PLAYER OF THE WEEK | Indy Forward Zach Steinberger
When Indy Eleven needed it most, Zach Steinberger was there to step in and propel the club to victory. The young midfielder scored a pair of goals in a 3-0 win over Jacksonville Armada FC over the weekend, earning NASL Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.
Going into Saturday’s match against Jacksonville, Indy had won just one of its previous nine matches – a run that had the club free-falling in the race for a postseason spot. Desperately needing a win over the weekend, Steinberger answered the bell, opening the scoring in the ninth minute and finding the net again in the 73rd minute.
“For the NASL to have recognized my effort as the best of the week is a huge honor because there are a lot of great players in this league,” Steinberger said. “My first handful of games were really frustrating because I wanted to come in a make an impact and help the team get some wins. Hopefully Saturday’s result will be the catalyst we need to get some momentum going and carry that into the postseason.”
With the match scoreless in the early going, Steinberger and teammate Don Smart were through on goal after beating Jacksonville’s offside trap. Smart would end up squaring the ball for Steinberger, who finished easily into an open net. Later, with the score still 1-0, the two connected again – this time with Smart playing a ball in behind the visiting defense. Steinberger ran onto it and chipped the ball over Jacksonville goalkeeper David Sierra to double Indy’s lead. Guatemalan international Marvin Ceballos later found the net in stoppage time to cap off a convincing win for the hosts.
"Zach has been getting more comfortable in the group with every practice and during matches since he arrived in late July," Indy Eleven interim head coach Tim Regan said. "It was great to see everything click for both him and the team on Saturday and to have his hard work rewarded on the scoresheet."
The victory brought the Boys in Blue within five points of the final spot in The Championship, the league’s four-team postseason tournament. Regan’s side has a big opportunity to climb the standings in the next few weeks, as they get set to visit the last-place San Antonio Scorpions before returning home to host FC Edmonton at Carroll Stadium.
Steinberger, 23, could end up playing a key role in Indy’s push for a spot in The Championship. Since joining the club on loan from Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, the Long Beach, California, native has been a fixture in Tim Regan’s starting lineup, appearing in seven matches (six starts).
Indy Eleven will now travel to the Alamo City to take on the San Antonio Scorpions this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, and the match can be seen live on ESPN3 in the U.S. and on NASL.com in Canada.
