Friday, May 12, 2023

Indy Eleven vs St. Charles - 02.01

Summary

- Opponent: St. Charles FC
- Location: St. Charles Field - Lutheran High School
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 8-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Kugler, Chester, Dewey, R., Dewey, S., Rogers (C), Hershfelt, Isger, Soderstrom, K., Simmons, Whitsett

- Substitution: Leonard 45' (Isger),Ojongmboh 45' (Simmons), Hunt 65' (Soderstrom, K.), Houweling 65' (Dewey, R.), Vanegas 69' (Dewey, S.), Uko 69' (Rogers) 

- Unused: Fancher

- Scoring Summary:
IND – Dewey, S. 16’ (unassisted)
IND – Whitsett 21' (assist Simmons)
IND – Dewey, S. 52' (assist Whitsett)
IND – Soderstrom, K. 54' (assist Leonard)
IND – Hershfelt 56’ (unassisted)
IND – Whitsett 70' (assist Chester)
IND – Vanegas 77’ (unassisted)
IND – Leonard 85’ (unassisted)

- Bookings:
IND – Hershfelt 65' (Yellow)

- Referee: Matt Geringer
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

It's crazy to think that Indy absolutely destroyed St. Charles' inaugural game mood with an 8-nil thrashing, and could have easily scored more. Without some good saves from St. Charles keeper, Miller, or Indy having a little bit better shot at times, or if Indy had reduced their number of offside calls that negated good opportunities, this could have been a 13 or 14 goal differential. Coach Dolinsky likes an attacking style of play, so I'm sure Indy would have continued playing the way they did regardless, but I'm already thinking about the fact that Indy have to win the division to make the playoffs. With Racing Louisville in the division with Indy, this could come down to the head-to-head matchup between those two teams, and a goal differential. Getting goals now, and getting as many as you can, may help solidify another playoff birth, and puts the pressure on the other teams. You never know if St. Charles will get significantly better as the season progresses and they have more practice time together, but getting 8 goals against them and knowing Indy get to play them two more times makes my goal scoring heart excited.

Without official stats, I'm not sure that I'm correct, but I think Edwards had 2 saves for Indy, on not too many more shots than that. Indy dominated the game from start to finish, rarely allowing St. Charles time to do anything on the ball and rarely getting into Indy's defensive third. The midfield and defenders for Indy swarmed to balls to thwart the St. Charles attack. Coach Dolinsky has said that with this kind of team in this kind of league, you put good players on the field in positions to help them succeed, and let them use their talent to make good things happen. Indy's talent level, speed, and soccer IQ looked drastically better than St. Charles in this game.

Indy has a little break to get some more players into practice as they continue to trickle in from their respective locations before playing another team in their inaugural season in the USL-W league in Lexington SC. Lexington beat Kings Hammer 2-1 to start their campaign on the right foot. Lexington will play Racing Louisville a few days before Indy head to Lexington, so the extra rest and practices should help Indy.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Two players scored a brace, and neither of those players were named Katie Soderstrom. Emily Edwards made the saves she had to make. As I mentioned before, the midfield and the defense were compact, swarming, and dominant in gaining possession back for Indy when the lost the ball. Take your pick on who gets the GBGB. If backed into a corner, I'll give it to Sam Dewey for the game-winner, but also because her goal immediately after halftime helped break any spirit that St. Charles might have felt about only being down by two after the way the first half was played. The third goal, and Dewey's second, opened the floodgates for the scoring after that. So Dewey (Sam) gets the edge, but this really was a good team win.

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