Indy Eleven vs Toledo Villa FC - 05.05

Summary

- Opponent: Toledo Villa FC
- Location: Paul Hotmer Field
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 6-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Lee, Smith (C), Guthrie, Dardano, Hamm, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Yu 61' (Mills); Chong 61' (Dardano); Adam 61' (Lee); Kikuchi 73' (Guthrie); Farrell 73' (Jodoin); Cueto 83' (Kruer)

- Unused: Phillips

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Jodoin 39' (unassisted)
IND - Hamm 42' (assist Jodoin)
IND - Guthrie 50' (assist Sochacki)
IND - Sochacki 60' (assist Kruer)
IND - Sochacki 74' (assist Farrell)
IND - Farrell 90'+1' (assist Chong)

- Bookings:

TVF - Bourbeau 66' (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

Thoughts and Opinions

Let's get the important part of the way immediately. Well done Toledo for a proper stream. Proper camera work (though a bit too tight at times) with replays and proper commentary. It's nice to see that Indy isn't the only one in the Division who puts any value in their W League team's streaming requirements. Toledo may be currently sitting at the bottom of the table, having scored just 3 goals, but Louisville and Dayton can take a lesson in what a proper stream looks like. 

Now, more specifically to the play on the field. I've noticed a couple things in Indy's time in the W League. 

One of the first things that has been consistent is that when Indy is the more technically gifted team, which has been a lot of times in the first few seasons, oftentimes the opponent counteracts that difference by being far more physical; a physicality that Indy teams haven't always been inclined to reciprocate (Hal Hershfelt not included). Particularly in the first half of this game, that trend continued. As the one-way traffic persisted through the majority of the half for Indy, they were frequently met by hard tackles from the Toledo defenders who often found themselves in bad positions. To the referee's credit, many of those fouls were called, and it didn't ultimately matter, but it has shown the wide range of talent in the W League and how teams try to deal with the talent gap.

The second thing was finishing. If Indy had kept their body over their shots and been a little more composed on those shots when they had time, this game would have been out of hand score-wise long before it was actually out of hand score-wise. Indy was dominant from the start and had the field tilted towards Toledo's goal the entire time. What came to my mind was the difference the past two years' teams have had, with younger squads, as compared to the first couple of seasons, when Indy had Williams and Soderstrom up top. Both of those players were older, had more experience, and were far more composed on the ball. The past couple of games have shown that despite the talent that is clearly evident with the Indy Eleven players, time and experiences are invaluable for slowing the game down in a player's mind. Williams and Soderstrom had the game slowed down in their mind and as a result were far more clinical around goal when the opportunities came to them. If you're only trying to win games, having some veteran players has proven to be invaluable. If you're trying to develop local talent, you're going to take some lumps along the way when the shots are going in despite dominating the possession and attempts like Indy did the previous two games.

This was a definite "get right" and "feel right" game for the women after a couple of difficult losses the previous two games against Dayton and Louisville to finish off Indy's ridiculously long road stand. Six goals from 5 different players and a very solid defensive effort that snuffed out nearly all of Toledo's promising attacks is a good way to head home to finish off the season. With two games remaining against Division-leading Dayton and a game against Louisville, finally all at home, Indy's playoff possibility could still be firmly in their own hands, but they're still on the knife's edge. A draw along the way probably doesn't get it done, particularly if that draw is to Dayton unless Dayton and Louisville take points from each other in their remaining two games against each other. 

Despite some lapses in defensive and passing judgements by Indy after they had their 3-goal lead that could have given Toledo some life, Indy had a well-deserved 6-goal win in a game they completely dominated. Indy return home for their second home game of the season to host Dayton and start making their push to erase the hole the month-long away stretch put them in.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Pretty much a team effort, with good play by a lot of players. For getting the brace and an assist, I'll give Sochacki the edge for tonight's GBGB.