Indy Eleven vs Detroit City FC - 13.14

Summary

- Opponent: Detroit City FC
- Location: Keyworth Stadium
- Attendance: 6,509
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Dick, Quinn (C), Craig, Rasheed, Neidlinger, O'Brien, J., Lindley, Blake, Mesanvi, Rendon, Okello

- Substitution: Omar 57' (Blake); Mitrano 57' (Mesanvi); Sharp 74' (Okello); Herbert 74' (Craig)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Kibunguchy, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
DET - Mentzingen 47' (assist Stanley)
DET - Rodriquez 52' (assist Mentzingen)

- Bookings:

DET - Rodriquez 11' (Yellow)
DET - Yamazaki 35' (Yellow)
DET - Diouf 55' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 83' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 87' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 89' (Yellow)
IND - Mitrano 90'+3' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joshua Encarnación

- Adage goals: Two
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

The lead-up to this game for most fans was likely the England vs France World Cup game that was, in a word, bonkers. The third place match had just about everything the casual fan hopes to see and what every soccer sicko relishes whenever it happens. 10 goals. 20 shots on target. A hat trick. An epic first half by one team followed by an epic comeback by the other team in the second half. England jumped out to a 4-nil lead by halftime and France clawed their way back to 4-3 before England added a 5th, only to see France get one more in stoppage to make it 5-4. Bellingham put the nail in the coffin in the 90'+8' minute with a 6th and final goal to make one of the most interesting and unique games of the World Cup. For me, England playing Mexico in Mexico City is one of the best games of the World Cup, but their 3rd place match is right up there.

Indy and Detroit fans then watched this game.

Interesting to watch but in a different way. Smaller, turf field. Ten times fewer fans. Good and great players giving it their all compared to great and elite players. That talent difference though leads to more poor touches, last ditch defending, missed finishes, missed headers, or slow reactions. 

That last one was what happened to get Detroit on the board early in the second half when Mesanvi was caught ball watching and Mentzingen got to the ball first to get the ball passed Dick. An adage goal amount of time later and Rodriquez doubled the scoring when a missed header by Okello fell to Maxi who one-timed it in to the goal. With fine margins, it's the simple mistakes and simple acts of doing things right that wins and loses games at this level.

Despite a 7-save night from Dick, Detroit found the goal twice and picked up the win in a feisty, hard-fought game. The four-ish hours of soccer that fans watched tonight were vastly different in how they looked, but for soccer sickos (like anybody that is actually reading this), soccer is soccer and somehow we keep coming back to watch it. England, France, Detroit, or Indy. Somehow we can't get enough of it. I would have liked to see Indy get the win in Detroit, but I was able to watch 4 hours of weirdly entertaining soccer.

Indy return to action next Saturday against Loudoun. I assume I'll see some of my fellow sickos at Carroll Stadium ready to watch two teams in the middle to lower part of the Eastern Conference of a second division league in the United States compete for a chance to not get left out of the league's playoffs in the fall.