- Opponent: Racing Louisville FC
- Location: Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 1-0 L
- Starting XI: Edwards, Adam, Bahr (C), Malloy, Albert, Yamazaki, Pinto, Smith, Jennings, Guthrie, May
- Substitution: Lister 60' (Jennings); Satterfield 60' (Albert); Komori 75' (May); Chatterton 75' (Adam); Joyce 75' (Smith)
- Unused: Wyatt, Kruer
Scoring Summary:
LOU – Maddox 27' (unassisted)
- Bookings:
LOU – Kunde 70' (Yellow)
- Referee:
- Adage goals: None.
Thoughts and Opinions
Rarely in the history of this team have I been forced to admit that Indy didn't look like the best team on the field. Indy have only lost five times in the now 3 years and 3 games of their existence, and Indy have now, thanks to tonight's 1-nil loss to Racing, only lost three times in a regular season game. One was the outlier in the 2023 season where a completely overmatched St. Charles team came to the Grand Park Event Center and despite a 25-2 shot disadvantage against St. Charles, left Indianapolis with a 2-nil victory giving Indy their first ever league loss and their first ever shut-out. The second league loss was the final game of last season where the team played this same Racing Louisville team and lost 6-2, looking like a complete shell of its normal self in the process. It would come out after the game that Coach Dolinsky was leaving Indy, bringing some clarity to the team's apparent discombobulation.
This was not an outlier game where the ball wouldn't find the goal or a game where the head coach was leaving. This was a game where Indy often looked a step behind, not as strong, and not as decisive in their decision making as Racing, particularly in the first half. It was a little bit better as the game progressed, but some of that could be attributed to Indy chasing the game more and Racing content to bunker a little bit. Then when Indy reached desperation mode in the late late stages of the game, they lost all resemblance of an organized attack and were down to individual players trying to make plays and long balls. Multiple times, Coach Kim could be heard saying "we gotta go, we don't have the luxury of time." While not incorrect, the anxiety in his voice seemed to translate to the players.
I was worried coming into the season about having to play Lexington three times, but having to play this Racing team again isn't going to be easy either. Kings Hammer come to town this weekend, which will be just their third game of the season. However, they have beaten Dayton 15-nil and tied this Racing team 3-3. Between Racing and Kings Hammer, they beat Dayton by a combined 24-nil (9-nil and 15-nil, respectively), while Indy managed three goals against the Dutch Lions. Some of that could be attributed to the weather that night, but after tonight's result, I'm not so sure.
We'll learn more about this team on Saturday when Kings Hammer come to town.
The Game Beckons Game Ball
You'll be hard pressed to find someone as passionate about winning as Grace Bahr. She's the clear captain, and clear vocal leader of this team. You'll also be hard pressed to find somebody who takes losing as personal as Grace Bahr. As the game opened up at the end and became end-to-end action while Indy tried to get the equalizer and Racing looked to capitalize on Indy being out of their defensive shape, Bahr was still sprinting back on every ball that was booted over her head. It wasn't until the dying minutes that I watched her, exhausted, request assistance from one of the midfielders, to drop back and cover her position during a Racing throw-in. Post-game, for better or for worse in the sportsmanship category, she made a beeline to the bench, foregoing all handshakes except for a few teammates. Bahr takes this team and the culture that she helped create as seriously as I've seen anybody. In a loss, when the team didn't look its best, I'll take Bahr, her talent, and her fire every day for the GBGB.
No comments:
Post a Comment