Tenth Season Kicks Off with Marquee Matchup in the Sunshine State
#TBRvIND Preview
Indy Eleven at Tampa Bay Rowdies
Saturday, March 11, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Al Lang Stadium – St. Petersburg, Fla.
FOLLOW LIVE
Local TV: n/a
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio: n/a
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live Opta stats: #TBRvIND MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
WATCH PARTIES
Indy Eleven Watch Party at The AMP at 16 Tech
Brickyard Battalion Watch Party at Union Jack Pub – Broad Ripple
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 12W-17L-5D (-15 GD), 41 pts.; 9th in Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Rowdies: 20W-7L-7D (+40 GD), 67 pts.; 3rd in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
TBA
DISCIPLINE REPORT
IND: none
TBR: none
#TBRvIND GAME NOTES
Last Sunday, the IndyCar circuit began its 2023 campaign by driving around Al Lang Stadium on the streets of St. Petersburg. Six days later, Indy Eleven will rev up its own 2023 season inside the venerable venue against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in one of the marquee match-ups of a crowded USL Championship opening night slate.
For Indy Eleven, Saturday offers a stiff first test for its new-look side against one of the Eastern Conference’s most steady and successful sides in recent years. While Head Coach Mark Lowry has preached during preseason that Week One will not look like a finished product, the insertion of veterans Cam Lindley, Aodhan Quinn and Jack Blake in the midfield; Sebastian Guenzatti at forward; Adrian Diz Pe, Gustavo Rissi, and Younes Boudadi on the backline; and Yannik Oettl between the posts gives the Boys in Blue tons of added Championship experience and poise up and down the pitch – and the ability to take three points out of any contest, regardless of how it may look aesthetically for the time being.
That’s not to discount the offerings of several key returnees, including a loaded corps of attacking players in MVP Solomon Asante, Jonas Fjeldberg (back from his loan with Rio Grande Valley FC), and Juan Tejada. Defenders Jesus Vazquez, Robby Dambrot (ruled out due to injury for the opener), and Mechack Jerome and goalkeeper Tim Trilk also provide experience in Lowry’s system, with all starting at least 11 contests during their debut seasons in the Circle City last year. Additionally, the return of Eleven Academy product Alann Torres from a season-long loan with USL League One’s Forward Madison FC and loan acquisition of Harrison Robledo from FC Cincinnati gives Lowry some young and versatile options to throw into the mix.
If the preseason is any indication, the Boys in Blue will need fresh legs off the bench thanks to a defensive mentality to turn the ball over as high up the field as possible through swarming pressure that starts with the forward line. While Lowry admits the approach may concede space to the opposition at times, it’s a trade-off he’s willing to make since it should also result in an increased number of attacking chances for the Eleven. That will come as a welcome sign for a club that struggled to produce goals and shots a year ago – and bringing on board last season’s top-two chance creators across the Championship in Lindley (99) and Quinn (83) will go a long way on that front as well.
For the Rowdies, Saturday will provide the first chance to overcome some early adversity caused by a preseason Achilles injury to forward Leo Fernandes that will sideline the reigning USL Championship MVP for the entirety of the 2023 season. However, Tampa Bay has plenty of pivotal new pieces of their own to incorporate into their squad, and three of those – Cal Jennings (11g/5a with Las Vegas in 2022), JJ Williams (12g/1a with Tulsa) and Ariel Martinez (9g/1a with Hartford) – with be tasked with picking up the considerable slack left by the absence of Fernandes’ 19g/9a output last year.
On the backline Tampa Bay welcomes a new/familiar face in Forrest Lasso, who rejoins the squad he suited up for in 2020 & ’21 after a stint with Swedish First Division side GIF Sundsvall last year. The two-time USL Championship Defender of the Year joins an already sturdy backline that included 2022 USL All-First Team performer Aaron Guillen and former Boy in Blue Connor Antley. Goalkeeper may be the most up for grabs position on the Rowdies roster, with former Miami FC backstop Connor Sparrow set to battle it out with Phil Breno, who parlayed a season-and-a-half stint with Forward Madison in USL League One into a loan with Tampa Bay for the second half of last year and a permanent contract over the offseason.
To say the Rowdies’ midfield is experienced would be an understatement, as Lewis Hilton, Yann Ekra, and Sebastian Dalgaard, have racked up 57 goals, 60 assists and over 600 appearances across a combined 25 seasons in the USL Championship. The 2023 campaign will mark their fourth season together in Tampa, while more recent additions Jake Areman, who joined the Rowdies last season, and Zach Herivaux, who alternated stints with San Antonio (2017, 2020) and Birmingham Legion (2019, 2021-22) before coming on board this offseason, will provide added veteran heft to that rock-steady troika.
SERIES VS. TAMPA BAY ROWDIES:
All meetings (2014-22): 3W-4L-8D (18 GF/20 GF)
at TBR: 1W-2L-4D (8 GF/11 GA)
USLC regular season (2018-22): 1W-3L-2D (5 GF/9 GA)
at TBR: 0W-2L-1D (2 GF/6 GA)
NASL regular season (2014-16): 2W-1L-6D (13 GF/11 GA)
at TBR: 1W-0L-3D (6 GF/5 GA)
Tampa Bay represents one of the Eleven’s most well-known foes, the squads meeting 15 times since Indy Eleven debuted back in the NASL in 2014; only Louisville City FC (19) and the Carolina Railhawks/North Carolina FC (16) have squared off more times against the Boys in Blue during their previous nine seasons on play.
The Rowdies broke the stalemate in the all-time series in the previous outing last July 30 at Carroll Stadium courtesy of a 3-1 win. Raul Aguilera’s 24th minute opener pushed Indy into the lead, but that was offset by Steevan Dos Santos (32’) and Leo Fernandes (96+’) penalty conversions and a Jordan Scarlett backbreaker just before halftime in between.
Their last meeting at Al Lang Stadium was another early-season affair last March 19, a 2-0 Rowdies victory that saw current Eleven striker Juan Tejada score inside the first minute and assist on Jake LaCava’s 51st insurance goal.
FAMILIAR FACES:
The Eleven’s Sebastian Guenzatti, Juan Tejada, and Jack Blake have all suited up for Tampa Bay to varying degrees over the years.
The most notable homecoming will be for Guenzatti, who became the Rowdies’ career leading scorer with 65 goals (59 regular season, 6 postseason) from 2017-22, during which he also contributed 19 assists in 160 matches in official competitions. The forward led Tampa Bay in scoring in four straight seasons from 2018-21 and played a vital role in the Rowdies’ success in recent years, which included USL Championship Eastern Conference titles in 2020 and 2021, another Conference Championship game appearance in 2022, and the league’s top regular season mark in 2021.
Tejada is no stranger to Al Lang Stadium either, as the Panamanian striker spent three-and-a-half seasons with Tampa Bay prior to his trade to Indy for Nicky Law last July. Tejada tallied 13 goals and 5 assists in 68 USL Championship regular season appearances for Tampa Bay from 2019-22 and also played in five postseason contests.
Blake began his tenure in the USL Championship by originally heading on loan from Lowry’s Jacksonville Armada FC side prior to the 2018 season, a deal that ultimately saw Blake sign a permanent contract with the Rowdies at the start of the season. However, a midseason trade to Real Monarchs SLC saw his time on the Gulf Cost cut short, ending with a goal and two assists in seven appearances for the Nottingham native.
On the flip side, Tampa Bay technically has two former Boys in Blue on their 2023 roster, although only one ever saw the field for Indiana’s Team. That would be defender Connor Antley, who suited up for the Boys in Blue 12 times during the squad’s COVID-shortened 16-game season in 2020. Meanwhile, the Cal Jennings era in the Circle City never got off the ground, as the forward signed with the squad in December 2020 but was turned around via transfer to Major League Soccer’s Los Angles FC in early March 2021.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: FW SEBASTIAN GUENZATTI
We could have been nuanced and subtle here, but let’s not overthink things out of the gate. The Uruguayan striker is the obvious choice, and you can’t help but think our friends USL HQ pounced on the chance for an early storyline by sending the Rowdies’ career leading scorer back to Al Lang Stadium for his Eleven debut (which, by all means, we’re here for!).
We’ve already listed Guenzatti’s impressive stats and contributions to Tampa Bay’s success above, so no need to rehash those here (although we failed to mention he enters 2023 tied for 10th place on the league’s career regular season scoring chart with 59 goals, alongside Birmingham’s Enzo Martinez and the retired Cameron Iwasa). The big thing to watch for on Saturday will be to see how quickly he has gelled with his new Eleven running mates … while the preseason offered glimpses, things are just different when you have to kick an opponent in anger for real and three points are on the line. Guenzatti always paired well with whatever firepower was stocked around him during his six seasons in Tampa, and one look at the Indy roster suggests that should be much the same.
