Summary- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Stadium
- Attendance: 5,127
- Final Score: 0-0 D AET (7-6 Indy in Shootout)
- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Barry, Craig (C), Rasheed, Neidlinger, Omar, O'Brien, J., Okello, Rendon, Williams, K., Sing
- Substitution: Mesanvi 45 (Rendon); Blake 61' (Williams, K.); Sharp 61' (Sing); Mitrano 82' (Barry)
- Unused: Dick, Kizza
- Scoring Summary:
NONE
- Shootout Summary:
IND - Blake (Saved)
LEX - Molloy (Scored) - 0-1
IND - O'Brien (Scored) 1-1
LEX - Midence (Scored) 1-2
IND - Omar (Scored) 2-2
LEX - Ordonez (Scored) 2-3
IND - Mitrano (Scored) 3-3
LEX - Epps (Scored) 3-4
IND - Sharp (Scored) 4-4
LEX - Hafferty (Saved) 4-4
IND - Craig (Scored) 5-4
LEX - Firmino (Scored) 5-5
IND - Neidlinger (Scored) 6-5
LEX - Greene (Scored) 6-6
IND - Rasheed (Scored) 7-6
LEX - Blessing (Saved) 7-6
Indy win 7-6
- Bookings:
IND - Neidlinger 18' (Yellow)
LEX - Bench 69' (Yellow)
LEX - Firmino 70' (Yellow)
LEX - Zengue 78' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 88' (Yellow)
- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
- Adage goals: None.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8
Thoughts and Opinions
I thought that I was going to be discussing Indy's 3 games in 8 days stretch and how it might affect this game against Lexington. However, thunderstorms came through Indy on Wednesday forcing, I think, Indy's first-ever home cancellation. So Indy made the trip to Lexington with one less game on their legs than anticipated. The roster still looked different though with guys that are injured, on international duty, or somewhere else. Indy somehow managed to get a nil-nil draw and bump themselves, likely temporarily, up to 2nd in the Group 4 USL Cup standings thanks to the 7-6 penalty shootout victory.
As many people may tell you, mathematics are hard. Indy's math to get out of the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup is even harder, but a win was almost vital to even come close to giving themselves a chance. With tonight's game, Indy is the only team to have played all four games of the group stage and their fate is now completely out of their hands. And yet... they haven't been mathematically eliminated from contention. IF Forward Madison beats Union Omaha AND Louisville beats Lexington AND Fort Wayne beats Detroit City, then Indy would miraculously finish 2nd in the Group. The odds would still be against them in the tiebreakers to get one of the wild card slots, but they haven't been officially eliminated from the knockout rounds. Maybe that's grasping at straws, but getting a draw and the shootout win shows Indy's continued fight despite the issues they continue to have with player availability.
Indy next return to Carroll Stadium for a July 4th contest against Charleston after a bye week. Thanks to the postponement of the Brooklyn game and Indy's USL Cup games, the game against the Battery will be just their 2nd league game since the Rhode Island game from May 30th. Despite the infrequent league games, Indy has still clung to a spot above the playoff line, which is miracle number two in this article.
I don't know how the season is going to end for Indy, whether that's a spot in the playoffs or not, but I have to appreciate the fight that this team continues to show game after game. Nobody would really say that it's the prettiest of soccer, but they do seem to find a way to get good results (and put themselves in a position to get better results) more often than not. Tonight was no different; Charles-Cook came up big and players gutted out a draw and shootout victory.
Game Beckons Game Ball
He doesn't get a lot of minutes playing behind Eric Dick, but Reice Charles-Cook made 7 saves in regulation and two vital saves in the penalty kick shootout to help get the team into the shootout and then to get the extra point from the shootout win, respectively. The team still doesn't have much chance to make it out of the group stage as a Wild Card, but it's good to see Reice get some good minutes and play well in them. So he gets tonight's GBGB.
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