturday night at home against Atlanta. Darwin Matteus put the visitors up 14 minutes in, but Steevan Dos Santos notched a first half brace, scoring in 25’ and 38’ to put the Rowdies up by the break. Leo Fernandes’ 11th goal of the season in the 68th minute from the penalty spot all but sealed the proceedings, which saw Tampa Bay take a USL Championship season-high 28 shots on the evening.
SERIES VS. TAMPA BAY ROWDIES
All meetings: 3W-3L-8D (17 GF/17 GF)
USLC regular season (2018-current): 1W-2L-2D (4 GF/6 GA)
USL Championship at home: 1W-0L-1D (1 GF/0 GA)
NASL regular season (2014-17): 2W-1L-6D (13 GF/11 GA)
Few teams have as much history with Indy Eleven as the Tampa Bay Rowdies do. The two clubs have met 14 times since 2014, and the series stands dead even at 3W-3L-8D and 17 goals for each team across both USLC and NASL competition. The teams met once previously this season, a 2-0 victory for the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium on March 19, a match that included a first-minute game-winner and the assist on the Rowdies’ insurance tally by now-Eleven forward Juan Tejada.
Their first meeting at Carroll Stadium took place in Indy’s second-ever match on Apr. 19, 2014, a 1-1 draw in which Erick Norales equalized late for Indiana’s Team. The rivalry took a hiatus in 2020 or 2021 due to scheduling changes due in large part to the Covid-19 pandemic. The last contest between the two in the Circle City came on Oct. 12, 2019, when Sebastian Guenzatti (45’) and Dane Kelly (72’) traded tallies in a 1-1 draw at Lucas Oil Stadium.
#INDvTBR FAMILIAR FACES
We’ve touched up the Juan Tejada (13 goals, 5 assists in 65 games with Tampa Bay from 2019-22) and Nicky Law (4 goals and 5 assists in 49 games from 2021-22) angles, but there remains one more current link to the two squads in Rowdies defender Connor Antley. Indy Eleven’s acquisition of the Atlanta area native from South Georgia Tormenta FC on Nov. 21, 2019, made USL history, as it marked the first time a Championship squad paid a transfer fee to a USL League One side for a player’s services. Antley spent the 2020 campaign in the Circle City, playing 12 of the squad’s 16 games during the COVID-shortened season before joining Tampa Bay in 2021.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: FW JUAN TEJADA
Didn’t see this one coming, did you? However, we choose Tejada for good reason, as his boundless energy both on and off the ball in attack and in the high pressure defensive set-up that head coach Mark Lowry likes to implement was on full display in his Indy debut last weekend. The Eleven’s scoreless drought broke last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Memphis 901 FC, and if the goals start rolling with some consistency for the Boys in Blue as they did across April, May, and early June, it seems more and more like Tejada will be a reason why.
While we have no reason to think there’s any grudges between Tejada and his former side, the fact remains Tejada’s primary role for the Florida side ever since his standout 2019 rookie season had been coming off the bench – and just two days after arriving in the Hoosier State, Lowry gave him the full 90 minutes to show his stuff. We’ll selfishly hope there’s a little added motivation for Tejada to open his Eleven account in his first meeting against his former side on Saturday – and a duplication of his goal and assist output against Indy back in Week 2 would be even better.
