Indy Eleven vs Chicago Fire FC II - 2024 U.S. Open Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Chicago Fire FC II
- Location: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL)
- Attendance: Not Many
- Final Score: 1-0 W

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Chapman-Page, Diz Pe, Stanley, Gibson (C), Schneider, Blake, Ikoba, Guenzatti, Williams

- Substitution: Stanley 27' (King - injury); Ikoba 58' (Mines), Schneider 58' (Blake), Williams 58' (Martinez); O'Brien, E. 89' (O'Brien, J.)

- Unused: Sulte, Henderlong

- Scoring Summary:
IND -  4' Martinez (assist Blake)

- Bookings:

IND - Ofeimu 31' (Yellow)
IND - Wootton 66' (Yellow)
IND - Diz Pe 67' (Yellow)
CHI II - Omari 73' (Yellow)
CHI II - (Yellow)
IND - Gibson 85' (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy Eleven's history with the U.S. Open Cup has been quite the roller coaster ride over the years. Tonight's game against Chicago Fire II is Indy's 13th game in the USOC. Indy's record in the Cup coming into tonight's game stood at 4W-1D-7L. Notably, the draw happened during the 2016 season when Indy went to Bridgeview's Toyota Park, now known as SeatGeek Stadium where the team played tonight, and took MLS side Chicago Fire to extra time. Braun found a 105th minute goal to give Indy the advantage, but conceded in the 111th minute. The game officially finished as a draw, but since somebody had to move on in the tournament format, the teams went to penalty kicks where Indy lost 4-3. 

It's the 7 losses where things get upsetting for me and lead to my pessimism before the game. Today, I put out a X (formerly Twitter) poll asking about fans' confidence coming into the game (results to the right). I've watched this team fail too many times against "lower" teams to have any confidence until the game was over. Pessimistic until proven otherwise.

Indy's losses:

• 2014 - Score: 2-1 - Columbus Crew (Indy also took this MLS side to extra time, before giving up a 114th minute goal to a 9-man Crew) in Columbus
• 2015 - Score: 2-0 - Louisville City (who at the time was in Div 3, while Indy was Div 2) in Indy
• 2017 - Score: 1-0 - Michigan Bucks (an amateur team) in Michigan
• 2018 - Score: 1-0 - Mississippi Brilla FC (yet another amateur team) in Mississippi
• 2019 - Score: 1-0 - Pittsburgh Riverhounds in Pittsburgh
• 2022 - Score: 2-0 - Saint Louis CITY SC (MLS Next Pro before the 1st team was officially playing) in Indy
• 2023 - Score: 1-0 - Columbus Crew in Columbus

If you're keeping track, that's four of Indy's seven losses to teams that were considered to be "lower division" than Indy, two of which were on the road, like tonight's game. So a game against a "lower" side on the road made me nervous. Indy also played CHI II during preseason getting a 2-nil victory, but as we've seen so far in league play, preseason results don't necessarily translate to season results. Throw in the fact that Indy has 3 games in 8 days, and some expected lineup adjustments for squad rotation, everything about this game worried me.

Indy did have plenty of squad rotation with Oettl, Gibson, and Blake being the only significant starters getting the start tonight. Not sure why Sulte didn't get some time with all the other changes, but maybe he has a bit of a tweak slowing him down.

Then Indy came out and scored in the 4th minute, easing some of my fears. Blake found Martinez who mistouched a ball that Blake rushed to get to and give right back to Martinez who calmly slotted the ball past the keeper Los. Indy still struggled to find possession and looked a little out of sync in the early stages, but the early goal gave them a little breathing room to get their feet under them as CHI II worked their attack. The early goal didn't slow CHI II down as they were the clear aggressor in the beginning of the game. 

King, who didn't see a ton of playing time last year due to injury, looked to hurt his hamstring in a non-contact injury. As a result, Indy had their first sub of the game well before they would have liked to sub, when Stanley came in for King in the 27th minute. Presumably, McAuley would have wanted a little more rest on his starting left back's legs, but there wasn't much else he could do. You can argue how often players actually are injured when head trainer Josh Frankham comes onto the field, but when a player goes down without contact and stays down in the 27th minute, you have to assume that the injury is legit.

As the half began to close, Indy found themselves in better offensive positions, but couldn't find a second backbreaking goal, despite some decent chances. CHI II continued to put Indy under pressure as well, but weren't clinical enough to significantly trouble Oettl. Though Oettl's clearances and distribution continue to be an issue as he regularly put the ball out of bounds, giving the ball immediately back to Chicago. The halftime stats indicated that CHI II outshot Indy 9 to 5 with a 7 to 1 advantage in shots on target. While CHI II may have put a bunch of balls on target, not that many of them were that threatening as they came from distance outside the box. CHI II had the possession advantage at 55% to 45% and that felt about right.

In the second half, CHI II were playing for their tournament lives and were even more aggressive in their attack, while Indy's attack wasn't as potent. Indy defended for the majority of the second half, trying to hold onto the 1-nil lead. McAuley made changes to his front line, bringing on Williams, Ikoba, and Schneider just before the 60-minute mark. Given the pressure that CHI II was putting on Indy, not changing out the defense seemed like a good idea. They weren't playing perfectly, but modifying the backline and affecting the relationships would have probably been a bad idea. 

Indy held on for the win, in regular time, but they were very underwhelming, again, in a USOC game against a team in a division below them. With MLS sides and the top USL-C sides entering the fray in the next round, Indy's history of getting a win then losing in the next round seems like a reasonable scenario. Despite a completely one-sided game in favor of the Fire kids, Indy did just enough to survive and advance. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. It's not the kind of game that will move them in the next round, but with a rotated lineup and three games in eight days, you take a shutout and make the trip back down I-65 knowing you get to play another day.

While they won't be moving on, you have to be impressed with the fight from the CHI II players, and their ability to increase the possession percentage by the end of the game to nearly a 60/40 split. They also finished with 20 shots, 10 of which were on target. By contrast, Indy had just one shot on target. It just happened to be the most important one. Indy win 1-nil and will find out who they face in the next round when the draw takes place tomorrow.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

For full transparency, I gave the GBGB to tonight's winner at halftime. There was absolutely little doubt in my mind that nothing was going to change in the second half that would change my mind. The GBGB goes to tonight's captain, Tyler Gibson. With an adjusted lineup, Gibson was everywhere, putting out fires, and generally doing what we have grown accustomed to seeing from Gibson. 

Indy Eleven vs Charleston Battery - 11.06

Summary

- Opponent: Charleston Battery
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,556
- Final Score: 4-2 L

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Chapman-Page, Diz Pe, Stanley, Gibson (C), Schneider, Blake, Ikoba, Guenzatti, Williams

- Substitution: King 45' (Boudadi); Martinez 65' (Schneider); Mines 79' (Gibson)

- Unused: Sulte, Collier, Ofeimu, Wootton

- Scoring Summary:
CHS -  19' Ycaza (assist Markanich)
IND - 27' Ikoba (assist Schneider)
IND - 28' Guenzatti (assist Stanley)
CHS - 45'+ 2' Markanich (unassisted)
CHS - 76' Own Goal (King)
CHS - 86' Meyers (assist Ycaza)

- Bookings:

CHS - Allan 32' (Yellow)
IND - Chapman-Page 45'+ (Yellow)
IND - Blake 52' (Yellow)
IND - Stanley 68' (Yellow)
CHS - Smith 78' (Yellow)
IND - King 90'+1' (Yellow)

- Referee: Greg Dopka

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Star Wars night brought Jedi, Storm Troopers, Mandalorian, and Grogu to Carroll Stadium on a perfect night for soccer in Indy. It also brought new faces to the gameday lineup with the newly acquired Bens (Mines and Ofeimu, not Kenobi). The arrival of the Bens meant that Babir was sent south to Miami in the trade, so Chapman-Page returned from his injury to anchor the backline with Diz Pe. The Force also took Lindley out of the lineup with a lower body injury (1st time in 41 games), keeping him out of the game, with Quinn and Sanchez listed as the only other injuries. With the Academy teams scattered in other places for their MLS Next Pro games this weekend, the new rule permitting Indy to have more than 18 players on the gameday roster wasn't able to be used. So it was just the pros tonight and no Padawan.

Coming off back-to-back losses and looking ahead to a 3 game in 8-day stretch due to the upcoming midweek U.S. Open Cup game on Wednesday against Chicago Fire FC II, Indy needed to kick off the week with a positive result. Standing in their way was Charleston Battery, the team that bludgeoned Indy 5-nil during last year's playoff game, who also took down Louisville 3-2 this past Tuesday, to put themselves at the top of the table (admittedly having played more games than every other team). Indy opened the game facing into the setting sun (luckily there weren't two as on Tatooine) to give Oettl something else to deal with in the early going. 

Full-time Average Position

Indy put themselves on the front foot early with Blake getting his first shot on goal within the first 30-seconds. Indy also started this game with pressure on Charleston every time they touched the ball, but what was most notable about the way Indy was playing was that there seemed to be a more concerted effort to maintain possession. The frequent and immediate blasts forward were not as frequent nor as immediate. Coach McAuley indicated this week that the team might need to look at different players or different tactics. With the announced transfer this week, the former was done and the tactics to start the game looked like the latter was being evaluated too. Indy spent the bulk of the first half in Charleston's half of the field, and finished the game overall with an average player position in Charleston's half.

However, a flurry of activity at both ends of the field after the 15th minute resulted in a 19th minute goal from Charleston, arguably against the overall run-of-play. Stanley put a difficult ball to Gibson who couldn't handle the pass and Charleston counterattacked to give them the go-ahead goal, forcing Indy to once again play from behind. The goal gave Charleston some confidence and the next few minutes were played in Indy's box with repeated corner kicks, shots, and forays into Indy's box. 

Photo Credit: Don Thompson Photography

Then Indy found their own goal to bring things level as Indy attacked through the center of the pitch. Schneider found Ikoba who took on a defender, continued further towards the center, and then put a shot to the right of Grinwis to bring the score level. Less than a minute later, Indy put themselves up when Stanley put a ball to the back post that Guenzatti headed into the goal. Before the Brickyard Battalion's smoke from the first goal subsided across the pitch, they had to start some more. Indy continued to put their foot on the gas in the next few minutes and nearly found a third goal when Stanley put another ball across the goal that nearly found the head of Ikoba. 

The game slowed down a bit for the next 10 or 15 minutes, but a stoppage time goal from Charleston put the teams again level going into the halftime locker. Markanich found himself with the ball and space to drive at the Indy goal. Before Indy could step to him, he put a ball to the far side of the goal passed Oettl. It would be harder to consider the goal to be against the run-of-play like the first goal since Charleston had worked themselves into the game, but Indy only had a few times when they seemed to switch off, and Charleston took advantage of both of them. Charleston finished the half with three shots, all of them on target, with two going for goals. That's an efficient effort from the visitors. 

Photo Credit: Don Thompson Photography

Due to a late half injury to Boudadi that he gutted out until halftime, there was an immediate substitution after the break as King came in to replace him. The substitution was a like-for-like with King taking the right back position, but King isn't quite as fleet of foot as Boudadi. Though he is a bit more physical, picking up his first yellow card of the season late in the game, in just 63 minutes of action this season.

Charleston started the second half much the way that Indy started the first half. Within the first couple of minutes, they had a couple of good chances from back-to-back corner kicks, and were holding the ball well forcing Indy to defend more. While it looked like this was a conscious effort by Charleston to hold the ball more, Indy were also not as effective with their press. The Indy players were more selective on when they pressed, but generally did not attack Charleston in the second half the way they did in the first half. 

The time on the ball eventually led to a corner kick for Charleston. The resulting kick pinged off two separate Indy Eleven players, the last of which was the second half sub King, before dropping over Oettl's outstretched arm over the goal line. Indy now stared at a 3-2 deficit with time winding down. Coach McAuley pulled out Gibson and inserted Mines to add yet another attacking player after having brought on Martinez for Schneider. If nothing else from his time here, Coach McAuley has made good on his promise that Indy would be an attacking team. 

When Indy conceded a fourth goal late, Indy has now been outscored 11 to 6 in their last three games, all losses. Indy is scoring goals, being tied for 7th in the league in goal creation, but are sitting in the bottom five in goal differential at -5. Whatever Indy is doing right or wrong at this point in the season, conceding goals has become a major issue at the moment. Whether that is miscommunication between Oettl and the guys in front of him, or the fact that the back four has constantly changed each game (only the Memphis to Sacramento games used the same defenders in back-to-back games), something has gone wrong the past few games.

Photo Credit: Don Thompson Photography

As Coach McAuley stated in the post-game press conference, "when this team is good, it's good. When it's bad, it's really bad." Indy was clearly the better team in the first half, but something changed after conceding the second goal right before halftime, and they looked like a different team in the second half. I don't want to alarm anybody, but this is now just marginally ahead of the worst 6-game start to a season since the 2014 season, and that season didn't see a home league win until late in the season (the 24th game...out of 27 games). This year's team is now 1W-2D-4L, whereas that 2014 team was 0W-2D-4L. The 2024 version of Indy Eleven is far more talented than that 2014 team, but aren't getting any better results at the moment.

Indy head to Chicago to take on the Chicago Fire II in the U.S. Open Cup. Indy defeated the Fire II during preseason by a score of 2-nil, but preseason is different from a tournament format game. The preseason game was hard-fought as fans got their first chance to see the team's new style and tactics, and I would expect a similar effort from Chicago this time around. McAuley has said he takes the U.S. Open Cup seriously, but with some injuries already (or still) plaguing this team, it will be interesting to see what players get used on Wednesday, knowing that they need to travel to Colorado on the weekend.

Indy returns to The Mike on April 27th to take on North Carolina FC, having made their way back up to the Championship level. Indy has had a long history with the club from North Carolina, in some very key moments. Maybe Indy fans will get to see another classic chapter in this series. Or maybe it will be another one to forget. Hard to tell with this team right now.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I wanted to give tonight's GBGB to Ikoba for his goal tonight, opening his account for the team. However, looking at his personal stats for the game, they just don't compare favorably to some of his other teammates. He did look better than he has all season, and for a young player, getting experience playing with Williams and Guenzatti around him will help, but he's still holding onto the ball a touch long at times. I suspect he's still figuring out the speed of the game at this level. I saw some good things from him tonight, so it was close.

Guenzatti - Fulltime Distribution

However, I can't overlook Guenzatti. I hate that I keep giving the GBGB to Blake or Guenzatti, but right now, they are far and away the players that I keep seeing as the most impactful (with a nod to Lindley and Gibson as well). Guenzatti was all over the pitch trying to get his teammates involved. He scored a goal, was close on a couple others. He may not be this year's explicit captain, but he's playing like one. His runs off the ball to help his teammates are likely going unnoticed by many fans, but he's putting in a hell of a shift every game. So, Guenzatti gets tonight's GBGB.

Additional Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Louisville City - 11.05

Summary

- Opponent: Louisville City FC
- Location: Lynn Family Stadium
- Attendance: 11,330
- Final Score: 5-3 L

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Diz Pe, O'Brien, J., Barbir, Stanley, Schneider, Blake, Lindley (C), Williams, Martinez, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Gibson 62' (Schneider); Ikoba 62' (Williams); Collier 79' (Guenzatti)

- Unused: Sulte, Barbir, King, Wootton

- Scoring Summary:
LOU -  16' Harris (assist Morris)
IND - 34' Blake (Penalty Kick)
LOU - 41' Wilson (assist Harris)
LOU - 50' Wynder (assist Serrano)
IND - 59' Blake (assist Guenzatti)
LOU - 62' Harris (assist Perez)
LOU - 71' Harris (assist Serrano)
IND - 82' Own Goal (McCabe)

- Bookings:

IND - Martinez 32' (Yellow)
IND - Boudadi 40' (Yellow)
IND - Oettl 71' (Yellow)
LOU - Las 77' (Yellow)
LOU - Serrano 87' (Yellow)
LOU - Gonzales 90'+6' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jeremy Scheer

- Adage goals: Three

Thoughts and Opinions

Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Football Contest

Columbia Broadcasting System

LIPAFC on CBS

The USL Championship made its national television debut with Indy Eleven and Louisville City FC in a game with one of the longest rivalry names in probably all of soccer. Both teams have players who have played on both sides of the rivalry with, amazingly to me, both starting the game on the bench. Tyler Gibson has been a mainstay in the midfield of both teams and Dylan Mares made a stop in El Paso between his time in Indy and his time now in Louisville. Louisville has started their season in much the same way that Louisville has started most of their seasons. Louisville came into the game undefeated, with three wins and a +8 goal differential. Indy has had inconsistent results in their first four games with a 1W-1D-2L record and a -1 GD.

It took just over 15 minutes for Louisville to cash in on the pressure that they were putting on Indy, showing the two different forms the teams are in for the early part of the season. It took just under another 15 minutes for Louisville to nearly double that advantage when Davila rocketed a ball off Oettl's right post before closing the entire goal and finding Stanley for a clearance.

The first thirty minutes was all Louisville. Just after the 30-minute mark, though, Indy found a way into the game as Boudadi attacked up the wings and found himself clipped inside the box for an awarded penalty kick. Indy's surprising offensive threat this season, Jack Blake, stepped up and put the firmly down the middle of the goal as Las dove to his left. It was against the run of play, but Indy needed it.

Then they threw it right back away because Indy had no answer for Wilson Harris. Harris found another ball up the left side of the field, and placed a ball through the center of the 18-yard box, where an on-rushing Wilson found the ball coming right to him and calmly slotted his first goal of his career over a late-arriving Stanley and out of the reach of a diving Oettl. The teams finished the half with a deserved lead for Louisville. Going into the locker room, Louisville had to feel like they left goals on the field and Indy had to be scratching their head on how the hell they were going to slow down Harris, who was running rampant against one of Indy's best defenders in Boudadi.

What happened after halftime was that Louisville put their foot on Indy's throat and scored a third goal within 5-minutes of the second stanza's whistle. I don't want to say that it was over at that point, but it kind of was semantics at that point. Indy found another goal through Blake in the 59th minute and then promptly gave it right back in the 62nd minute. Harris added another one 9-minutes later for good measure. Indy found a third goal in the 82nd from a Niall McCabe own goal to help with the goal differential. With 10 minutes worth of stoppage time that gave both teams opportunities to add to the EIGHT goal outing, both teams looked like they were tired as shots drifted wide and the game mercifully came to an end for Eleven fans. 

Indy returns to Carroll Stadium next weekend to play Charleston, with questions to answer on how they're going to get their next victory against yet another top of the table team.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Another game where his ability to score is the only thing that kept this game close for Indy. In the loss, Blake continues to show that he is unafraid to take shots at goal, and is finding the back of it frequently. The GBGB once again goes to Blake.

Indy Eleven vs Detroit City - 11.04

Summary

- Opponent: Detroit City FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,044
- Final Score: 1-2 L

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Diz Pe, Barbir, Stanley, Gibson (C), Blake, Lindley, Williams, Ikoba, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Schneider 60' (Lindley); Martinez 60' (Ikoba); Collier ' (Gibson)

- Unused: Crawford, Ivetic, King, McCoy, O'Brien, J., O'Brien,E.

- Scoring Summary:
IND -  24' Guenzatti (assist Boudadi)
DET - 55' Coote (assist Rodriguez)
DET - 88' Rodriguez (assist Matthews)

- Bookings:

IND - Boudadi 15' (Yellow)
DET - Diop 42' (Yellow)
IND - Diz Pe 87' (Yellow)
DET - Carroll 90' (Yellow)

- Referee: Velimir Stefanovic

- Adage goals: One

Thoughts and Opinions

In the "early, doesn't mean much at this point of the season" table, both Indy and Detroit come into this game in playoff positions. Detroit second from the top, with Indy second from the bottom (of the playoff positions). Yeah, literally means nothing at this point in the season, other than to say that Detroit has started the season strongly, with 2-1 wins against both Colorado Switchbacks and Loudoun United. Detroit came into Carroll Stadium as Indy's first Eastern Conference opponent, having played three Western Conference teams to start the season, covering the full house results; 1W-1D-1L. 

In the early minutes of the game, it proceeded just as the previous three games. Detroit holding possession, while Indy attacked quickly every time they had the opportunity. The other consistent them in the early part of the game was the appearance of the Indy Eleven training staff as both Diz Pe and Williams needed attention because they were hit in the face with stray Detroit limbs. Despite all the limbs and running up and down the field, the first shot on target didn't happen until the 23rd minute. That shot was from Detroit. Less than a minute later, Boudadi tracked down a ball in the corner, proceeded to nutmeg his defender, before getting a ball to Guenzatti in the middle of the box that Seba proceeded to put in the opposite corner of the goal to start the scoring and open his account for the season. 

It's only Ikoba's second game for Indy after only being here for a short time, but he doesn't seem to have fully grasped what his role is supposed to be yet. Getting the start tonight to get him some minutes, but he didn't seem fully in sync with what his teammates wanted from him. A couple times in the first half, I noticed Guenzatti trying to tell Ikoba where he wanted him to be, but Ikoba didn't listen. I'm sure he'll get there, but he looked green tonight in the first half. 

Half Heatmap

The first half finished with Indy leading 1-nil, playing the way they want to play. Detroit held the advantage in possession, shots, and basically any of the stats that typically get reviewed to see how the two teams compare. Except for the score. The first half was, once again, played predominantly in the middle of the pitch, but was also played more on the wings than the game last week against Sacramento. Boudadi and Stanley are unafraid to make the runs up the sideline, and Boudadi was highly effective in doing so, with long field switches from the midfielders Blake and Lindley. 

The second half started well for Indy with a near goal by Diz Pe on a header from a set piece that he put perfectly down and away from the keeper, but Steinwascher got down low and fast to get a hand to it to parry the ball away from goal. Much like Indy's earlier goal in the first half that happened shortly after a Detroit attempt, DCFC went down the field and had an attempt of their own. Indy fans were happy to see that Detroit weren't able to convert on their chance. The next five minutes were a back-and-forth affair as both team had chances, but the score remained the same. With the way the opening 10 minutes of the second half proceeded, the game looked like it was going to have multiple goals left in it. At which point, DCFC pulled back level with a goal of their own by working through Indy's box. 

At which point, the game became wide open as both teams tried to find the winner. Possession became a premium despite there being plenty of time for both teams to play their game. Indy's tends to be direct anyway, but the goal spurred DCFC to also play a bit more direct trying to catch Indy disorganized defensively with players spread out so much. 

When Coach McAuley subbed out Gibson for Collier in the 75th minute, after already pulling Lindley in the Lindley in the 60th minute, it was clear that play through the midfield was going to be bypassed more and more as Indy chased the winner. "Just looking for a change of shape," was how McAuley explained it when asked. Taking Gibson out as the midfield backstop was a bold move, a clear indication of Coach's intentions for games at home, and one that I worried would come back to hurt Indy. While their absence wasn't the deciding factor, when Detroit knocked in a second goal in the 88th minute from a corner kick scramble, it felt like a game where Indy might have let a team hang around after not converting their own chances. Indy's early season struggles of not being as clinical around the goal as they can be with the talent up front turned a draw into a loss and a 0W-1D-1L early homestand for the team.

The Detroit contingent that made the trek from Michigan down to The Mike went home with smiling faces, as their team has now started the season on a 3-game win streak, and sit 2nd in the table tied with Louisville on points, but behind on the tiebreakers. Again, it's too early to really talk about it at all, but the draw would have kept Indy on the right side of the playoff line. The way the early part of this season is going in the Eastern Conference, not giving up points late could be a big deal as the season progresses. These are the kinds of games that Indy is going to want to get points from if they want to be in the hunt at the end of the season.

Indy travel to play an undefeated Louisville City on Saturday, in a stadium where it's never easy to win, and Louisville is coming off a 5-nil thumping of Birmingham. Indy will need to regroup quickly, because following Louisville is Charleston, the current 3rd place team in the table. Games aren't getting easier as Indy learns to play with each other in McAuley's system. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

It was good to see Guenzatti open his account this season, but so much of Indy's offense seemed to have Boudadi stamped onto it as he made run after run up the right side. His nutmeg and pass to Guenzatti got the team started tonight. Even in the loss, I thought Boudadi deserved the game's GBGB.

Additional Photographs - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Sacramento Republic - 11.03

Summary

- Opponent: Sacramento Republic FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,451
- Final Score: 1-1 D

- Starting XI: Oettl, O'Brien, J., Chapman-Page, Barbir, Stanley, Gibson (C), Blake, Lindley, Williams, Schneider, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Boudadi 60' (O'Brien, J); Diz Pe 60' (Chapman-Page); Ikoba 61' (Gibson)

- Unused: Crawford, Henderlong, Ivetic, King, McCoy

- Scoring Summary:
SAC -  31' Own Goal (Chapman-Page)
IND - 35' Williams (assist Schneider)

- Bookings:

IND - Diz Pe 71' (Yellow)
IND - Schneider 79' (Yellow)
SAC - Timmer 83' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joshua Encarnación

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

FIRST HOME GAME OF SEASON! Tonight's game signifies the earliest home opener in the history of the club. There have been games in March, but the previous two times that has occurred was when the team was playing in the environmentally controlled environment of Lucas Oil Stadium. Today's fans didn't have the same protections from the temperatures and the early wind as those games in 2018 and 2019. Indy has a good record the home openers, albeit not high on the winning side of things as Indy has a 2W-6D-2L record leading up to this game:

• 2014 - April 12 - 1-1 D (Carolina Railhawks) - Carroll Stadium
• 2015 - April 11 - 1-1 D (New York Cosmos) - Carroll Stadium
• 2016 - April 9 - 1-1 D (Ottawa Fury FC) - Carroll Stadium
• 2017 - April 1 - 3-3 D (Puerto Rico FC) - Carroll Stadium
• 2018 - March 31 - 0-1 L (Cincinnati) - Lucas Oil Stadium
• 2019 - March 30 - 1-0 W (Hartford Athletic) - Lucas Oil Stadium
• 2020 - July 11 (Fuck COVID) - 2-0 W (Saint Louis FC) - Lucas Oil Stadium
• 2021 - May 8 - 0-2 L (FC Tulsa) - Lucas Oil Stadium
• 2022 - April 2 - 1-1 D (LA Galaxy II) - Carroll Stadium
• 2023 - April 1 - 0-0 D (Las Vegas Lights) - Carroll Stadium
• 2024 - March 23 - (Sacramento) - Carroll Stadium

If you notice there are a few more players listed in the lineup graphic, it's because the league has started a new "youth initiative" that allows the home team the option of including two additional players beyond the normal 18, as long as those players are Academy players. Indy's frequent signing of Academy players helps them with this new rule change. You might not see the players get much action, but Crawford and McCoy get the opportunity to see the game play out from field level in lieu of in the stands with the fans. Cayden had that chance a few times last year when Oettl was out with injury, but McCoy was announced just yesterday and already found himself getting a chance to be on the bench.

Indy gave up an early chance from Sacramento that found the back of the goal, but was deemed to be offside, which was fortunate because the build-up from Sacramento was very good leading to the shot. Much of the time to that point had been played in Sacramento's half due to Indy's desire to press all touches by the Sacramento defenders or goalkeeper as soon as possible. 

Photo Credit: Don Thompson Photography

In the 12th minute, Oettl's long goal kicks weren't helped by being in a larger stadium than Memphis' small pitch. The 17th minute started a prolonged stretch of play for Sacramento in and around Indy's box, which nearly led to a goal from a free kick that was saved nearly off the line by Stanley. The corner kick was caught by Oettl with much more conviction than the punch that led to the free kick. 

Oettl did the same thing in the 29th minute by punting his second goal kick directly out of bounds. Indy's new tactics are not using a play-from-the-back mentality, but Oettl's current trend of putting the ball into the other team's hands may need to be rethought. Shortly after this kick, SAC had their own spell of possession in Indy's half, which lead to a cross that bounced off Chapman-Page and into the team's own goal. All the effort Indy had in SAC's half undone by a bad touch. 

Luckily for Indy fans, the amount of time that they spent chasing the game was minimal as Indy found the equalizer within minutes through a goal from Williams. Schneider put a ball to Williams' right foot that allowed him to spin around his defender. Once past the defender, Williams neatly tucked the ball under Vitiello and deflecting off the far post into the goal. 

Halftime Heatmap

The game's second goal sent the game into a much more open affair as the teams looked to get themselves back ahead before the halftime whistle. After two minutes of stoppage time, the teams went into the locker rooms with the same differential as they did 45-minutes prior. A very even affair, with similar possession totals and shot totals, spent predominantly in the middle of the pitch. The halftime talks were probably very positive in both locker rooms. Both teams played the way they wanted to play, with both teams getting rewarded with a goal. The second half had the appearance that it was going to be an individual moment of brilliance or a mistake that could separate the two teams.

The second half continued much like the first half. Possession stayed centered around the center circle of the pitch, but started shifting slightly more towards Sacramento's offensive side for a bit, but by the end of the game, the heat map looked like exactly what you would expect for a game where the advantage swung widely between both teams. Williams pushed a shot just wide in the 56th minute that rattled the endline ad display right next to the goal, but couldn't find it's way in like his earlier attempt. Guenzatti put a header off the crossbar in the 63rd minute shortly after Indy made their first substitutions in the 60th minute. 

Full time - Average Position

Beyond that though, there was a lot of play between the 18-yard lines, but the shots on target didn't change much from their halftime totals until the end. In addition to Indy's near chances in the second half, Sacramento did have a chance on a shot in the 87th minute that squeaked agonizingly close to the left post that would have wrapped up the victory for the visitors. Those were really the only chances on goal for the second half.

The game finished with a draw, which was probably a fair result for both teams. Both teams played they wanted to play, both succeeded in getting a goal from their efforts, and both go home with a point for their efforts. I was asked a couple times what I think of the way the team is playing. My response is that it's a drastically different style from what we've seen the past two years with Lowry, and maybe this style is more suited to this league, on fields that aren't ideal. That being said, I know the majority of this group are capable of playing a style of soccer that has more possession, and I think that is what is missing with this team. The long pass percentage for this game hovered around the 20% mark every time I checked throughout the game, finishing at 18.8%, which is fine. What I would like to see is that every so often, even if that long pass is attempted, that there be a split second or two delay to make sure that the long pass that is about to be attempted has any chance at all at being a positive play. I've seen a number of plays from this team in the first three games where the ball is blasted forward (from a variety of players, but maybe a bit heavier on the defenders group) and it's been in a place that literally no Indy Eleven play could reach or make a play. All that does is give the ball immediately back to the opposition without having Indy in a position to properly attack or defend. Some of those long passes could stand to have the guys put their foot on the ball and make a shorter, possession-style, pass, so that it doesn't feel like wasted action. Maybe we'll get there as the season progresses. The guys are still working towards using a new style, integrating new players, and learning what Coach McAuley expects and wants to see. 

Indy fans get to see the team in action again next Saturday when Indy finally plays a team in the Eastern Conference, when Detroit City come to town. The two teams played each other during the preseason, so there will be a bit of a familiarity between what each wants to do.

 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Tonight's a little more difficult to pick a winner of the GBGB. Many nights, I let my eye test sway me one way or the other. Using that as my basis tonight, the player that I kept noticing, and not just because of the new hairdo, was Guenzatti. He was really active in the midfield and going forward. He was unfortunate to not have his 63rd minute header not be a game-winner. Williams could get it for his equalizing finish, but Guenzatti edges him just slightly for tonight's GBGB. I have a feeling this won't be the last time both of these players are discussed in this segment.

Additional Photographs - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Memphis 901 FC - 11.02

Summary

- Opponent: Memphis 901 FC
- Location: AutoZone Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Oettl, O'Brien, J., Chapman-Page, Barbir, Stanley, Gibson (C), Blake, Lindley, Williams, Martinez, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Henderlong 63' (Martinez); King 72' (Chapman-Page); Collier 72' (Guenzatti); O'Brien, E. 90'+2' (Gibson)

- Unused: Sulte, Klein, Molina

- Scoring Summary:
IND -  26' Blake (penalty kick)
IND - Martinez 42' (assist Stanley)
MEM - Cissoko 90'+1' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

IND - Chapman-Page 8' (Yellow)
MEM - Jimenez 15', 45'+1' (Yellow, Yellow, RED)
MEM - Tulu 25' (Yellow)

IND - Barbir 35' (Yellow)
IND - Martinez 57' (Yellow)
IND - O'Brien, E. 90'+3' (Yellow)
MEM - Cissoko 90'+4' (Yellow)
MEM - Ward 90'+7' (RED)

- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

- Adage goals: One

Thoughts and Opinions

Allow this to be my first, but probably not last, complaint about soccer on a baseball field. Yeah, yeah, I know there are some, including Lowry last year, who have stated that there are actually advantages of playing on that kind of field. I'm not one of them. I'm also writing this before the game even starts because I don't care about the result to know that I don't like watching games on a field intended for baseball. The only advantage of this game from last year's field debacle in Memphis is that the field actually looked playable. 

It's probably going to be Indy's tactic most of the time this year, but early in this game on this field, Indy was playing a lot of Route 1 balls, trying to get the ball up to Martinez, Guenzatti, and Williams. When Indy was awarded a penalty kick in the 25th minute, Indy was at 30% long balls (finished the game at 25%). The ball to Blake required a perfect touch from Blake, which he was able to do, and forced Tulu into making a decision that was a split second late, catching Blake and not the ball. For his effort, Blake stepped up to take the penalty kick and promptly roofed it in a place and at a pace that was impossible for Deric to stop. It might be a different way to play than many of these players used last year, but Blake's penalty kick put Indy up relatively early in the first half. 

As the half closed, the game turned into Indy's to lose. Stanley made a run from his left back position to put the ball into a dangerous location in the box that Deric misjudged and fell to Martinez, who ultimately had to head the ball into the goal from within 3-feet of the goal line. Indy's tactic to concede possession, and get the ball to the midfield and forwards as much as possible, was much more successful in this game than it was last week in Oakland. With a two goal lead, Indy further benefitted when former Louisville City player Oscar Jimenez picked up his second yellow card in the first minute of stoppage time. Down a man and down two goals, Memphis found themselves in a difficult situation going into the halftime locker room. 

At the halftime whistle, Indy trailed in time of possession (37% to 63%) and in shots (8 to 6), but led in shots on target (4 to 0), and most importantly, led in goals (2 to 0) and men on the field (11 to 10). Indy's long ball percentage at halftime was 28%, which would have been unheard of last season, was enough to put them ahead at the break. It's only two games into the 2024, but it's clear that the tactics from McAuley's squad are going to be widely different than those of Lowry. If it remains effective as the season progresses, who am I to judge. 

Oh wait, I can judge. It's kind of what I can do with this site. 

Oettl Distribution

As I did with preseason results, I don't put a ton of stock in early results until I see a much larger sample size, but the game plan seems simple. Concede possession if needed, make strong defensive decisions that could include just blasting the ball back up the field, and get the ball into the opponent's box as much as possible to give the team a chance to make a play. Playing out of the back looks to be a secondary thought. While nearly every player on this roster has the ability to play the ball in tight quarters and keep the ball on the ground, playing out of the back isn't going to be the focus. I'll blame it on the field size, but Oettl's clearances and corner kicks in this game wasn't spectacular, and we know he can play short, so maybe playing long from him isn't always the best plan.

Even with the man advantage, Indy pulled the possession differential back some, but Memphis still finished the game with a 58% to 42% advantage. The man advantage didn't change the tactics. Indy didn't start resorting to keep-away using the touch that we know they have the ability to do. The game still remained with Indy conceding possession, despite having one less defender to deal with from Memphis. Eventually, all that possession and effort allowed Memphis to get a late corner kick. That corner kick forced a scramble in the box that led to a Memphis goal to rob Oettl of a clean sheet. 

Indy managed to see out the last of the 6-minutes of stoppage time, but playing 11v10 for the entirety of the second half, Indy should have put the game further out of reach. Am I nit-picking in a 2-1 win on the road? Maybe, but Indy did not close out this game in a confident fashion. They did not get another shot on target in the second half, finishing the game with the same number of shots they had at halftime. With a man advantage, and this team, that should have happened.  

Indy get the win by getting a couple of timely first half goals, and then hanging on in the end against a undermanned Memphis team that played harder than Indy in the second half. The team returns home next week against Sacramento Republic for Indy's third game against a Western Conference opponent to start the season, as well as Indy's earliest home game in the club's history. 

 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Right now, there's a clear focal point for the team and that is Jack Blake. I thought Williams did some good hold-up play up top, but for a team that needs to midfield to do both offensive and defensive work while often having the ball bypass them, Blake stood out again for me. So for the second game in as many weeks, Blake gets the GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Oakland Roots - 11.01

Summary

- Opponent: Oakland Roots SC
- Location: Pioneer Stadium
- Attendance: 5,146
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Chapman-Page, Diz Pe, Stanley, Gibson (C), Blake, Lindley, Williams, Henderlong, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Collier 66' (Henderlong); O'Brien, J. (75' (Boudadi); Molina 86' (Gibson)

- Unused: Sulte, O'Brien, E., Sanchez

- Scoring Summary:
OAK –  3’ Cedeno (unassisted)
IND - Blake 43' (assist Boudadi)
OAK - Tamacas 50' (assist Donasiyano)

- Bookings:

IND - Blake 24’ (Yellow)
IND - Henderlong 25' (Yellow)
IND - Chapman-Page 41' (Yellow)
IND - Collier 70' (Yellow)
OAK - Njie 89' (Yellow)
OAK - Donasiyano 90'+8' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 90'+8' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elton García

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

When I first started this site, I had intentions and goals of talking about soccer. World soccer. National soccer. Local soccer. Not having any team in the world that I cared about meant that talking about world soccer fell to the wayside fairly quickly. I did talk about the US National Teams for a bit, but even that trickled away and eventually stopped. Leaving this site to almost exclusively be about Indy Eleven. Game recaps, discussions about the stadium, and the regular changing of the head coach. Then the USL W League started and I had even more to talk about. More recaps and Championship winning teams to be excited about watching. The stadium finally settled on a location, which allowed for a few recent articles (A history of the site, a look at the groundbreaking from my perspective, and a fun In-Depth Look), but the site hasn't seem to change much in my past couple of visits past it so those have slowed down. I had an auction for The (Mini) LIPAFC Barrels that I created. After getting approval from Peter Wilt, I discussed whether Indy's first season could have been different based on players that the club was in discussions to sign, but weren't able to do so for one reason or another.

All that to say that I have learned over the years (like the men's team, this is now my 11th season covering the team) that I really need the break during the off-season. From March 12, 2023 to my annual season recap on November 6th, I wrote 57 articles. That's an average of 1.7 articles per week, but during those summer months when the women are in action, there were times when it felt like I was writing 3 or 4 a week. While it's nowhere near John Morrisey level of work at USL Tactics, I'm no longer at an age where I can grind that like, particularly since this isn't my day job and I want to have a life with my wife and kids too. So when the team crashed out of the playoffs in a 5-nil beat-down from Charleston, I moved closer to my hibernation mode. I did my season recap, but have generally been radio silent since that article. 

Consciousness is greatly diminished. This varies by species, but many hibernating animals are completely oblivious to their surroundings and are nearly impossible to wake up. If you were to wake up a hibernating animal midwinter, you would be effectively killing it. It would use up so much energy warming itself up in order to awaken that it would have no chance of making it to spring even if it could re-enter hibernation. - How Hibernation Works

I managed to awaken my consciousness long enough to write an article about the departure of Mark Lowry. I had an off-the-record conversation with Mark that will never see the light of day, and two articles around the hiring of current head coach Sean McAuley  (Will it even Matter? and the begin of the McAuley era), and watched Indy's Undrafted series. Beyond that, I've mostly done other things. I've worked on the novel I've been writing. I've watched college basketball. I've watched Taylor Swift learn to love football. I wonder what my life will be like when Indy Eleven officially take the field as part of the USL Super League, thereby providing club games year-round since they league is intending to be on the international schedule.

I avoided discussing Indy's off-season because I take very little stock in the results of those games, winning or losing. It's notable that Indy outscored their opponents 18-2, but there are a number of factors that can lead to that. So I tend to not value those results, and only managed to attend one of the preseason games since "closed" games were truly "closed" games this year, even to the media. 

Tonight/this morning though, my hibernation came to an end as Indy was officially back in league action against Oakland, a club that came to Indy last year and handed Indy a 3-nil defeat. Within 3-minutes of the start, I was looking to get my hibernation restarted as Indy conceded an early goal to begin the season in a negative fashion. Indy seemed to settle in after watching their league play begin with an immediate play-from-behind mode. McAuley's immediate pressing and desire to keep the ball in the offensive end became clear.

However, around the 24th minute, the match took at weird turn as Blake and Henderlong saw yellow cards shown to them in rapid succession, and it was announced that Guenzatti also received one, though that one didn't show up on the Match Center. Blake received his card for unnecessarily chirping at the referee, while Henderlong received his for a late tackle. Chapman-Page added to the yellow total in the closing minutes of the first half with a professional, but very necessary, foul as Rodriguez would have had acres of space in front of him on a counter if he had made it passed Chapman-Page. If the first game is going to be any indication, Indy isn't going to be in the running for any "fair play" tiebreakers as the season progresses.

Halftime Heatmap

Indy put significant pressure on Oakland after going down early, and finally found their break-through in the 43rd minute, when Blake first-timed a first-touch cross from Boudadi. The shot from near the penalty spot was low and through traffic that Blanchette couldn't stop to give Indy the equalizer in the 43rd minute. Indy finished the half with a nearly 60/40 advantage in possession, 16 crosses, a 13 to 1 advantage in shots (4 to 1 on target), with possession weighted heavily in Oakland's end of the field including in Blanchette' box. Indy was on the wrong side of the yellow card battle, but the equalizer had been coming and put Indy in a good position going into the halftime locker room. 

Then they put it all that good work behind them by quickly giving up a 2nd goal to Oakland in the 50th minute as Oakland worked their way through the Indy defense. Boudadi helped keep Tamacas onside, who worked his way through the line and had his choice of shots before sending it to Oettl's right side and out of his reach to put Indy back in playing-from-behind mode. The goal seemed to finally settle Oakland as they gained a better foothold on the game and the second half wasn't as one-sided as the first half felt. 

Fulltime Heatmap

In the end, Indy's inability to start quickly in each of the two halves and the preseason goal scoring that didn't follow the team westward were what ultimately doomed them to an early season loss, and perpetuating their struggles against the Western Conference teams. Last year's "results didn't match the performance" mantra has continued into a new season, at least to start, as the fulltime heatmap still shows the bulk of the game being played in Oakland's half. Whether it persists further into the season will be a discussion as we move forward, but for the Indy fans that stayed up past midnight Eastern Time, the new coach, new players, new sponsors, and new jerseys looked like the old 2023 frustrations. The team did finish with a 19% long ball rate, which is 7% points higher than last year's average of 12%, which may be the main indicator of McAuley's tactics versus Lowry's preferred play-from-the-back, possession-based style the past couple of years. The loss also brings Indy's opening match record to 3W-5D-3L. In Indy's previous two times where they started a season with an opening game loss, they made the playoffs once and missed the playoffs once, so it's not time to worry just yet. 

Indy return to action next weekend in the garbage field known as AutoZone Park so we'll see how McAuley's preferred style of play works within the confines of a baseball-housed pitch. For now, Indy ends the first weekend of league play at the bottom of the table with some things to figure out on how to start halves better.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

In a game that went the way it did, Jack Blake's continued run-of-form from a goal scoring perspective from the preseason is enough tonight to give him the GBGB. There were some other good performances despite the result, but in the season opening, Blake's late half equalizer gives him the nod.