Indy Eleven vs Kings Hammer - 04.06

Summary

- Opponent: Kings Hammer FC
- Location: Stadium Field - Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Edwards, Chatterton, Bahr (C), Molloy, Albert, Smith, Pinto, Yamazaki, Chester, Soderstrom-Bulger, Guthrie

- Substitution: Joyce 45' (Bahr); Sochacki 45' (Guthrie); May 61' (Bulger); Komori 61' (Chester); Satterfield 74' (Chatterton); White 74' (Molloy)

- Unused: Wyatt

Scoring Summary:
KHFC – Simmons 23' (unassisted)
KHFC - Bain 76' (assist Yordy)

- Bookings:

KHFC - Frey 72' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jeff Chop

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Playing simultaneously to this game, Racing Louisville and Lexington SC were playing their Kentucky Derby (I don't know what they call it... Maybe the Bluegrass Derby since the Kentucky Derby is probably trademarked...). Regardless, Kings Hammer had already helped Indy by beating Racing last week. If Lexington could do the same tonight, that would bring Racing to 2 losses, even with Indy, assuming Indy took care of business against Kings Hammer to avenge their earlier loss to the team from Cincinnati. Kings Hammer would still be ahead of Indy, and Indy would still need help, but the math would start working its way towards Indy winning the Division if they could take care of their business in the remaining games. Unfortunately for Indy fans, neither happened as Indy fell 2-nil to Kings Hammer and Racing finished in a 1-1 draw to Lexington. With three losses on the season and two against Kings Hammer, Indy will play out their final 4 games for pride now that the odds of winning the Division are out of reach.

Another game, another appreciation post for the work of ISC Sports and their telecasts of the Indy Eleven games, and Indy Eleven's use of ISC Sports for said streaming purposes. I'm not sure how Kings Hammer was streaming this game, but I lost track of the number of times I was watching green grass without a ball anywhere in sight. For so many of the other teams in the Division (I'm looking at you Racing), pre-professional players means bare minimum camera work. To be fair to Ethan Herzog, commentary was fine. I also have to give credit to the Kings Hammer staff responsible for the X feed, which was much more detailed than any of the above mentioned teams (including Indy).

While I'm on the topic of pre-professional meaning a reduced standard in other places, refereeing in the league is, how do I say this nicely, woefully inconsistent. Apparently, in this game, being in an offside position means that you are offside even if the ball isn't played anywhere close to you. Also, if a player is falling on their own because they're trying to spin their self out of the defense, a free kick is awarded just outside the box. A free kick, in this game, that led to the opening goal by Kings Hammer in the 23rd minute when the ball deflected off a player adjacent to the wall and snuck passed an outstretched Edwards. 

The goal turned out to be the game winner, but Kings Hammer deserved to win this game. I honestly not sure that I would call them the more technical team, but they were much more effective in doing what they wanted to do than Indy was able to do. Winning teams score more goals. Indy's goose egg means the team has now lost more games this season (excluding playoff results) than the past three seasons combined. Interestingly, when Indy keeps a clean sheet, they win by a combined 10-nil score line. When the concede goals, they lose being outscored by a combined 6-2. Indy also are either hot or cold on the season; wins or losses but no draws.

The last time we saw Grace Bahr carried off a pitch, she had torn her ACL in the League Championship game in 2023. As soon as I saw her crumble to the ground after a late first half challenge, I was worried. When I saw Chatterton immediately run to Grace once the ball was cleared, I feared the worst. When she didn't return after the halftime break, my fear grew. It's difficult to overstate what Bahr means to this team and the defense. She's the rock in the defense, and the connecting piece for the team culture between this team and the winning teams in the past. Her experience is vital for a team full of young Academy players. 

Maybe it's an incorrect assessment on my part, but I have had a feeling each game this year that teams are playing Indy more physically than in the past. I've also felt like Indy has struggled with that physicality, expecting a whistle to be blown more often. An expectation that continues to not be met.

Due to the poor camera work, I can't say that every call was correct, but when the two teams combine for double-digit offside calls, either the players never learned to adjust their runs or the assistant referees don't know what constitutes offside. In this game, I think it was likely a combination of both. I'm not convinced that the two goals that Kings Hammer had called back due to offside calls were truly offside. 

Indy hit the woodwork two more times, bringing their total to 7 across both games against Kings Hammer. Kings Hammer converted two set piece attempts, which proved to be the deciding factor in this game. Kings Hammer are in the driver seat as the seats turns into the second half of the schedule. They finish with three games against Lexington, who haven't shown me that they are capable of beating KHFC that many times; a game against Louisville, who they have already beat once this season; and a game against Dayton, who everybody has beaten. An undefeated season from Kings Hammer doesn't seem out of the question.

Indy return to action next Monday when they return to Ohio to face the Dayton Dutch Lions, then Lexington at their place, before returning to Grand Park for the final two games of the season against Racing and Dayton. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This was another game on the road where players just didn't look like their normal selves. Some of that can be attributed to Kings Hammer, but even a player like Chester was having a hard time with her decisions, passes, and footing (there was a lot of that issue). Once again, though, the players that kept jumping out to me on the effort and decision making was Pinto and Yamazaki. In a 2-nil loss, it's unlikely that any player still had a perfect game, but I'll give tonight's GBGB to those two players, who have quickly proven to me to be assets to this team.