Sebastian Guenzatti’s Brace Helps Pace First Win of 2023 Preseason for Indiana’s Team
WESTFIELD, Ind. – Forward Sebastian Guenzatti’s pair of goals sparked an offensive outburst for Indy Eleven in its second exhibition of the 2023 preseason, a 5-1 win over Indiana Wesleyan University contested this afternoon at the Grand Park Events Center. Robby Dambrot, Solomon Asante, and Alann Torres also tacked on goals across the final 20 minutes to help secure the first win of the spring preseason calendar for the new look Boys in Blue side in 2023.
“The performance, the football, today was good. Everything was cleaner and crisper than last week, especially our positioning in the attacker half, which is what we should expect with another four or five days of preseason under our belts,” said Indy Eleven Head Coach Mark Lowry. “I’m really happy with how the guys have taken more of the information we’ve been giving them in training in recent days and seeing it translate into the game today. We’re finding more and more how these players are going to fit into this system, and that’s all we want to see at this stage.”
The match began with Indy Eleven controlling the vast majority of the possession and putting repeated pressure on IWU inside the attacking third. It took until nearly the half hour mark for Indiana’s Team to move the scoreboard through Guenzatti’s tap-in goal on the doorstep, created when defender Jesus Vazquez squared Jack Blake’s set piece ball into space at the six. The second half began with Guenzatti doing more damage, this time giving Blake an assist by going low to head home the Englishman’s dipping diagonal ball from the right flank inside the first minute of the stanza.
IWU got one back in the 71st minute, when an intercepted Eleven back pass at the midfield stripe resulted in a Wildcat attacker finishing his 1-v-1 chance against Eleven netminder Tim Trilk to pull the Marion-based side within a goal at 2-1. However, Indy bumped the lead back to two goals just a minute later courtesy of Dambrot’s hustling run, which allowed him to just barely beat the IWU goalkeeper to a low, back post ball served across the area by Younes Boudadi.
The Boys in Blue padded their lead in the 77th minute through a header by Asante, who found space between defenders at the six to head home – as the shortest man on the pitch at all of 5’2” – Juan Tejada’s cross from just left of the area to move the score to 4-1. Torres finished off the scoring three minutes from full time when he accepted defender Mechack Jerome’s squared ball at the top of the area and slotted a curling shot through traffic and inside the far right post.
This afternoon’s contest was the second of five planned exhibition matches for Indiana’s Team this preseason, which will continue this Sunday, February 19, against Chicago Fire 2 of MLS NEXT Pro. The 3:00 p.m. ET kickoff back at the Grand Park Events Center will be open only for 2023 Indy Eleven Season Ticket Members and attendees of the first Indy Eleven National Coaches Symposium taking part across the weekend. The preseason leads up to Indy Eleven’s 2023 USL Championship regular season opener at the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, March 11.
Indy Eleven will kick off the home portion of its tenth season of play – and its sixth campaign in the USL Championship – on Saturday, April 1, when the Boys in Blue welcome Las Vegas Lights FC to the Circle City for the clubs’ first-ever meeting. Single-game tickets for the home opener at IUPUI Carroll Stadium along with 17-game Season Ticket Memberships, specially-priced group tickets, and an increased portfolio of hospitality options are available for purchase now via indyeleven.com/tickets or by calling 317-685-1100 during regular business hours (Mon.-Fri., 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)
2023 Spring Preseason Exhibition
Indy Eleven 5 : 1 Indiana Wesleyan University
Tuesday, February 14, 2022
Grand Park Events Center – Westfield, Ind.
Scoring Summary:
IND – Sebastian Guenzatti (Jesus Vazquez) 29’
IND – Sebastian Guenzatti (Jack Blake) 46’
IWU – goal 71’
IND – Robby Dambrot (Younes Boudadi) 72’
IND – Solomon Asante (Juan Tejada) 77’
IND – Alann Torres (Mechack Jerome) 87’
Indy Eleven line-up: Yannik Oettl (Tim Trilk 45’); ^Guest Anoka (Robby Dambrot 27’), Jesus Vazquez, Gustavo Rissi (Mechack Jerome 45′), Younes Boudadi (^Guest Player 80’); Aodhan Quinn (Diego Sanchez 80’), Cam Lindley (Alann Torres 60’), Alann Torres (Jack Blake 27’); Harrison Robledo (Juan Tejada 74’), Juan Tejada (Sebastian Guenzatti 27’), Jonas Fjeldberg (Solomon Asante 45’)
^ guest player (aliases)
Indy Eleven 2023 Preseason Exhibition Schedule
Friday, Feb. 10 Indy Eleven 1 : 3 Butler University
Tuesday, Feb. 14 Indy Eleven 5 : 1 Indiana Wesleyan University
Sunday, Feb. 19 vs. Chicago Fire 2 – 3:00 p.m. kickoff at Grand Park Events Center
- Hosted in conjunction with the Indy Eleven National Coaches Symposium
- Open to Symposium attendees and 2023 Indy Eleven Season Ticket Members
Saturday, Feb. 25 at Chicago Fire
Friday, March 3 vs. Forward Madison FC (closed door)
