Indy Eleven vs Toledo Villa FC - 05.09

Summary

- Opponent: Toledo Villa FC
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-1 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Lee, Kruer, Mill, Brecht, Dardano, Guthrie, Johnson, Jodoin, Sochacki, DeMartino

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Joyce 61' (Johnson); Jennings 61' (DeMartino); Chatterton 77' (Lee); Adam 77' (Kruer); Satterfield 86' (Brecht)

- Unused: Phillips, Cueto, May

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Kruer 14' (Sochacki)
IND - Own Goal 35'
TOL - Clark 45'+2'
IND - Johnson 47' (unassisted)

- Bookings: 

IND - DeMartino 31' (Yellow)
IND - Hodsden 80' (Yellow)

- Referee: Rachel Glago

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy began this year's USL W League season a bit slow, scoring just 4 goals through the first 4 games, including being shutout in two of those games. Once they found their scoring boots or held some kind of bad voodoo cleanse, the goals have come in bunches and the results have been drastically different. In the last 4 games, Indy has averaged 5.5 goals/game, scoring 6 goals twice, 7 goals once, and a paltry 3 goals once against Racing Louisville. Tonight's opponent, Toledo Villa FC, came into the game having scored just 3 goals total all season while conceding 24 times in route to a 0W-0D-7L record. Tonight they rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with just 2 substitutes. Let me repeat that a different way. As Norman Dale said in Hoosiers, "my team is on the floor," which wasn't far from being Toledo's mentality. It also goes back to what I've said before. Indy's depth can wear out some of the teams in this division. Even if they weren't overmatched from the start, with just two subs, Toledo didn't stand much chance if they somehow managed to keep it close late. As it turned out, Indy got on the board early, added to it, and overcame a rare mistake that lead to a Toledo goal , and finished with a 3-1 to do their part of trying to make the playoffs.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Indy got themselves on the board early in the half when Mac Kruer's height came through on a Sochacki corner kick. Indy was dominating the beginning stages of the game, but were struggling to find their moment on goal. Indy had a half dozen crosses that went through untouched showing that they were dominant in possession, but just a step behind with each other. Indy looked rushed in the final third taking crosses before there was somebody in a position or taking rushed shots AT goal, not ON goal. The goal took some of the pressure off as it related to the need to get the win, but Toledo showed much more pressure on the ball tonight than they did in the previous game.

As the first half was about to conclude, Edwards made one of her rare mistakes and misplayed a ball when Toledo's Clark pressured her and the ball got stuck under Edwards' feet. Clark pounced on the ball and calmly passed it into the goal to pull the visitors back within a goal going into the halftime locker. 

Indy came out of the half determined to restore the multi-goal advantage. Johnson latched onto a ball near the 18-yard box, beat one defender, and put a ball across the goal and out of the reach of Sluss to get the goal differential back to 2 within 2 minutes of the restart. From there, Indy's gas pedal remained firmly planted to the floor to try and further increase that lead and wear down the short-staffed Toledo. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

While the shots continued to get added to the score sheet, Johnson's early second half goal was the last of the scoring for the game. Toledo finished with just 3 shots, none of them on target, while Indy finished with 24 shots, 13 of them on target forcing Sluss into 10 saves, but Indy couldn't find another goal. 

While all this was going on in Indy, the fans, staff, and players were keeping an eye on the other game taking place tonight in Dayton as the Dutch Lions faced off against Racing Louisville. With Louisville's final game of the season against the winless Toledo team, Dayton looked to be Indy's best chance to slide into the playoffs if Dayton could get anything out of the game. Even just a draw would have been sufficient for Indy's strong finish to the season and their +23 goal differential to be enough to move on into the playoffs. Both teams scored within the first 11 minutes; Racing first in the 1st minute and then Dayton twice in the 6th and 11th minutes. Both teams then added one more goal apiece before halftime to give the home team Dayton a 3-2 lead at the break. A 58th minute goal from Racing brought the game back level and the nervousness set in. Racing added to their total with an 87th minute goal, likely ending Indy's chances of continuing their season. While no team from the Valley Division has officially clinched, it seems doubtful that Toledo will be able to go to the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center and come away with another but another loss.

Indy's early season lack of finishing that lead to an opening game draw against Louisville and back-to-back shutout losses to Dayton and Louisville means that Indy is going to not be a part of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Indy is arguably the best team in the Division, but in a sprint 9-game season, every single game and every single point matters. The team did everything they could don in the back half of the short season, but the two losses and draw took the control of their fate out of their hands. It looked like Dayton was going to do Indy a solid and get a draw against Racing, but they couldn't hold on at the end. 

Indy have to wait until it's official on Saturday when Racing Louisville and Toledo wrap up the Division's last game, but the players, coaches, and staff looked dejected after tonight's game after the news of the other game's result became clear. Despite the 3-1 win and the 25 to 2 goal differential over the last 5 games, another season likely came to an end tonight. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

Three players stuck out to me tonight. Given that it's likely the last game of the 2026 season, I'm going to give the GBGB to each of them. Jodoin continued to be dynamic in the attack, fearing no defender, and being willing to take shots from anywhere and everywhere. Johnson did her best to try and control the midfield while still getting into the attack. And the puzzle piece that keeps all of the attack going is the defensive effort and leadership of Kruer. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Stadium
- Attendance: 5,127
- Final Score: 0-0 D AET (7-6 Indy in Shootout)

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Barry, Craig (C), Rasheed, Neidlinger, Omar, O'Brien, J., Okello, Rendon, Williams, K., Sing

- Substitution: Mesanvi 45 (Rendon); Blake 61' (Williams, K.); Sharp 61' (Sing); Mitrano 82' (Barry)

- Unused: Dick, Kizza

- Scoring Summary:
NONE

- Shootout Summary:
IND - Blake (Saved)
LEX - Molloy (Scored) - 0-1
IND - O'Brien (Scored) 1-1
LEX - Midence (Scored) 1-2
IND - Omar (Scored) 2-2
LEX - Ordonez (Scored) 2-3
IND - Mitrano (Scored) 3-3
LEX - Epps (Scored) 3-4
IND - Sharp (Scored) 4-4
LEX - Hafferty (Saved) 4-4
IND - Craig (Scored) 5-4
LEX - Firmino (Scored) 5-5
IND - Neidlinger (Scored) 6-5
LEX - Greene (Scored) 6-6
IND - Rasheed (Scored) 7-6
LEX - Blessing (Saved) 7-6
Indy win 7-6

- Bookings:

IND - Neidlinger 18' (Yellow)
LEX - Bench 69' (Yellow)
LEX - Firmino 70' (Yellow)
LEX - Zengue 78' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 88' (Yellow)

- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

- Adage goals: None.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

I thought that I was going to be discussing Indy's 3 games in 8 days stretch and how it might affect this game against Lexington. However, thunderstorms came through Indy on Wednesday forcing, I think, Indy's first-ever home cancellation. So Indy made the trip to Lexington with one less game on their legs than anticipated. The roster still looked different though with guys that are injured, on international duty, or somewhere else. Indy somehow managed to get a nil-nil draw and bump themselves, likely temporarily, up to 2nd in the Group 4 USL Cup standings thanks to the 7-6 penalty shootout victory.

As many people may tell you, mathematics are hard. Indy's math to get out of the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup is even harder, but a win was almost vital to even come close to giving themselves a chance. With tonight's game, Indy is the only team to have played all four games of the group stage and their fate is now completely out of their hands. And yet... they haven't been mathematically eliminated from contention. IF Forward Madison beats Union Omaha AND Louisville beats Lexington AND Fort Wayne beats Detroit City, then Indy would miraculously finish 2nd in the Group. The odds would still be against them in the tiebreakers to get one of the wild card slots, but they haven't been officially eliminated from the knockout rounds. Maybe that's grasping at straws, but getting a draw and the shootout win shows Indy's continued fight despite the issues they continue to have with player availability.

Indy next return to Carroll Stadium for a July 4th contest against Charleston after a bye week. Thanks to the postponement of the Brooklyn game and Indy's USL Cup games, the game against the Battery will be just their 2nd league game since the Rhode Island game from May 30th. Despite the infrequent league games, Indy has still clung to a spot above the playoff line, which is miracle number two in this article. 

I don't know how the season is going to end for Indy, whether that's a spot in the playoffs or not, but I have to appreciate the fight that this team continues to show game after game. Nobody would really say that it's the prettiest of soccer, but they do seem to find a way to get good results (and put themselves in a position to get better results) more often than not. Tonight was no different; Charles-Cook came up big and players gutted out a draw and shootout victory. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

He doesn't get a lot of minutes playing behind Eric Dick, but Reice Charles-Cook made 7 saves in regulation and two vital saves in the penalty kick shootout to help get the team into the shootout and then to get the extra point from the shootout win, respectively. The team still doesn't have much chance to make it out of the group stage as a Wild Card, but it's good to see Reice get some good minutes and play well in them. So he gets tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.08

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 7-1 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Lee, Adam, Smith, Dardano, Guthrie, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Jodoin); May 67' (Sochacki); Johnson 67' (Dardano); Gillespie 78' (Smith); Chatterton 84' (Lee)

- Unused: Phillips, Hamm, Kikuchi, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 16' (assist Jodoin)
IND - Lee 38' (assist Brecht)
DAY - McKinney 43' (assist Kerins)
IND - Guthrie 54' (Hodsden)
IND - Own Goal 65'
IND - Kruer 70' (assist Guthrie)
IND - Johnson 83' (Penalty Kick)
IND - Guthrie 87'

- Bookings:

DAY - Powell 58' (Yellow)
DAY - McKinney 78' (Yellow)
IND - Lee 80' (Yellow)
DAY - Brunetti 83' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jordan Hindes

Thoughts and Opinions

It's been 7 days since Dayton was here on Sunday, but in the week between the games, the visitors from Ohio weren't able to locate any other players and continued to just travel with a very limited roster, having just 4 substitutes available, while Indy had their full compliment. As with the game on Sunday, the ability to have fresh legs late looked to be a potential advantage for Indy if the game was in doubt. The game wasn't fully in doubt late, but things did get out of hand as Indy scored two goals in the first half and another 5 in the second half to secure a 7-1 win. 

Guthrie put a shot off the crossbar from the kickoff to signify that Indy was going to be on the attack. Dayton to their credit were much more engaged early to get the first official shot on target in the game. The ball went straight to Edwards, but it was clear that Dayton was looking to not leave Indy conceding 6 goals again. They once against put themselves into a bad spot though when Jodoin split two defenders near the right corner and then found a wide open Sochacki at the penalty spot who made no mistake with her shot passed Brandon. As with the game on Sunday, Dayton increased their intensity again after the first goal. The visitors were going to refuse to go down easily for a second time in a week.

The Lions nearly equalized in the 25th minute when a rare mistake in Indy's defense nearly came back to hurt them. Edwards was forced to come off her line and the ball was pushed around her. The centering cross rolled within feet of the goal line, but managed to go across the entire face of goal without a player from either team. Indy dodged the bullet, but Dayton had a really good opportunity to bring the game back to level.

As has been the trend this week, Indy dominated all the offensive stats going into the halftime locker room, including a second crossbar hit, the second one coming from Sochacki. However, Dayton made good on an opportunity as the half was winding down. McKinney received the ball from Kerins around 25 yards away from goal and immediately turned and went straight at goal. Before any of the Indy defenders could step close enough to her, she took a shot from outside the box that Edwards appeared to think it was going to go over the crossbar, but it suddenly dipped down and slide just under the bar to get the visitors on the board. As the teams went into the break, Indy could have, and probably should have, scored a couple more goals, but Indy's rushed shots and Dayton's defense kept the Lions within range.

Dayton came out of the locker room looking to make an immediate impact and change the tenor of the game with two really good opportunities on goal. Indy's defense and Edwards made a mistake and Dayton was nearly in on goal uncontested. The Indy defense managed to recover just enough to get the ball to trickle just wide of Edwards' post. The gauntlet was thrown down though that Dayton was not going to go quietly. 

After the early threats at the Indy goal, Indy decided that they were still going to play and found a third goal after second half substitute Hodsden got the ball away from her defender and did what she does; she went at goal. Instead of continuing to goal, she put in a cross that Guthrie redirected into the goal with her stomach to restore Indy's 2-goal lead.

The 3rd goal wasn't the game winner, nor was it the last of the scoring, but it was the precursor of things to come. Indy scored four more times after Guthrie's goal, including a second from Guthrie, an Own Goal, and a penalty kick from Johnson, fresh from her return playing with the USWNT U20s in Spain. 

A week ago, Indy sat behind Dayton and Louisville, needing to get wins to put themselves in contention to make the playoffs as the Valley Division winners. 7 days and 3 games later, Indy have done everything they needed to give themselves a chance. Three victories and 22 goals to put them on top of the division is all you can ask from a group of women who have only played 8 games together. Now Indy have to sit and wait to determine how important the Toledo game will be. If Dayton doesn't take points off of Louisville in one of their upcoming two games, it's still feasible that Indy's recent dominance of the Valley Division could be for naught.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Sitting a few seats away from Greg Rakestraw during the game, I could hear him reference me in the telecast and who he thought I might choose for tonight's GBGB winner. His guess was that I might select Brecht, who I admit had a legitimate argument to get the GBGB. Much of the first half went through her on the right side and she routinely blasted up field and caused issues for the Dayton defense. However... I have to give the GBGB to Guthrie. Sometimes the selected GBGB player comes down to a feeling about who sticks out for me. Sometimes it's that plus who fills up the stat sheet. Guthrie kept showing up for me as someone who was going non-stop to get to the balls or win them back. She also scored a brace, had an assist, had 9 of Indy's 22 shots, committed 5 fouls, and had the audacity to try and chip the Dayton keeper on the opening kickoff. Rakestraw is correct that Brecht is deserving, but tonight's GBGB goes to Guthrie.

Photo - Don Thompson Photograpy

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 13.11

Summary

- Opponent: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
- Location: Stadium
- Attendance: 5,977
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Dick, Mitrano, Rasheed, Craig, Neidlinger, Blake, Lindley (C), O'Brien, J., Mesanvi, Kizza, Rendon

- Substitution: Okello 72' (Kizza); Barry 72' (Craig); Omar 82' (Mitrano)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Sharp, Sing, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
PIT- Kelp 90'+2' (assist Barnes)

- Bookings:

PIT - Barnes 10' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 21' (Yellow) 
IND - Craig 56' (Yellow)
PIT - Mikoy 62' (Yellow)
IND - Neidlinger 90'+5' (Yellow)
PIT - Dikwa 90'+6' (Yellow)

- Referee: Nabil Bensalah

- Adage goals: One.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

Full Time Heat Map

I was at the Indy Eleven women's game, but watched the replay of the game, while also watching World Cup games and the replay of the Women's NCAA Track & Field pole vault championships (I had a lot of screens going tonight...). What I saw from the Indy men was about what we've come to expect from an Indy vs Pittsburgh game over the years. A low-scoring, defense-heavy affair with a lot of the game played in the middle half of the field. Nothing all that surprising.

What is surprising is how many times Indy continues to late games slip late. Even more surprising is how Dick lets a ball go through his legs in the 90'+2' to take Indy's point on the road and throw it in the Monongahela River. Dick has frequently spilled balls this year and frequently at inopportune times. Tonight was another example.

With the result, Indy's stay at 2nd in the table comes tumbling down as they settle back down to 6th place with the other results tonight. Indy does have at least one (and up to 3) game in hand on the teams ahead of them. Such is the nature of the East this year when Louisville had a four-game losing streak and had to get a late equalizer against Brooklyn to not start another losing streak, and Tampa finally showed they're mortal by losing to Hartford. 

Indy's roster is all kinds of decimated with Coach McAuley doing what he can to make something work with what he has left. Rumor is that there will be a new player announced soon to help with the lack of bodies. Indy return to action next Wednesday against the same Brooklyn team that beat them in the opening game and nearly beat Louisville tonight. Then they'll travel to Lexington next Saturday to complete a long week with their final group game in the Prinx Tires USL Cup.

Indy Eleven vs Racing Louisville - 05.07

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Lee, Smith, Dardano, Guthrie, DeMartino, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Jennings 45' (Jodoin); Codd 45' (Dardano); Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Chatterton 64' (Lee); Adam 64' (Kruer); Chong 77' (Smith); Hamm 83' (Guthrie)

- Unused: Phillips, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 4' (assist Mills)
IND - Guthrie 36' (assist Smith)
IND - Jennings 62' (assist Codd)

- Bookings:

LOU - Snyder 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Dana Hackney

Thoughts and Opinions

Three games in 7 days is a lot on the legs, particularly when the games may realistically determine whether you make it into the playoffs. Even more so when the two teams you are playing in those games are the most likely other alternatives to get that playoff spot, and they don't have any other games in the same period. Additionally, unlike Sunday's game where Dayton brought 3 substitutes, Racing Louisville rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with 19 players so Indy's ability to outwork and tire their opponent late was not going to be an option. Fortunately for Indy Eleven fans, Indy got on the board early, added to it twice more, and kept Louisville off the scoreboard to stay in the race for the Divisional lead with the season winding down. A lot left to play for in the final two games, and hope Louisville drop points in one of their final games, but Indy had 3 things on the To Do list this week - well, technically, it was one thing, but do it 3 times... win - and they have checked off two of those boxes.

Indy got off to a quick start when Mills put a ball through the Louisville lines. It didn't look like it was originally intended to be for Sochacki, but that's who latched onto the ball as it rolled into the box. Reece collected it nicely and put the ball over Lee and off the underside of the crossbar before the ball bounced beyond the line for the opening, and game-winning, goal.

After the goal, possession skewed towards Louisville, but they weren't able to get many good shooting opportunities from it. Much of that ineffectiveness in the final third was due to the defensive prowess of Mills, Kruer, Brecht, and Lee who seemed to be perpetually in the right places to stifle the attacks. Racing do a good job of playing spaces and working their way through the midfield, but Indy's tenacious defending constantly put them in positions to take the ball away or eventually force Racing into locations where they couldn't do anything with the ball.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the half began to wind down, it could be easily argued that despite being down a goal, Racing was the better team...other than in their final third. Indy had 8 shots to Racing's 2 as the half closed. In the 36th minute, against the run of play, Indy found a second goal through a moment of brilliance from Guthrie. She found herself in open space 35-yards from goal and audaciously put a shot over the goalkeeper and tucked under the bar in the far corner to double Indy's lead that stunned everybody in attendance and completely surprised Lee. "Take me home momma and put me to bed. I have seen enough to know I have seen too much." When you have to get a win, putting your opponent down by two going into the halftime locker room creates a different momentum feeling than if they're only down by one.

The second half started with four consecutive corners for Indy, but after that the early part of the half had the same feel as the first half with Racing holding a significant portion of the possession in their defensive half of the field, but couldn't get much accomplished in the final third. That lack of attacking results were not Indy's problem as the shots continued to pile up until Jennings added a third goal in the 62nd minute. Indy finished the game with a 22 to 4 shot advantage, with 11 of those 22 shots being on target. Edwards, conversely, was credited with just 2 saves, neither of which I would consider to be overly threatening.

At this point, everything was finished but the whistle. Indy had some decent chances, while Louisville's offense continued to fizzle out in the final third. When the final whistle sounded, Indy took another step closer to potentially making the playoffs again, while Louisville knew their fates were now also on a razor thin edge. Everybody except Toledo still have a chance and everything to play for in the final two weeks of games.

Indy returns to the Grand Park Event Center on Saturday to play Dayton Dutch Lions for the second time in 7 days. Indy can't win the Division on Saturday, but they can lose it. It's still win out or definitely stay home. Any dropped points now will put them out of contention for the Valley Division's playoff spot.

 

Game Beckons Game Ball

It's a bit unfair that I haven't done this yet this season, but Indy's defense has been stout all season, never conceding more than 1 goal in any of the games and collecting three straight clean sheets. Indy's offense has finally started to connect on the shots they were missing early in the season and winning results have followed. However, a constant through all the results has been the play of defender Mac Kruer. The center back has been solid and constantly settled the Louisville attack that often made it through Indy's midfield far too easily. I'm going to throw in her CB-pairing of Mills, and the combined pair get tonight's GBGB for their constant effort against a very dangerous Racing Louisville attack. 

Photos: Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.06

Summary

- Opponent: Dayton Dutch Lions
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 6-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Yu, Lee, Smith, Dardano, Guthrie, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Adam 43' (Yu - injury); Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Chatterton 63' (Lee); Hamm 63' (Brecht); DeMartino 63' (Dardano); Chong 63' (Guthrie); May 72' (Jodoin)

- Unused: Phillips, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Jodoin 13' (unassisted)
IND - Dardano 45'+3' (unassisted)
IND - Hodsden 56' (assist Mills)
IND - Hodsden 76' (assist Mills)
IND - Hodsden 78' (unassisted)
IND - Chatterton 90'+2' (assist May)

- Bookings:

None

- Referee: Rachel Glago

Thoughts and Opinions

I stated it before, but in a Valley Division that includes just 4 teams and only the top team makes it to the league's playoffs, every game becomes a proverbial 6-point game. After you've lost two of your first five games, the importance of getting wins gets magnified. That's where Indy found themselves heading into tonight's game against the Division-leading Dayton Dutch Lions. After a 1-nil victory for Dayton two weeks ago in Dayton, Indy was able to flip the script and help themselves in the goal differential category with a 6-nil victory in the friendly confines of the Grand Park Event Center.

Dayton had just 3 available substitutes and were forced into an early sub due to injury, further reducing their bench. <sarcasm>Probably not related<sarcasm>, Dayton setup in a 4-4-1 in a bit of an immediate bunker, trying to to guard against Indy's anticipated waves of attacks as they looked to make amends for the first game's result and to keep Indy in front of them to keep their legs as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Within the first 15 minutes, Indy looked the better team, continually forcing Dayton further into that low block, forcing Dayton to question that bunker logic. After Indy scored in the 13th minute when Jodoin single-handedly took on multiple Dayton players and crushed a ball into the corner of the goal, Dayton had no choice but to open themselves up and the game became much more wide open after the opening goal. 

After the Yu substitute late in the first half forced Indy into their own unscheduled substitute, the Dayton Dutch Lions had to feel good about going into the half down just a goal given the discrepancy in all the stats. Indy dominated possession, shots, shots on target, crosses, etc. However, as stoppage time was winding down, the Lions' goalkeeper attempted to clear a ball, but Indy's Dardano put herself in the way and Spiller's clearance slammed against Dardano's shin and rebounded straight into the goal to give Indy a 2-nil lead going into the locker room. Drew Conner's goal that was blasted off his head came to mind as a similar, but less painful, scoring opportunity in Indy Eleven history. The goal completely changed the momentum going into halftime. Had the score remained 1-nil, Dayton could have come out of the locker room feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another half. The second goal meant they came out feeling tired, with limited substitutes, and staring at an uphill climb.

Coach Kim made a substitution coming out of the half, taking off Sochacki and bringing in Hodsden, who almost immediately made her coach look like a genius getting a shot very soon as coming in. The debut goal from Hodsden wouldn't take much longer as she found herself 1v1 with Spiller in the 56th minute after a long ball from Mills. Hodsden made no mistake and brought the game to 3-nil. Shortly after the goal, Kim used his ultimate weapon in this game, which was his bench. Kim made 4 substitutions in the 63rd minute, more than Dayton had available to start the game. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

The fresh legs increased the pace of play and the required defensive effort by Dayton worked into Indy's favor. I stated before the game that if Indy got the first goal, the game could get out of hand for Dayton late as they just didn't have the fresh bodies to throw into the game to complete a comeback or stem the tide. That was exactly what happened as the substitutes began to run the already ragged Dayton defenders into the ground. Hodsden made quick work at getting her second and then adding her name to Indy's lore by getting a third goal to secure her hat trick. In stoppage time, second-half substitute Chatterton, who is now 1 game away from tying Grace Bahr for most appearances, added one more to give a even half-dozen goals for the second consecutive game. 

Indy needed a win and got an emphatic one. Indy still has a chance. Toledo is out of the race. They're just trying to not get blown out at this point and maybe steal a win along the way. If Indy wins out, they would finish with a 6W-2D-1L record. If Dayton wins out (minus the loss to Indy), the two teams would be tied on record and Points Per Match, but Indy would win the tiebreaker and Racing would be out of the picture because Dayton would have beaten them twice to get to the tiebreaker point. If, however, Racing wins out (minus the loss to Indy), they would finish with a 6W-2D-1L record and would have one more point than Indy, securing the playoff berth for Racing. So Indy needs to take care of business and then hope Dayton and Racing split points somewhere in their two games against each other. 

Indy has to do their part and win against both those teams and they get two more chances to do that this week. Racing comes to town on Wednesday and Dayton returns on Saturday. Get wins this week and then wait to see how those two teams fare against each other in the following weeks.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Many times it's not easy to pick a player from Indy as the GBGB winner because everyone plays well. In a 6-nil win, many people have played well, including the goalkeeper and defense. However, a hat trick is a rare feat. So Hodsden is an obvious choice for tonight's GBGB as she joins Williams (2), Soderstrom (1), and Dewey (1) for the 5th hat trick in team history. She had another goal called off, which would have tied her with Williams for most goals in a game (Maddy scored four goals in the 16-nil drubbing of St. Charles in the 2023 season). While Hodsden's hat trick took just 22 minutes, Williams still has her beat due to her 15-minute hat trick in a game against Flint City in the 2022 season. We're mentioning Hodsden's night (where she had 9 shots in 45 minutes of action) in comparison to the best goal-scorer in the team's short history so she's an obvious choice and I have to give it to her. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Forward Madison - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Forward Madison
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,586
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Quinn (C), Rasheed, Craig, Neidlinger, Lindley, O'Brien, J., Blake, Okello, Rendon, Kizza

- Substitution: Mitrano 36' (Quinn - Injury); Omar 63' (Lindley); Sing 63' (Kizza); Barry 86' (Rendon); Lowden 86' (Williams, K.)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Mesanvi

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Craig 48' (assist Rendon)
IND - O'Brien, J. 54'

- Bookings:

MAD - Torres 12' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 21' (Yellow)
MAD - Shannon 47' (Yellow)
MAD - Kanyane 50' (Yellow)
MAD - Toure 58' (Yellow)
IND - O'Brien, J. 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Muhammad Kaleia

- Adage goals: None.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

In the game against Rhode Island, I mentioned Indy's kickoff starts being much like a Hail Mary pass in the other type of football and that it resulted in a 17 second shot on target for Indy. Forward Madison had the exact same starting formation with nearly the same results. The only difference was that Madison's was 1 second quicker and not on target. However, the Hail Mary formation has been effective for the team starting the game that way in the past two men's game. In a modern game where position often reigns supreme, it's a stark difference in the way that Indy plays and how effective the long ball kickoff has been recently. 

Shots - Full Time

The League One side may have started the shots, but it was Indy that dominated that stat. The final totals were 24 shots for Indy to 8 shots for Forward Madison. More telling was the Shots on Target that were swayed drastically to Indy's favor to the tune of a 14 to 1 advantage. Had it not been for some great saves by Manske, this had the makings of a major drubbing. Some of Indy's 14 shots on target were right at Manske, but he was forced into some really good reaction saves, all from close range as Indy took 20 of their 24 shots from within the box. Madison's shots were scattered throughout the game, while Indy had a constant peppering of Manske's goal throughout the entirety of the game. The two-goal difference is good for Indy but could have been much worse for the visitors if it hadn't been for some of Manske's saves. 

Indy's injury struggles have been discussed frequently on this site this year, but Indy has mostly found a way to be successful, getting points out of 8 of their 10 home games across all competitions. Watching Quinn get subbed out in the 36th minute ultimately didn't affect this game, but does create some concern for the future depending on the type of injury he sustained. The backline has been a constant work effort in sending out a workable lineup as McAuley has dealt with season-long injuries and international duty. For multiple reason, hopefully, Quinn's injury isn't severe.

There's still a lot of season to be played, with injuries continuing to be something to keep in mind, but as of today - after the 10th league game, 3 USL Cup games, & 2 Open Cup games - the 2026 team is sitting at the second highest percentage rate in team history at points achieved behind only the 2016 team (who took points from a game 81% of the time) and just ahead of the 2019 team (at 72.5%), arguably the two high water marks for successful Indy Eleven seasons. For a team that I called a potential middle of the table League One team a month ago, they have continued to get results. Are they games against the highest echelon teams in the Eastern Conference? No. But you have to get wins or at least positive results from the teams that are struggling/not good, and Indy has done that really well the last month. Tonight's win was against a League One opponent and likely still isn't going to be enough to help Indy advance to the USL Cup knockout rounds, but Indy has also had poor results from other League One opponents this year. 

Getting a solid victory at home with a week to prepare for games against Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, and Lexington in a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday stretch is a good way to start June.

Game Beckons Game Ball

I don't do it very often, but periodically I have to give credit where credit is due, even if that player is on the opposing team. Indy's constant attack resulted in constant shots and shots on target. Manske clearly kept this game within an arm's reach for Madison. Otherwise, the goal differential would have been far worse for the Flamingos. For Manske's 12 saves and 5 clearances, I have to give him tonight's GBGB.