Indy Eleven 2025 Season Recap & 2026 Off-Season Outlook

I concluded the 2024 season recap with the following statement:

With a year under his belt, and a Top 4 finish in the conference, McAuley’s expectations for next season are going to go up. If other fans are like me, you would like to match those expectations, but history of the club has made that a difficult proposition. We have grown to accept that the setbacks happen just as frequently as the breakthroughs. However, the team improved from year 1 to year 2 under Rennie, and then did the same thing under Lowry (after the requisite setbacks in year 3 and 4 under Rennie…). 

Then wouldn't you know it, toward the end of August, as it started becoming clear that reality was deviating from expectations, I wrote an article about expectations, spelling out why it might be unreasonable for Indy to be burdened with the constant expectation that they be towards the top of the table. History has consistently shown that being at the top of the table is the exception not the norm for the team. Indy is more frequently a middle to bottom resident on the table, with only sporadic forays at the top, and even more infrequent and consistent participants in the league's postseason. 

This year proved to be no different. A Top 4 finish in league play and a run to a semifinal game in the U.S. Open Cup last year with a bulk of the key components of the roster returning this year gave rise to the expectation that Indy should once again be challenging for a league championship this year. As I indicated in my Expectation vs Reality article from when it was said to me, "Conflict arises when expectations exceed reality." 

As the injury bug began to rear its head, the club made no signings to help take the burden off the healthy players until September 3rd, when the team had not choice but to pick up a few loaned players from MLS NextPro teams. The club's expectations of being a top club had been met with "just making due" and budget issues until it could no longer do anything but try and find a few players to round out game day rosters. When the new players were immediately thrown into the starting lineup, it was made visible that Coach McAuley hadn't had enough players to help make game-to-game and in-game adjustments. Yet the loanees weren't enough to settle things and the team finished the final third of the season consistently inconsistent with a 4W-0D-6L record in the final 10 games, including a loss in the final game of the season against Orange County after the door had been opened for them to sneak into the playoffs with a win. Instead, Indy's defeat allowed Detroit to take the final spot in the Eastern Conference, who then took that opening and defeated Louisville in Louisville to bounce the Players' Shield winners in their earliest exit in the history of that club. Proving just how important it is to get into the playoffs in this league. In a one-off game, almost anything can happen.

Speaking about how anything can happen in a one-off game, that was how Indy found themselves out of the Jagermeister Cup as Indy lost to League One side Greenville Triumph after conceding a late goal in the 90th minute. After Greenville forced the Penalty Shootout, Sulte went the wrong way on every Greenville kick and Bryneus missed the team's 6th attempt, and Greenville moved on while Indy's season struggles continued. To that point, Indy had never trailed in the tournament and technically finished the tournament without an official loss, since the Greenville game is officially listed as a draw.

The theme of the 2025 season was missed opportunities. As I indicated in the Orange County recap, not counting the two games in the Jagermeister Cup where Indy conceded late goals that forced the team into penalty kicks, Indy lost 18 points from winning positions, most notably four games when Indy dropped points with just minutes (seconds?) remaining in the game:

• April 5 draw North Carolina (90'+3') - 2 points lost
• May 10 draw vs Sacramento (90'+6') - 2 points lost
• June 21 loss vs Las Vegas (90') - 3 points lost
• Aug 16 loss vs Loudoun (86') - 3 points lost

Indy also made life difficult for themselves in the Jagermeister Cup when they conceded late, the second of which meant that they were eliminated from the competition at home by a League One team.

• June 28 "draw" vs Birmingham (90'+4') - win in PK Jagermeister
• Aug 20 "draw" vs Greenville (90') - loss in PK Jagermeister

Indy's season could have been a lot different.

Coach McAuley has indicated a few times to me, "In football, if you stay the same, you're probably getting worse. So we need to improve next year and improve again and just keep improving."

2025 feels like a step backward from 2024 in many aspects. What happens this offseason could dictate whether 2026 is an improvement year or another backsliding year.

To that end, here are my thoughts when looking towards next season.

Looking to 2026

Stadium

Whatever I said last year about the stadium applies this year. What I said last year was that the stadium was in limbo, and fans didn't know what's going on. Nothing from that perspective has changed. Seemingly, outside of a couple of people, and I'm guessing even that number could be a stretch, nobody seems to know anything about the status of an Indy Eleven stadium. Or nobody is willing to tell me anything about the status of an Indy Eleven stadium. 

The lack of the stadium has meant the continued delay of a women's team, which lead to the departure of the club's most successful coach, persistent comments that the Carroll Stadium surface continues to be a difficult one to play on, and a more vocal frustration from fans who have been required to sit in "American Soccer's Greatest Dive Bar" that is losing its charm. Once a term of affection from fans, the idiosyncrasies of the stadium are starting to wear on fans.  

I have thoughts on the stadium. Coming soon.

Coach

A second season under Coach McAuley was still one of the more successful for an Indy Eleven coach, but reality didn't meet expectations. I don't think it matters. I fully expect McAuley to be back next year, trying to overcome the limitations that are set on Indy Eleven coaches with players. I don't think McAuley did enough to warrant being fired, I would guess a less-than-stellar second head coaching season doesn't have a lot of other teams trying to poach him, and I think he wants to be here. I hope he's back. I've enjoyed my experiences with him. 

I do think he will want to fix an issue that persisted into his second season. Last year, the 59 goals that the team scored were a club record setting total, but unfortunately, they conceded 56 goals. This year, the totals were nearly identical, with the team scoring 55 goals, but they conceded 56 across all competitions. In league play, the team was a -8 in goal differential. Coach is going to want to fix that, which I think he'll have the chance to do when he stays in Indy next season.

Players

I've had relatively decent success guessing which players will be returning in recent years, but when the players that I think could and should return struggled to ninth place in the table, this is one of those years where I could be completely wrong. I think Coach McAuley intends to bring back a core group of this year's team and then bring in new, younger and hungrier, players. Younger players looking to make a name for themselves or older players desperate to show they still have what it takes. McAuley's said some version of that to me and he's also said it on Soccer Saturday. The unknown for me is who he considers to be the most necessary of the "core."

The following is based entirely on my own opinions, but here are the players from this year's roster that I can envision being somewhere else or returning next year.

Gone:

1. Bryneus - Oliver played just 448 minutes all season. Normally players that have that limited amount of time don't make the next year's roster.
2. McRobb - the bulk of Finn's 519 minutes happened in a five-game stretch a third of the way into the season as he took his turn at trying to fill the left back role made available due to Stanley's season-ending injury. Once McAuley began to tweak the lineup and settled in on Quinn in that left winger role, McRobb's minutes dwindled to almost nothing. I would be surprised if he returns.
3. Pruter - Late season loan; back to the Columbus Crew 2 mothership.
4. Schaefer - Late season loan; back to Cincinnati 2
5. Zalinsky - Late season loan; back to St. Louis CITY 2

Possibly Gone:

1. Collier - The leader in the team's substitute appearances (by a wide margin) averaged just over 16 minutes per game in league play and didn't manage to score a goal all season. This was likely year two of a two-year contract and the limited minutes and lack of goals makes it difficult to imagine he returns for another year. At 30 years old, he may be looking for a team where he can find more minutes in what remains of a player's short career.
2. Hogan - Pat averaged 65 minutes in league play and played in 19 games with 12 starts, but nearly all of those were early in the season. Hogan didn't make an appearance in the final 10 games of the season.
3. Neidlinger - I guessed correctly that he would be part of the 2025 roster. However, the promise that he showed last year didn't translate to minutes this year, getting just 133 minutes in league play in 7 appearances off the bench. For a kid who accepted a contract to play professional soccer and gave up his college eligibility, he's going to want more minutes. Don't be surprised if you see his name on a League One roster next year trying to get those minutes.
4. O'Brien, Josh - Was a versatile player that had a reasonable amount of minutes and games played. He wasn't a very expensive contract, so depending on how much that gets negotiated, my gut still tells me that O'Brien won't be around for 2026.
5. Soumaoro - The arrival of Soumaoro last year pushed Lindley from the starting lineup. Soumaoro's injury this year, and the subsequent reshuffling of the lineup by McAuley, pushed Quinn into a winger role giving him more time to do what he does best which also allowed Lindley back onto the field showing his value. I can see Brem slide into the Returning camp, but for now, I think he doesn't return next year because I think Lindley does return and Lindley demonstrated his value.
6. Sulte - This will, once again, depend highly on what Portland does with their goalkeeper situation. If they keep all the other guys, they might loan Sulte back to Indy yet again. If they saw enough out of him during his second year here, he might make his way to the Portland first team roster and he will have finished his time here in 2nd place in the team's shutout and saves lists behind Jon Busch.
7. White - I know McAuley valued White in 2024, but his use this year was sporadic, even without taking into account his injury. He's another player that I could see slide into the Returning list, but for now I'm placing him in the Possibly Gone list.

Probably Returning:

1. Blake - Unless other teams come calling with more money, which could be possible and likely, Blake is a "core" player to build around. 
2. Charles-Cook - An outlier to the minimal minutes rule, I think Reice returns next season. He came here with a specific role in mind, that of a backup, but experienced, goalkeeper and he served that role well. He played reasonably well when called upon, including his 10 save game against the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup, and he seemed to like his time here in Indiana. I think McAuley and the team keep him around.
3. Lindley - All of what I said the past two year's applies: "A local guy who was a cornerstone of the roster this year. Cam wants to be in Indy closer to family. There aren't guarantees in the business of soccer, but Lindley returning next season might be close." In an episode of the Indy Eleven Coaches Show, McAuley said, "Two quick things I said to the players at the start of the season. Performance and attitude will keep you at the club. If one of them is not there, the one I'm choosing is attitude. If your performance is not there, but you've got a good attitude, you've got a good chance of staying. If your performance is there, and your attitude is not there, you're not staying. And if you've got both, then we've got a decent squad. Simple enough?" From my perspective, Lindley's attitude and talent are both there. I don't see how the team doesn't keep him around.
4. Murphy - This season, the starting lineup became very predictable as injuries and performances dictated who would be on the field. For two years, you could basically put Murphy's name on the starting lineup in Sharpie. He finished the season having played in all 30 league games, all 5 Jagermeister Cup games, and 1 of 2 of the U.S. Open Cup games. His minutes did drop off a little at the end of the year, so I have to wonder if his fitness began to take a hit as the season drew to a close due to the minutes and miles he has put in over the past two years. Regardless, he'll be back. 
5. Musa - Began to find a starter role in the tail end of the 2024 season and grabbed it with both hands in 2025. He played in one less game that Murphy, but played more minutes. The defense had a habit of leaking bad goals, but I still think he returns.
6. Ofeimu - Indy conceded a lot of goals and at inopportune times, but I don't know how many I would consider to have been Ofeimu's fault. Just a guess, but I think he returns next season..
7. Quinn - In the past two Soccer Saturday's with Rakestraw, Quinn was mentioned by McAuley or interviewed outright. In both instances it was said, while not "official" yet, Quinn will be back next year. It could be his last year here depending on how well his body holds up, but it might not be his last in Indy if there's a way to keep him around as he transitions to a coaching role.
8. Rendon - The jump from League One to the Championship wasn't seamless and he had some moments where you could tell he was still adjusting. His pace and his ability to defend and go forward, make him a player that I think McAuley keeps around.
9. Stanley - Other than Murphy, until his season-ending injury, Stanley was another you could put into the staring lineup with a Sharpie. Despite no data on which to evaluate him after the 8th game, I think Stanley will return.

I hear you. Where are the forwards? What do I think is going to happen with Amoh, Foster, Kizza, and Williams? I don't know which ones will be staying or leaving, but I would bet that only one or two of them return. I can make arguments for each of them, but I'm really not sure which one(s) McAuley values more than the others. My gut says it might be Foster and Williams even though Amoh was the second leading scorer in all competitions behind Blake. Foster's speed and desire to take on defenders sets him apart. Williams' hold-up play sets him apart. Who stays and who goes may have a lot to do with what players the team recruits to come to Indy.

1. Amoh
2. Foster
3. Kizza
4. Williams

Indy Eleven vs Orange County SC - 12.30

Summary

- Opponent: Orange County SC
- Location: Championship Soccer Stadium
- Attendance: 5,000
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Lindley, Murphy, Quinn (C), Blake, Rendon, Williams, R.

- Substitution: Amoh 67' (Murphy); Kizza 85' (Williams, R.); White 85' (Musa)

- Unused: Pruter, Hogan, O'Brien, J., Soumaoro

- Scoring Summary:
OC - Latinovich 23' (assist Hegardt)
IND - Williams 36' (assist Quinn)
OC - Sylla 90'+1' (assist Kone)

- Bookings:

IND - Williams 45'+3' (Yellow)
IND - Blake 48' (Yellow)
IND - Ofeimu 73' (Yellow)
OC - Latinovic 80' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

Due to a 58th goal by LeFlore in the Detroit versus Tampa Bay game, it had all appearances that by the time Indy and Orange County would kick off, Indy wouldn't be able to do anything to move themselves above the playoff line and would be forced to the role of spectator no matter their result. However, an 81st minute goal by Tampa Bay brought everything back into play for Indy. The draw meant that Tampa Bay's playoff bubble had officially popped, and Detroit still sat in the cat bird seat, with Indy lurking in a position to overtake them. Orange County left it late, but picked up a 2-1 win to send Indy home wondering what they need to do in the offseason to get better to be able to get back to the playoffs next year.

Indy found themselves down a goal earlier than they would have wanted on a recycled corner kick. To their credit, Indy pulled one back 13 minutes later on their own recycled corner kick when Quinn put a ball to the back post that Williams was able to rise above everyone to head it passed Shutler. The two set piece goals were all that either team could get across the line and the first half ended as an relatively even affair. Despite an OC advantage in possession, the game was deservedly a 1-1 draw when the teams went into the halftime locker room. 

In a game where a draw meant nothing for Indy Eleven, the second half turned into a wide open game with the midfield players going box to box. Indy needed every effort to get the ball up top, which created a plethora of opportunities for OC to play the same open way, despite wanting to normally play with more possession. With so much field available to them as Indy pushed forward, OC played to what was given to them. Moments of calm were reserved for the moments when players were injured or preparing for long throw-ins. 

As time wound down, Coach McAuley and the Eleven needed a 2nd goal and began pushing everyone forward, leaving just Ofeimu and Schaefer back to defend with Zalinsky pushed forward and Musa taken off for White. The stretched defenders finally broke in the 90'+1' when second half substitute Sylla was able to get Schaefer to bite on a ball, then pushed the ball away from Ofeimu, before putting a laser to Sulte's left that he was unable to reach. As the ball pushed the netting out, a Championship Soccer Stadium crowd erupted in excitement while simultaneously taking all the air out of the Indy Eleven hope of surviving the last day of a long season.

Indy's absence from this year's playoffs had very little to do with tonight's results. Yes, Detroit left the door open for Indy, and Indy couldn't get over the finish line a couple hours later, but it could be argued this season's chance at the playoffs was derailed much earlier in the season. Indy didn't need to be in the win-or-die situation they found themselves in tonight.

The cards for Indy's inability to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year were greatly affected by their unfortunate trend of conceding late goals to teams; tonight being no different. Not counting the two games in the Jagermeister Cup where Indy conceded late goals that forced the team into penalty kicks (or tonight), Indy had lost 18 points from winning positions, most notably four games when Indy dropped points with just minutes (seconds?) remaining in the game:

• April 5 draw North Carolina (90'+3') - 2 points lost
• May 10 draw vs Sacramento (90'+6') - 2 points lost
• June 21 loss vs Las Vegas (90') - 3 points lost
• Aug 16 loss vs Loudoun (86') - 3 points lost

As mentioned, Indy also made life difficult for themselves in the Jagermeister Cup when they conceded late, the second of which meant that they were eliminated from the competition at home by a League One team.

• June 28 "draw" vs Birmingham (90'+4') - win in PK Jagermeister
• Aug 20 "draw" vs Greenville (90') - loss in PK Jagermeister

The USL Championship season is more of a marathon than a sprint, but the tightness of both the Eastern and Western Conference tables shows that every point counts when you're not Louisville, Charleston, or Tulsa (at least this year...). In the West, 4th through 9th were separated by just 5 points; in the East, 3rd through 9th were separated by 10 points. Indy's inability this year to see games over the finish line is the main cause of why they'll watch the playoffs from their own homes, and likely wondering who will be elsewhere once the roster for next year starts to be announced. I'll have my post-season recap post in the upcoming weeks giving my opinion on who I think might be returning.

Tonight though, I once again let myself start to get hope that maybe Indy could get the win after Tampa Bay did Indy a solid and pulled out a draw against Detroit. Then Indy pulled back their own goal after conceding early. 

Apparently, it IS the hope that kills you.

Well, that and late opposition goals.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Despite the loss, I want to give a final GBGB of the season. Blake seemed to continue to find himself in dangerous positions, but just couldn't get the right touch. Blake is one of those players that I think returns next season, at which point he will likely, and maybe quickly, become the leader in many of the categories in the team's history, including surpassing Zayed as the top goal scorer.

Indy Eleven vs Loudoun United - 12.29

 Summary

- Opponent: Loudoun United FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 10,163
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Sulte, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Lindley, Murphy, Rendon, Quinn (C), Blake, Williams, R.

- Substitution: O'Brien, J. 71' (Murphy); Amoh 71' (Williams, R.); White 71' (Zalinsky); Kizza 77' (Rendon)

- Unused: Pruter, Collier, Soumaoro

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 11' (assist Quinn)
IND - Rendon 54'
LDN - Own Goal 65' (Lindley)

- Bookings:

LDN - Bidois 26' (Yellow)
LDN - Skundrich 34' (Yellow)
IND - Murphy 44' (Yellow)
LDN - Awuah 70' (Yellow)

- Referee: Brandon Stevis

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

When Indy kicked off their game late due to a 2-hour weather delay, Detroit had drawn with Charleston, Rhode Island had drawn with North Carolina, and Tampa Bay was on their way to beating Hartford. Of the teams around Indy all vying for the final playoff spots, all had given themselves a chance by not losing. By the end of the night, just a single playoff spot remained for the taking in the Eastern Conference. With the narrowest of margins, Detroit sits in the position to play Louisville in the first weekend of the playoffs. To their credit, Indy waited out the weather delay to get a 2-1 victory to keep themselves within arms reach of supplanting Detroit for that chance to try and ruin Louisville's season. 

The Carroll Stadium turf has never been an easy surface for players to play the way they want to play. Players have repeatedly mentioned this to me over the years. Add a couple hours of rain and the surface is bouncy and slick. Indy's typical direct style of play was amplified in these conditions with numerous attempts to circumvent the entirety of the Loudoun team and play over the top. That mentality lead to the early goal from Rendon when Quinn put a ball that allowed Rendon to run onto and chip Loudoun's keeper Jack. 

A second goal from Rendon early in the second half afforded them the opportunity to still get all three points despite an unfortunate deflection off of Lindley that resulted in an own goal to bring Loudoun back into the game. Indy held on to give fans hope that next week's game against Orange County won't be the last of the 2025 season. Amazingly, of the final three teams from the Eastern Conference that have not resolved their place in or out of the playoffs, two of them will play each other in the final game of the season. While Indy head west to play Orange County, Detroit and Tampa Bay will be playing at Al Lang Stadium in Tampa Bay with everything on the line for all involved. Indy have to beat Orange County to get above Detroit for the 8th and final playoff spot, but then they need Detroit to not get all three points against Tampa Bay. As long as Indy wins, they won't care if Tampa Bay wins. If Indy doesn't get the full three points against OC, I think TB has to beat DET by a 3 goal margin for them to get in. If Detroit wins, then Indy and Detroit start their offseason breaks early.

"So you're saying there's a chance."

"It's the hope that kills you."

Pick the quote that works for you in this situation, but Indy did what they needed to do tonight to prove they haven't given up on the season.

It will all get sorted out next week.

Game Beckons Game Ball

By my count, an Indy player has secured a brace just 36 times by 25 different players in the history of the team. Not quite as rare as the number of times a player has scored a hat trick (5 times from 4 different players), but unique enough that it warrants getting tonight's GBGB. Rendon had 3 shots, two of them on target, both of which found the goal.  

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 12.28

Summary

- Opponent: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Location: Highmark Stadium
- Attendance: 5,618
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Murphy, Lindley, Quinn (C), Blake, Rendon, Williams, R.

- Substitution: Kizza 62' (Quinn); Bryneus 62' (Murphy); White 62' (Zalinsky); Amoh 77' (Williams, R.); O'Brien, J. 83' (Ofeimu)

- Unused: Pruter, Soumaoro

- Scoring Summary:
PIT - Griffin 38' (assist Williams)
PIT - Suber 76' (assist Sample)
IND - Musa 88' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

IND - Schaefer 18' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 63' (Yellow)
PIT - Barnes 86' (Yellow)

- Referee: Muhammad Kaleia

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Coming into the game, the playoff math was clear for one team; a Pittsburgh win and they would clinch their spot in the playoffs. The math for Indy Eleven is fuzzier, but gets simplified when they win games; a win tonight versus Pittsburgh and some help from Tampa Bay and Indy would once again leapfrog Rhode Island for the final playoff spot with two games to play. Pittsburgh took care of their business in a 2-1 win over Indy, and Rhode Island put a boot to the throat of Tampa Bay tonight in a 5-nil thrashing to do their own leapfrog, jumping over Detroit for the 7th spot.  

An obvious storyline to this game was that Pittsburgh's long-time coach, Bob Lilley, was placed Administrative Leave as of Friday evening. No additional comments were provided, but it doesn't take a long history of watching this league to raise some eyebrows at the announcement. Lilley's most frequent adjective, other than one of the winningest coaches in the history of soccer in the United States, is that he is "demanding." I've seen a losing Pittsburgh team be forced to stand on the Carroll Stadium turf and withstand a Lilley berating for 20 minutes post-game. It doesn't seem unreasonable that Lilley's demanding nature finally went too far. Obviously, I have no idea why he was placed on leave, but it wouldn't surprise me if Lilley's demanding personality was a factor.

Indy is a top 10 team in scoring this year. The issue has been that they have conceded the second highest amount in the league. Indy's highest negative goal differential has been -2 so it's not like they've been blown out of games to get dubious distinction. It's been mistakes or poor decisions or like tonight's first goal for Pittsburgh where Ofeimu and Schaefer didn't adequately talk to each other as the ball came into the Indy box and neither got a proper head to it. The ball made it beyond both where former Indy player Augi Williams put the ball back across the box where a scrambling Indy defense couldn't get to Griffin who simply had to redirect the ball into the goal.

The halftime stats showed Indy with a 62.5% aerial duels success, however, the issue was that the success was short lived as the header frequently found a Pittsburgh player. In more than a few occasions, it looked like the Pittsburgh players purposefully played the second ball instead of the first ball. Indy hasn't been a dominant aerial team this season, but it seemed to be something that Pittsburgh thought they saw on video that they thought they could exploit. 

Pittsburgh found a second goal in the 76th minute from a glancing header from Suber on a corner kick that, for all intent and purposes, solidified the result for the home squad. Indy did find a late goal to avoid the shutout and prevent Dick from getting his 10th clean sheet of the year, but that's about as much solace as Indy can take from their goal. Other than maybe showing their continued ability to fight to the end of a game. It's a results-orientated business, but it is good to see a team fight until the end. As I said last game, silver linings mean nothing at this point of the season, and as was stated in the telecast, moral victories don't matter much either. 

I stopped by Indy's training on Tuesday morning and what Coach McAuley said to me that morning he reiterated to Greg Rakestraw on Soccer Saturday. "One win might get us in, two wins probably gets us in, and three wins should get us in." Tonight's result doesn't put a final nail in Indy's playoff coffin, but it comes close. With Rhode Island's win over Tampa Bay, even if Indy had won tonight, they would have still stayed below the playoff line due to Detroit holding the tiebreaker, but at least a chance at the playoffs would have felt closer. As it is, Indy now sits 3 points behind Detroit with two games remaining for all the teams around them. Indy play Loudoun and Orange County, the former of which has locked in their spot in the playoffs and the latter of which is like Indy trying to claw their way to the right side of the playoff line. Rhode Island finish with North Carolina and New Mexico, both of which have clinched their spots. Detroit finishes with Charleston and Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay has their own outside chance to sneak into the playoffs. 

There are scenarios for Indy to make the playoffs, but with tonight's loss, they almost have to get wins out of their final games and they still won't have their fate in their hands. If I'm looking at things correctly, a win by Detroit and two draws from Rhode Island can keep Indy out of the playoffs even if Indy win out.

Indy's streak of never making the playoffs for a third straight year looks more and more likely.

Indy return home next weekend for the final home game of the 2025 season.

Indy Eleven at Louisville City FC - 12.27

Summary

- Opponent: Louisville City FC
- Location: Lynn Family Stadium
- Attendance: 9,785
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Pruter, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Murphy, Lindley, Blake, Quinn (C), Rendon, Williams, R.

- Substitution: White 63' (Zalinsky); Amoh 63' (Murphy); Bryneus 78' (Ofeimu); Soumaoro 78' (Rendon)

- Unused: Sulte, Kizza, O'Brien, J.

- Scoring Summary:
LOU - Dia 36' (assist Lambert)
LOU - Davila 58' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

LOU - Perez 63' (Yellow)
LOU - Las 72' (RED)

- Referee: Servando Berna Rico

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

If Indy Eleven fans are honest with themselves, this was the result that most people expected from this game. Indy's win against the top team in the Western Conference last week against FC Tulsa might have given some people hope that Indy could duplicate that result against Louisville this week. I was not one of them. Louisville has been on a different level than everybody this year and even more so when at Lynn Family Stadium. Louisville came into the game with only one loss in league play, and hadn't lost a home match in league play in 22 games, dating back to June of 2024. Indy's victory over Tulsa last week also meant that Louisville wasn't going to overlook Indy. Indy has shown that they can, periodically, compete against the best teams (beating Tulsa twice as an example), and with the Players' Shield in the Louisville players' sights, they were going to make sure that they weren't overlooking Indy. 

Indy did manage to give Louisville a better game than many might have expected, despite the 2-nil score line. The final stats are likely skewed a bit thanks to the straight red card on Louisville's goalkeeper Las in the 72nd minute when he took out Williams preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity, giving Indy a man-advantage for the final 20-ish minutes. Las took out Williams just outside the 18-yard box with no other Louisville player anywhere in the vicinity. It was one of those fouls where Indy would rather be awarded a goal rather than seeing the opposition get a red card. Since that can't happen and given the way Las took out Williams, a second game suspension beyond just the one-game suspension from the red card would be nice to see. 

Looking at the first half stats though, Indy was giving a good show of themselves against the soon to be official Players' Shield winners for the second year in a row. 

Unfortunately, we're at the point in the season were silver linings mean next to nothing. Indy needs positive results, preferably wins, while simultaneously seeing losses from the teams behind them in the table. To that point, if you thought you could hear a frustrated groan in the ether coming from Indy around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday evening, that was the Indy coaching staff and players when Noah Fuson of Rhode Island FC scored a 90th minute game-winning goal to allow them to once again jump over Indy for that 8th and final playoff spot. The rankings have been fairly consistent for much of the past few weeks, but Indy and Rhode Island have made the playoff line look your grandmother's embroidery cross stitch. Neither team has an easy game in the final three-game stretch, and Rhode Island has to play Tampa Bay, who are just two points behind Indy, meaning they're not out of the running either. All three teams need points from the final three games if they want to secure the final playoff spot. 

A part of me would rather see Indy not make the playoffs, because 1) do they really deserve to be there, and 2) squeaking into the playoffs in 8th place likely just means that Indy fans will have to watch Louisville beat Indy for a 3rd time this season. Not sure which is worse; not making the playoffs or making the playoffs and immediately losing to Louisville.

Indy return to action next week in Pittsburgh, and if Indy do want to make the playoffs, then they need a better result in Highmark Stadium than they had in Lynn Family Stadium.

 

Indy Eleven vs FC Tulsa - 12.26

Summary

- Opponent: FC Tulsa
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,512
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Pruter, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Quinn (C), Murphy, Lindley, Blake, Kizza, Williams, R.

- Substitution: Rendon 60' (Williams, R.); Amoh 60' (Kizza); O'Brien, J. 81' (Murphy); Zalinsky 81' (White); Soumaoro 90' (Blake)

- Unused: Hunsucker, Sulte, Collier

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Schaefer 8' (assist Murphy)
IND - Blake 68' (assist Quinn)
TUL - Diallo 80' (assist Goldthorp)

- Bookings:

TUL - St. Clair 33' (Yellow)
IND - Murphy 45'+1' (Yellow)
IND - Zalinsky 51' (Yellow)
IND - Pruter 88' (Yellow)
TUL - Dalou 89' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 90'+2' (Yellow)

- Referee: John Matto

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Not a lot of teams have beaten FC Tulsa once the calendar switched from May to June. Since that time, Tulsa has a 9W-6D-2L record, with one of those losses coming a few games ago at Colorado Springs and the other loss coming in a 2-1 loss against Indy Eleven in late July in the Jagermeister Cup. In the same timeframe that Tulsa has played so well, Indy has been more up and down, with a 8W-2D-9L record, with both "draws" resulting in a win and a loss as both results took place in the Jagermeister Cup. So while officially Indy has two draws in that stretch, realistically, they're 9W-0D-10L. So Indy knew coming into the game that they have the ability to beat Tulsa at The Mike, but their run of results has not been what Tulsa has been able to achieve the past 4 months. Yet, an early goal in the first half and a 2nd goal in the second half provided Indy with a 2-1 win over the leaders in the Western Conference.

In the opening minutes, Indy looked like the team that wanted to get the maximum amount of points out of the game, pinning Tulsa back into their half of the field. It didn't take long for Indy to find a free kick that they thought they could be a dangerous attempt on goal. As has been the case all season, Quinn and Murphy were the two Indy players standing over the ball as the rest of the team made their way into the box. Murphy put a ball to the six yard box that Schaefer managed to just touch with his head to find the far net; much like his assist last week, without the touch from a different player. In under ten minutes, the goal gave Indy an early lead. 

Half - Shots

After the goal, Tulsa seemed to realize that the teams' current forms weren't going to matter and began to tilt the field in their favor trying to equalize to keep their superb run-of-form intact. While Indy controlled the first part of the half, Tulsa controlled the middle portion, and then the two teams were fairly even in the final third segment of the half. Despite a 9 to 2 shot advantage for Tulsa in the half, the two teams went into the halftime locker room with Indy maintaining their early 1-goal advantage thanks to their one shot on target finding the goal while Tulsa's one shot on target resulted in a Pruter save. Indy's multiple blocks helped keep that halftime clean sheet.

FRISBEE DOGS!!!

The middle part of the first half that Tulsa dominated was duplicated as the teams returned after the halftime time break. The field was entirely tilted in their favor. Until... 

Until the 68th minute when second-half substitute Rendon held up the ball nicely. At which point, Indy's midfield did what they do. Rendon backheeled a ball to Lindley who one-timed a cross into the box. The ball cleared everybody, but quickly found Quinn. Aodhan took a touch before getting the ball to Blake near the six-yard box who promptly put himself in 2nd position in team history for goals scored trailing just Eamon Zayed for that 1st position, but now finds himself 1st in goals scored in the team's tenure in the USL Championship. The goal reminded me of the goal in July against Rhode Island where a decisive and quick balls from Lindley, Blake, and Quinn resulted in a goal by Amoh. The difference tonight was that the three midfielders took care of the final shot.

Up by two goals, Indy fans knew the game wasn't in the bag. This season has shown that until the referee blows the final whistle, anything can and will happen. With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Tulsa did find their goal to make the final moments and stoppage time interesting. Indy's defense held and after 6 minutes of stoppage time, Indy pulled over yet another victory over the top team in the Western Conference.

As a fan, that might be the most frustrating about Indy this season. The talent is there. The results can happen. They just haven't been able to string together enough 90-minute performances to put themselves in a better position in the standings. Before the Louisville game at the end of August, Nicholas Murray with the league wrote a feature on the team that indicated that the team was leading the league in dropped points. At that point, they had dropped 17 points from winning positions. Indy then took a lead on Louisville before conceding three goals and losing, which would bring their total to 20 points dropped from winning positions. Independent of anything else, if Indy had 20 more points, they would be sitting at 52 points, firmly at the top of the table. Yet here we stand hovering at the playoff line. For the moment in the last playoff position thanks to tonight's results. 

Indy's final four games include road games against Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Orange County and a final home game against Loudoun. Indy's going to need to duplicate tonight's result as many times as possible in those four games to be able to squeak into the playoffs to likely face Louisville in the first game of the playoffs. Indy head south of the Ohio River next weekend to figure out if they can compete and beat the leaders in the Eastern Conference after taking down, again, the leaders in the Western Conference.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

It may be repetitive and it might be a bit of a cop-out, but the midfield of Blake, Lindley, Murphy, and Quinn once again get tonight's GBGB. I considered giving it to Sunday's winner in Schaefer for his continued effort and getting the goal, but the Indy midfield was solid on both sides of the ball tonight and kept showing why this team should be in most games. 

Photos: Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Birmingham Legion - 12.25

Summary

- Opponent: Birmingham Legion FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 10,375
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Pruter, Zalinsky, Musa, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Lindley, Murphy, Quinn (C), Blake, Kizza, Williams, R.

- Substitution: White 65' (Zalinsky); Rendon 77' (Kizza); Collier 77' (Williams, R.); O'Brien, J. 90'+3' (Quinn)

- Unused: Hunsucker, Bryneus, McRobb, Soumaoro

- Scoring Summary:
BHM - Vassell 12' (unassisted)
IND - Kizza 54' (assist Quinn)
IND - Ofeimu 60' (assist Schaefer)

- Bookings:

BHM - Travis 33' (Yellow)
BHM - Turnbull 90'+3' (Yellow)

- Referee: Alyssa Pennington

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy has reached the point in their season where every game is vital to get as much out of it as possible. With Birmingham coming to town on a short week (though helped out by the Wednesday-Sunday gap versus the Wednesday-Saturday gap that today's game provided for them), and Birmingham's place below Indy in the table, this afternoon's game was a proverbial 6-point game for Indy to keep themselves within arm's reach of the playoff line while keeping Birmingham firmly in Indy's rear view mirror. Both teams came out of the gate clearly getting the message from the coaches that their respective seasons could be coming to a close sooner than either team wanted. Birmingham found an early goal from a spectacular free kick from Vassell from just outside the box, but the game remained wide open looking like there were going to be multiple goals possible. In the end, there were just two more goals with Indy pulling back two goals for a 2-1 win at home.

As the first half progressed, the energy from both teams remained, but very limited came out of the effort. The two teams had a combined 1 shot on target, which was Vassell's free kick goal in the 12th minute. When referee Alyssa Pennington blew the halftime whistle, the teams went into the locker rooms with Birmingham content to absorb pressure (Indy held a rare 60%/40% possession advantage) and counter, with Indy unable to unlock the pressure to get ay kind of legit attempt on target.

Within 10 minutes, Indy found their equalizer with some of their best interplay all game as they worked their way up the field, eventually resulting in a Quinn pass/cross along the 6-yard box that Kizza simply redirected into the goal. Indy then doubled their lead just six minutes later from a set piece near the right touch line. Quinn put the ball into a good place, Schaefer flicked it along with his head, and Ofeimu followed Kizza's lead and simply redirected the ball into the goal. At that point, the two teams had three shots on target and all three had resulted in goals. If the game was wide open in the first half, the game turned frenetic in the moments after Indy's second goal. Indy knew they needed the third goal to give themselves a cushion, while Birmingham knew they needed to push to try and get something out of the game.

Shots - Post 72nd Minute

Birmingham's substitutions in the 72nd minute flipped the field and they became the aggressor. Now it was Indy's turn to absorb pressure and counter. With a 2-1 lead for the home side, it became squeaky bum time for the Indy fans. Having witnessed multiple games this season end in shared or lost points after having a lead, a single goal differential lead has felt far from secure this year. 

Yet, neither team mustered another shot on target after those substitutions. Birmingham had just two shots, one that rolled precariously close to the post and out of reach of Pruter, but was Birmingham's closest thing to a shot on target the rest of the game. As the whistle blew, the two teams combined for 3 goals and 3 shots on target; neither goalkeeper was credited with a save.

Indy's win pushed them back into 9th place in the table after having Tampa Bay vault over Indy on Saturday night with their draw against North Carolina. It's tenuous, but Indy's win keeps them in the discussion for the final playoff spot from the Eastern Conference. Indy return to action this coming Saturday for the penultimate home regular season game of the year when FC Tulsa returns to The Mike to try and avenge their Jagermeister Cup loss to Indy. Since their May 3rd loss to Orange County, Tulsa have lost just three games (1 to Indy in the Jagermeister Cup, 1 to Birmingham also in the Cup, and 1 to Colorado Springs a few weeks ago) and have become the 3rd team to qualify for this year's playoffs, so Indy's gauntlet to close out the season doesn't get any easier. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

One of the new faces in the back line kept drawing my eyes tonight. Schaefer gets tonight's GBGB because his play stuck out to me as being effective. Looking at the statistics, it was good to see that my eyes didn't fail me. Schaefer didn't lose a single duel; he was 10 for 10 in duels won and 4 for 4 in aerial duels won. Throw in his assist on Ofeimu's goal, his 4 tackles, his 10 clearances, and his 2 interceptions, while not conceding a single foul, verifies that the loanee from FC Cincinnati 2 had a solid enough game to get the game's GBGB.

Photos - Don Thompson Photography