Indy Eleven vs North Carolina - 12.16

Summary

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park 
- Attendance: 2,383
- Final Score: 4-2 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Musa, O'Brien, J., White, Quinn (C), Rendon, Murphy, Lindley, Blake, Williams, R., Amoh

- Substitution: Hogan 45' (O'Brien, J.); Collier 63' (Amoh); Bryneus 63' (Murphy); Kizza 64' (Williams, R.); Neidlinger 76' (Lindley)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, McRobb

Scoring Summary:
NC - Mentzingen 20' (uassisted)
IND - Murphy 43' (assist Amoh)
NC - Servania 48' (assist Perez)
NC - Conway 55' (assist Maldonado)
NC - Dolabella 73' (assist Perez)
IND - Blake 90'+3' (Penalty Kick)

- Bookings:

NC - Mentzingen 16' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 18' (Yellow)
IND - Blake 41' (Yellow)
NC - Martin 58' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joshua Encarnación

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

There's so much history between these two clubs. The very first Indy Eleven game in 2014 in the NASL. Indy's very first league win. The Miracle at the Mike in 2016. The W-League final in 2023. All that mattered to this iteration of Indy Eleven players was the last time these two teams met. Indy held a lead, but conceded in the 90'+3' for one of the proverbial "draw that felt like a loss" result. Indy has had an up-and-down season, but Indy knew coming into the game that with a win, and a Pittsburgh/Detroit draw, Indy would find themselves in 4th place in the table thanks to the Head-to-Head points tiebreaker. If you had said a month ago that Indy would even be sniffing a home playoff game, I would have thought you were crazy, but that's what a better run of form and a very even Eastern Conference can do for perception of how the season is going. 4th place sounds a lot better than the 10th place Indy was sitting after Week 12.

Instead, Indy's poor defending reared its head again and Indy gave up 4 goals to get the loss on the road. Detroit and Pittsburgh drew their game and depending on how Birmingham and Miami do this weekend, Indy could drop back down to 9th. Indy took a prime chance to climb the table and laid an absolute rotten egg with some of the worst defending I've seen out of them in several games. 

The first North Carolina goal happened in the 20th minute when a kick from NC's goalkeeper Mulqueen went over everybody. Sulte started out toward it before Musa had an absolutely atrocious clearance that went a total of 3-ft off of Mentzingen, which ricocheted off of him towards Indy's goal. Sulte was way out of position and couldn't outrun Mentzingen who tapped the ball under Sulte and into the goal. It's difficult enough to beat teams in this league on a good day. When you give up a self-inflicted goal, in a stifling heat, you make life exponentially more difficult for yourself.

Indy found a first-half adage goal in the 43rd minute when Amoh pushed a ball back to the center of the field towards Murphy. Murphy took a touch before curling the ball around the NC defenders and into the side netting. Indy's only shot on target in the half found the goal and the teams went into the locker room even at one apiece. 

Indy had clawed their way back only to concede again with minutes of coming back out of the locker room. Servania pushed the ball towards the center of the field and from nearly the same spot as Murphy in the first half, put the ball beyond Sulte and into the side netting. With their lead reestablished, the route was underway. NC doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later, when Conway did the same thing but from the opposite side of the field. Dolabella finished the scoring when nobody stopped him and he took a worm-burning shot from outside the 18-yard box that went under the outstretched Sulte. North Carolina scored 3 goals in the second half and based on the 9 shots on target, might have been able to score more (admittedly, a couple of those were right at Sulte). Indy, contrarily, put 2 shots on target for the entire game; both shots resulted in goals (Murphy's 1st half goal and Blake's stoppage time penalty kick). 

Full time - Goals

Not counting the Mentzingen goal from inside the box after the ball deflected to that spot, all of North Carolina's goals were from around 18-yards away. Normally, letting a player shoot from distance is an acceptable alternative with Sulte's range and reach, but the NC attackers had so much time on the ball that they could pinpoint and rip their shots. I'm not sure I can blame Sulte on any of the goals. Maybe the first one where he was so far out from his goal when Musa made a mess of his clearance? Maybe he could have done better there. Maybe. 

Or maybe the team defending was absolute garbage.

Indy return to Carroll Stadium next weekend for their final game of the Jagermeister Cup group stage. While Tulsa has been eliminated from advancing in the tournament, Indy will likely need to get the win to guarantee their advancement in the tournament since 2nd place Birmingham face Forward Madison. If you're not table watching like I have been, Tulsa sit at the top of the Western Conference. So yeah, if tonight's effort is duplicated next week, Indy likely won't be making it out of the group stage of the Jagermeister Cup. At least Indy still control their fate, but it's not going to be easy.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Honestly, I don't have it in me to give out a GBGB tonight. I don't have the effort to find a player that stood out in a positive way. I'm sure I could give an Anti-GBGB, but I'm not willing to start down that path.

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 12.04

Summary

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-2 D

- Starting XI: Sulte, Ofeimu, Hogan, Musa, Stanley, Murphy, Quinn (C), Bryneus, Blake, Foster, Kizza

- Substitution: Neidlinger 80' (Bryneus); Amoh 87' (Kizza)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Collier, Lindley, McRobb, O'Brien, J.

Scoring Summary:
IND - Somersall 26' (OG)
IND - Kizza 48' (assist Foster)
NC - Conway 51' (assist Dolabella)
NC - Donovan 93' (assist Maldonado)

- Bookings:

IND - Murphy 6' (Yellow)
IND - Musa 8' (Yellow)
NC - Mentzingen 13' (Yellow)
NC - Somersall 45' (Yellow)
NC - Craig 81' (Yellow)
NC - Servania 84' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 89' (Yellow)

- Referee: Edson Carvajal

- Adage goals: One

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy Eleven hold an 11W-4D-5L record against the franchise from North Carolina, including a 4W-1D-1L record as competitors in the USL (leaving a 7W-3D-4L from the old NASL days), but the two teams split the season series last year with both teams winning their home matches. Indy came into the game as 3-2 losers to last year's reigning champions Colorado Springs Switchbacks, while North Carolina came into the game as winners of their past two, the most recent a 2-1 defeat of the Charleston Battery. In a soggy and lightly attended Carroll Stadium, Indy started a bit slow, but turned into the dominant team in route to a 2-2 draw. That's right, the dominant team in the match had to share the points after giving up two goals, the second of which came within stoppage time of the second half.  

In the early stages of the game, Indy finally looked like the team that McAuley indicated preseason that he wanted this year's team to be, as they spent a large amount of time in North Carolina's half of the field. Both teams also saw a significant amount of referee Carvajal's yellow card, as he was free and quick with trying to manage the intensity of the game in the wet conditions of the field.

Bryneus - 1st Half Distribution

Indy's attack lived on the left side of the field as Indy worked much of their effort through Bryneus and Stanley. Indy looked like they saw something in the matchup between Bryneus and Washington that they thought they could exploit. With some early crosses and shots, that evaluation of the NC squad proved to be correct as Bryneus finished the first half with 1 chance created, 3 crosses, and 2 shots on target, and could have easily had two goals if not for some good last-ditch defending and goaltending. I don't know how NC finished the half winning the possession battle, but that was about the only place where NC were statistically the better of the two teams in the first half. Indy walked into the halftime locker room soaked, but clearly the team that deserved the early lead, even if the goal was officially scored as an Own Goal.

Indy shot out of the locker room with the same intensity and were rewarded with an immediate goal to extend their lead. However, Indy has yet to keep a clean sheet this season and three minutes after Indy's second goal, NC put themselves on the board to bring the game back within a one-goal deficit. Indy's early inability to capitalize on their multiple opportunities put themselves back into a position where the game was still there for NC to steal points on the road. The weather had marginally improved, but the wet turf stays wet turf for a long time and Indy needed to make sure that they didn't put themselves in any situations where a poor touch on the wet turf would undue their good play.

Indy gave up a late stoppage time free kick. Maldonado put a ball into the 6-yard box and Donovan rose highest to head it back the other direction and out of reach of Sulte. Just like that, every good thing that Indy did during this game from an offensive perspective, was completely undone with poor defending. 

Indy Eleven have lead in all 4 games that have been played this season. In this game, they had a two goal lead. From a leading position, Indy are now 1W-2D-1L. If the team can't figure out how to hold onto leads, and extend them when they were the better of the teams on the night, this is going to be a long season. The team heads to Hartford next weekend who have scored once in 4 games. It's early in the season, but Indy need to expect to go to Hartford with a win and a clean sheet in mind as the only acceptable outcome of the game.  

The Game Beckons Game Ball

He didn't get rewarded for his effort with a goal, but Bryneus showed tonight why Coach McAuley has called him a good young talent, who just needs to translate what he's been showing in training into the games. Tonight looked like a good step in that direction. For his overall effort and effectiveness on the left side of the field, Bryneus just edges Foster for me for tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 11.28

Summary

- Opponent: North Carolina FC 
- Location: WakeMed Soccer Park
- Attendance: 2,478
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, White, Ofeimu, Diz Pe, Blake, Stanley, Quinn (C), Soumaoro, Foster, Williams, R., Williams, A.

- Substitution: Collier 70' (Williams, R.); Martinez 70' (Blake); Wootton 89' (Quinn)

- Unused: Oettl, Lindley, Neidlinger, O'Brien, J.

- Scoring Summary:
NC - Mentzingen 19' (assist Martin)
NC - Anderson 77' (assist Armstrong)

- Bookings:

NC - Maldonado 22' (Yellow)
IND - Williams, R. 33' (Yellow)
IND - White 45' (Yellow)
NC - Batista 45'+7' (Yellow)
NC - Mentzingen 55' (Yellow)
NC - Martin 73' (Yellow)
NC - Anderson 79' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jeremy Scheer

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

There's a point in every USL Championship season when it stops being a marathon and goes to being a full-on sprint toward the finish line. If you've looked at the standings in the Eastern Conference table, that moment may have already passed, but is definitely in full effect now. Coming into the weekend, every team had 7 games or less and spots 4 through 11 were separated by 9 points. Spots 4 through 8 (the playoff spots) were separated by 5 points. With the non-playoff teams lurking just outside the cutoff line, every game takes on even more magnitude. Losing to a team behind you could drop you below the playoff line. Taking points from a team ahead of you could drop them. Even the teams that have officially clinched playoff spots (Louisville, Charleston, and New Mexico) still want to get points to be able to win the regular season. The teams that have been eliminated (Miami) want to stop sucking and play spoiler. 

After Indy's win over the Western Conference basement dweller El Paso, Indy continued their run of playing teams at the bottom of the conferences by playing 11th place North Carolina (Miami comes to Indy next week). Getting points off the teams behind you is vital in this sprint to the finish. Indy failed miserably at that by conceding once in each half to lose 2-nil on the road.

The last time the North Carolina franchise had beaten Indy Eleven was in 2017. That game was a 5-nil drubbing by the, then Railhawks in the NASL, but Indy held a commanding 11W-4D-4L record before tonight against the long-term foes, who have been a part of some of Indy's most important results. Indy played the Carolina Railhawks in Indy's inaugural game, they were the opponent in the Miracle at the Mike, and the Carolina franchise were also the opponents in the 2023 USL W League Final where the Indy women defeated NC.

It might have taken 7 years, but North Carolina got it done tonight. NC started the scoring in the 19th minute after working the ball around quickly away from the Indy defenders. Martin pushed the ball wide to Mentzingen who one-timed it over Sulte and into the far side of the goal. Moving the ball around the defense, and forcing last-ditch defending from Indy was a trend tonight.

Indy nearly equalized in the 26th minute from a shot from outside the box by Blake that McQuire was able to parry away at full stretch. The ball fell nicely to Foster who pushed his shot wide. Shots high and wide was also an ongoing trend for Indy tonight.

NC nearly doubled their advantages minutes into the second half with a shot that found the post, but managed to bounce back into the field of play instead of into the goal. Minutes after that, NC had a two-on-one break that should have been an easy goal if Anderson had just centered the ball instead of going for goal himself. As the second half began to wind down, they did finally find the second insurance goal, and Indy returned home with zero points and no additional separation from the teams behind them. In fact, with the results tonight (which could be made worse tomorrow), Indy allowed the playoff race to get even closer.

At no point in tonight's game did Indy look like a team that will be hosting a first round playoff game. At many points in tonight's game, Indy looked like a team that could very well watch the entirety of the playoffs from their couches. Outside of an unprecedented run in May and June, and an obvious run in the U.S. Open Cup, Indy has not looked like an elite team in this league. They've looked exactly like where they are in the table; an average team surrounded by other average teams. Teams that on a given night have a chance at winning against "better" teams, but also have an equally similar chance to losing to "lower" teams.

Indy return to The Mike next weekend to face Miami. If that game ends in anything other than a win with multiple goals, it will tell you everything you need to know about this teams chances of being and winning in the playoffs. The marathon has turned into a sprint and Indy doesn't look like they have what it takes to make it across the finish line.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Diz Pe? Blake? Quinn? I'm sorry, but it definitely wasn't the forward line. As well as they played last week, they looked like different players tonight. If I have to pick somebody, and we all know that I don't because I've regularly not selected a GBGB winner, I would go with Blake. 

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 11.08

Summary

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 10,071
- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Sulte, O'Brien, J., Chapman-Page, Diz Pe, Stanley, Gibson (C), Lindley, Blake, Martinez, Ikoba, Guenzatti

- Substitution: Mines 61' (Ikoba); Ofeimu 61' (O'Brien, J.); Collier 75' (Diz Pe - injury?)

- Unused: Oettl, Henderlong, Neidlinger, Schneider, Wootton

- Scoring Summary:
IND - 48' Own Goal (Maldonado)
NC - 51' Perez (assist Mentzingen)
IND - Martinez 75' (Chapman-Page)

- Bookings:

IND - Ikoba 45'+1' (Yellow)
NC - Placias 72' (Yellow)
NC - Armstrong 74' (Yellow)
NC - Brewer 85' (Yellow)
NC - da Costa 90'+1 (Yellow)

- Referee: Eric Tattersall

- Adage goals: One

Thoughts and Opinions

In a week where I have written a ton of words around the off-field part of Indy Eleven, it felt good to be able to talk about the on-field happenings. Indy's old foe from the NASL days and early USL days, North Carolina FC (formerly the Carolina Railhawks) returned to The Mike, with both teams off to less than ideal starts. Both Indy and Carolina have managed just a single win to this point in the season, which Carolina edging Indy on the table by getting one more draw than Indy. Indy opened their club career against the Railhawks with a 1-1 draw, but both teams have gone through more than a decade of history since the day that Michael Ambersley scored Indy's first ever goal. Both have changed leagues. North Carolina dropped down to the USL League One for the past three seasons. Indy has changed venues...twice. Indy holds the advantage in games between the two teams with a 10W-4D-4L record, but just a slight edge in goals at +6 as the games have all be close affairs. Only a handful of the games have been decided by more than 1 goal. The most notable multi-goal differential games being the 4-1 Miracle at the Mike win for Indy Eleven in 2016, which solidified the Spring Championship, and a 5-nil drubbing of Indy by North Carolina FC in early October of 2017. 

Indy's injury report is starting to look rough. Quinn remains out as he rehabs his injured knee, Sanchez is out with an ankle injury, King is out after pulling up in the game against Colorado with a hamstring issue, Boudadi is out with an ankle injury, and Williams rounds out the report with an elbow injury. Indy has a larger roster this injury to potentially ride out the injuries, but those are some very important parts of Indy's team last year and this year. Sulte continued his effort between the posts after getting his first start last week against Colorado and Gibson returns to the starting lineup after his week off against Colorado.

In the early minutes of the game, both teams had their moments of possession and chances, but neither could put their stamp on the game. Indy forced McGuire to come out of his goal a number of times to clear the ball, but he was successful in doing so each time. Nothing that you could call threatening for either team, but both teams had the opportunities to push deep into each other's half. It was until the 16th minute that Carolina blasted a shot towards the Indy goal, that Sulte managed to smother and end Carolina's effort. 

Indy's defense can be really good at times, but they can also be so nervy for Indy fans. There's just moments where touches are loose, decisions are questionable, or somebody switches off for a split second. Every time one of those scenarios happen, Indy looked like they are going to concede a goal. This isn't a new thing for Indy this season, but the overlapping runs from Armstrong on the left side of the field were causing some vital last-ditch efforts from Chapman-Page, Diz Pe, or O'Brien. 

If there are young players out there reading this, watch Guenzatti, Blake, Gibson, and Lindley...when they don't have the ball. Their effort and ability to put themselves and their teammates into good positions to receive or distribute the ball are really impressive. Guenzatti was listed as the forward up top, but he actually played underneath Ikoba and Martinez, pulling defenders with them, while also regularly tracking back to help defensively or get a ball that he can get to somebody else in a better position. Those four players (and Quinn when he returns) are a good reason why Indy's on-paper potential is so high. They put out so many fires ahead of the backline, and should be the catalyst for Indy's offense. I think that's what frustrates me the most with Indy's long-ball percentage, which was over 20% for the game. One of the best parts of this roster is regularly being bypassed. This game was strange to me in that the long-ball percentage was so high, but it also felt like Indy had a more concerted effort to possess the ball. I would probably need to re-watch the game while not also trying to type to see if my first impressions of the game were accurate. Indy lost the possession battle, barely, but as wide open as the game was at the end of the second half, the possession similarity could be expected.

Indy went into the locker room with 1 shot, none on target. That's not going to get it done. Indy came out of the locker room, and Blake quickly picked up a free kick near the box. He delivery was perfect, but no Indy players found it. Luckily for Indy, Maldonado did and his touch ushered the ball nicely into his own goal. Indy with the lead in the 48th minute. Three minutes later and the defensive mistakes that I described came to fruition, as Perez found a header on a cross that he pushed past Sulte. Just like that, Indy went from a goal up, which has been rare this season, to back to level. 

Three. Minutes. There was literally nothing listed between the two actions.

Within ten minutes, Coach McAuley started making substitutions by bringing on the Bens. While Ikoba had the lone shot in the first half, he had some rough moments where he seemed out-of-sync with his teammates and he was one of the first subs, leaving in place for Ben Mines. O'Brien, J. left for Ofeimu. 

Another player came onto the field, but he was quickly ushered back off. I've seen a lot of things at The Mike, but there's a first for everything. Not sure where he came from, how he managed to bypass security, or what happened to him afterwards, but I believe this young fan is the only one to have been on the field during a game. Anybody else hearing an older brother egging him on right before this? 

"I dare you to run out on the field. Do it. I double dog dare you." 

"Okay."

After the substitutions, and the delay, Indy started to ever so slightly tilt the field in their direction. Another free kick from Indy from a dangerous spot and Blake continued to show he is at a different level than everybody else and he put a perfect ball into the box. It was basically where he put the first one, but instead of finding a player from the other team, he found Chapman-Page who deftly put it back into the mixer and Martinez headed it home to give Indy a 2-1 lead.

With the lead in Indy's favor, the game became wide open as North Carolina looked to equalize and Indy looked to counter with the space that was now presenting itself. Indy also ramped up their defensive effort from everybody. Indy, the club and its fans, felt like it was in a fight for the two days preceding this game. Indy, the men's team, fought for this win. You could see it in the players's faces. They were going to do everything they could do to hold onto the win. A win they knew would mean a lot to the fans. When the 4th official held up the sign indicating 5 more minutes, it felt overly generous in Carolina's favor, but nearly everything in the stoppage time was in Indy's favor.

In some ways, this felt like a cathartic win for the club and the supporters. Coach McAuley got his first home win. The players overcome another adage goal. The fans were able to show support like they have for the past 11 seasons. Regardless of where the discussions continue with the stadium and the Mayor and MLS, the win tonight showed the fight in this club at all levels. Fans, players, coaches, and front office staff. This felt like a much needed club win against a foe that seems to continue to be around in the big moments for Indy.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This is a hard game to pick because I thought there were quite a few guys who had good games. I picked on Ikoba a little bit earlier, but even he didn't have a bad game; I just think he's still adapting to the team and/or the speed of play. There was the defensive lapse that led to the North Carolina goal, but I wouldn't say that the backline played poorly. I already complimented Blake on his free kick placement, and he's playing with so much confidence right now, he's taking bold shots on goal. I also complimented the other three in the midfield with Gibson, Lindley, and Guenzatti. I think I'm just going to give the GBGB to the midfield four of Gibson, Lindley, Blake, and Guenzatti. They were all box-to-box and put in a very good shift to get the victory.

Additional Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 06.20

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Cary, North Carolina
- Attendance: 4,393
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett, Ouimette, Walker, Gibson, Ayoze, Pasher, Farias, Watson, Kelly
- Substitutions: Ilic 80' (Watson); Enevoldsen 81' (Kelly); King 90'+5' (Walker)
- Unused: Farr, Osmond, Kim, Diakhate
- Goals: Watson 15' (assist Pasher); Ilic 87' (assist Gibson)
- Bookings: Barrett 84' (Yellow)
- Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
- Adage goals: None

The knock against Indy from many fans, myself included, is that they have struggled to get wins against the "higher level teams." With the exception of about a 25 minute timeframe immediately after the halftime break where Indy spent the majority of the time defending, this was a relatively evenly matched game and Indy's win is a fair result. A result that keeps Indy in the top 3 in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand on both teams above them and a game remaining against each of those teams. By the end of August, when the Eleven only play 4 games, the number of games in hand will increase. By the end of September, it will be a lot easier to determine where each team truly sits in the table. There are a lot of games between now and then, but Indy's 2-1 win over NCFC helps keep them in the discussion at the top of the table and in a position to host a playoff game.

In reading the post-game quotes from the coaches, both Rennie and Sarachan thought their team was the better team. Coach Rennie agreed that the team struggled with Sarachan's halftime adjustments, "but once we did that [adjusted to the corrections], I thought that we looked more likely to score, and I feel like we really deserved it.” To his credit, Sarachan felt his team started poorly in the first half but adjusted well after halftime and felt his team deserved the win. "We get the goal and I think we could have had one or two more to be fair. I didn’t think they threatened a whole lot in the second half, but yet they made a play. ... But certainly in the second half, I would kind of say (NCFC was) the better team, but didn’t show for it."

Which shows that Indy's ability to keep fighting and find late goals took a likely "fair result" of a draw into a win for the visitors. Indy have become known as a team that likes to make it interesting at the end of games, scoring late goals to get positive results out of games. However, Indy's propensity to score late game goals (9 goals in the 75th minute or later) is nearly matched by their ability to score early (8 goals in the first 15 minutes). Watson and Ilic took care of both of these trends with Watson getting the opening goal in the 15th minute, while Ilic scored the game-winner in the 87th minute as a late game substitute. Indy's goals bookended a goal in the 69th minute by NCFC's Fortune from just outside the 18-yard box when the defense didn't step to him quickly enough and he put a perfectly placed shot into the far post upper-90 over an outstretched Newton.

With Coach Rennie unavailable due to his red card at the half of last game, Assistant Coach Guerra took the reigns for this one. Presumably, the starting lineup was created by the entire coaching staff beforehand so it's difficult to judge Guerra on the inclusion of Watson into the starting lineup. However, Watson, who used to play for North Carolina, looked energized to be playing against his former squad. Guerra's substitution pattern differed from Rennie's though. Coach Rennie has been fairly consistent about making the first sub around the 65th minute or in the early 70s. Coach Guerra didn't make his first sub until the 80th minute, but the first two subs, Ilic and Enevoldsen, were immediately effective with Ilic getting the game-winning goal. Honestly, I would have liked to see both Walker (the 3rd and stoppage time sub) and Kelly taken off earlier as I thought both struggled with their touch and effectiveness.

Kelly reminds me a lot like Indy's 2015 season with Kleberson. Both Kleberson and Kelly came into the team with a lot of expectations, complete with a large salary (though I suspect Kleberson's was a significantly higher percentage of the team total than what Kelly's is with this current roster), and both drastically under-performed. The glaring difference between the two players was that Kleberson was sidelined due to an Achilles injury. Kelly is just not living up to the expectations due to poor play.

Maybe that's our fault for having the expectations that we do for Kelly. When you sign the USL's all-time leading scorer, you suspect that by the 20th game of the season, he would have more than 4 goals (all of which came in a 3 game burst 14 games ago). Yet, he's seen time coming off the bench in favor of a young player who made the team from an open trial. He's routinely called offside. Many, like this one pictured, he's staring down the line of his offside position and doesn't adjust. He was called for 3 of Indy's 8 offside calls in this game. His first touch failed him on a number of occasions in this game. He didn't have a single shot on target.

Sometimes a player needs to get a goal to get out of a slump and open the flood gates. Based on his play in this game, I honestly don't see that happening with Kelly right now. It's a good thing that Ilic is getting healthy. Hopefully his goal tonight is a sign of things to come as gets healthy and gets more minutes.

As Enevoldsen stated at the last home game during the post-game press conference, "We have a really good squad. We don't have the biggest squad, but we have really good players at every position..." If you assume that Nieto and Brown are basically for training purposes and not realistic game options and that Crognale won't be returning, that leaves just 19 guys for selection, one of which is backup goalkeeper Farr. Ilic and Starikov's extended injuries further exacerbated the small squad issues, but their return could significantly help provide additional options in the offense. It will also be interesting to see if Ilic and Starikov's multi-game "rests" allow them to supplant Kelly and Diakhate in the starting lineup in the last half of the season.

Tampa Bay and NYRBII also picked up wins this weekend, so Indy needed this win to keep pace with the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Indy now has two weeks of league rest before returning home to play Saint Louis FC. Indy will be looking to exact some revenge after losing their season opener to Saint Louis in March. Indy will be playing a friendly vs Detroit FC in Detroit in the interim, which will help keep them in a competitive mode and give Ilic some more game time minutes.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This week's Game Beckons Game Ball goes to Ilic. It's difficult to have a long-term injury so it's nice to see him finally get back on the field and be rewarded by scoring a goal. Glad to see the former Louisville City foe getting back into competitive minutes.

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 06.08

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 9,017
- Final Score: 0-0 D
- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw (C), Crognale, Ouimette, Ayoze, Matern, Gibson, King, Enevoldsen, Kelly, Pasher
- Substitutions: Watson 72' (King); Penn 74' (Pasher); Diakhate 86' (Kelly)
- Unused: Farr, Farias, Walker, Ilic
- Goals: None
- Bookings: Diakhate 90'+1' (Yellow)
- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
- Adage goals: None

Coming into the game, when asked about not having Paddy Barrett in the game, Coach Rennie was quoted as saying, "I don't think it really changes anything. For us, we’ve got a number of players who can step in if someone’s out. Paddy’s been a very good player for this season and he’s a very important player for us, but so is Karl [Ouimette]." While I don't think that's completely true, otherwise why would Barrett have played every minute of every game prior to his dismissal against Tampa Bay, Ouimette did do a good job in Barrett's place. With a pair of back-to-back draws against some of the top teams in the conference during a busy 3-game week, Barrett's yellow/yellow/red card didn't ultimately come back to hurt the team.

This game looked noticeably different than the one on Wednesday versus Tampa Bay. The Rennie Bunker (TM) wasn't present and Indy controlled the game from possession, defense, and shot perspectives. The Eleven had multiple bites at the apple, but couldn't get a shot (one of 20) to find its way into the goal. North Carolina really only had a few good chances, one by former Indy Eleven player Ben Speas, and Newton came up big on each of those. Speaking of which, with the clean sheet, Newton became the USL Championship's all-time leader in that category. The team already has four on the season, on pace to set a new club record, but that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

As I watched, I was reminded of something I said towards the end of last season. Last year, Indy was good, but not great, particularly against the elite teams in the conference. As I watched shot after shot go wide or caught by NCFC's Tambakis, I began to wonder if we'll see a similar trend this year. Indy has looked spectacular against the bottom of the table and Bethlehem, outscoring them by a 10 to 3 margin. Against the top of the table, Indy have been outscored 4 to 2, plus a couple of nil-nil draws. Again though, that may be getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Hopefully this isn't a game that Indy will regret not getting all three points based on the number of good opportunities they had to get a game-winning goal.

Indy now has two weeks off from league play before hosting Charleston on May 18th, but will host a U.S. Open Cup game on May 15th versus the winner of Lansing Ignite and AFC Ann Arbor.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Pasher. He may have made a mess out of a couple of his chances, but he looked dangerous all night. One of his chances, he looked indecisive as he found himself behind the defense and one-on-one with the keeper and looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to try and chip the keeper or take a full shot and he ended up getting caught by the recovering defense. On another occasion, he got in towards the box, but lost the ball under his feet. Sometimes his speed, and he may be one of the fastest in the league that I can recall seeing, is faster than his decision process.

After all that, why does he get the GBGB? Because he was consistently a nuisance for NCFC's defense and the stats indicate that my eyeball test were accurate. He could have easily had a goal, but his pace and effort constantly had NCFC's defense on their heels or full-out sprinting toward the goal to try and catch him. With that much effort and pace, teams won't be able to throw so many bodies at Kelly to defend him, which both Tampa Bay and NCFC did the past two games. 

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 05.22

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 9,023
- Final Score: 3-2 W
- Starting XI: Fon Williams, Venegas, Mitchell, Ferreira, Ayoze, Matern, Starikov, Watson, Speas, Guerra, McInerney
- Substitutions: Moses 62' (Speas); Saad 74' (McInerney); Collier 84' (Starikov)
- Unused: Lundgaard, Ouimette, Ring, Steinberger
- Goals: Starikov 7' (assist McInerney); Speas 31'; Guerra 90'
- Bookings: Mitchell 45' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: One

I've routinely heard Coach Rennie say something to the effect of "it was an exciting game," "an exciting finish," "good for the fans," etc. I can honestly say that I could handle a few less games from the Indy Eleven that achieve that excitement by requiring late and stoppage time goals. There's something to be said about getting an early 2-goal lead and being able to ride it out without having to get a goal in the 90th minute off of a scramble in front of North Carolina's goal. Parking the bus isn't sexy nor "exciting," but it's a tactic Coach Rennie and the team have successfully deployed on the road. Earlier this year after the 2-3 loss to Cincinnati, Brad Ring stated, "getting 2 goals, for us, should be enough to get some kind of result." That was true in May and should still be true today in August. Fortunately for the Eleven, they managed to find a third goal against NCFC that they were unable to find against Cincinnati.

Starikov put the Eleven on the board in the 7th minute by outworking his defender to the ball, but every single bit of play that lead up to that goal scoring touch was fantastic. The assist to the assist to the assist goes to Watson who has an uncanny knack of reading opposing players passes and putting himself in their path. After winning the ball near midfield, Watson put a deft touch on the ball to get it away from two defenders and into the path of Ben Speas who carried it for about 10 yards before making a 20-yard pass that McInerney could run onto. With time and space around him, Jack Mack had the ability to look up to find his defender, as well as what was going on within the box, before putting a low line-drive to the 6-yard line. Starikov got to the ball first and slotted the ball home with his left foot. It's exactly the kind of build-up to a goal that you love to see.

Speas' goal about 20 minutes later was one of those "NO! NO! NO!," "YES! YES! YES!" goals where you hated that he took the shot until it found the back of the goal. Thanks to the very visible football lines on the field (more on that in a minute), his 28-yard blast was put into the smallest of windows, yet it found its way over a defenders leg and just outside the reach of an outstretched Tambakis.

Now for NCFC's first goal in stoppage time of the first half. Mitchell was put into a bad position and had to give the professional foul. A free kick and a yellow card resulted and both were deserved. Given the location of the free kick though, it was set up nicely to attack the near side post and the Eleven created a wall with Guerra (5'-9"), Speas (5'-8"), and Watson (6'-0"). The only way they could have fielded a wall shorter was if Ayoze (5'-8") and Amass Amankona (5'-7") were in for Guerra and Watson. Exacerbating the height problem was that none of the guys wanted to take the ball off their face, which I completely understand, but that was exactly the height that the ball traveled between Watson and Speas on its way to the goal.

It was a rough way to go into half having weathered a 55%/45% possession disadvantage and a 12 shots to 4 disadvantage. Consider that, the Eleven had four shots on goal in the first half and could have gone into halftime with a 2-nil lead. The other two shots were one that was put just wide of the goal by McInerney on a restart by Venegas and a free kick from Ayoze in the dying seconds of the half that was deflected out for a corner. That's it. North Carolina's shots weren't always very threatening, but Indy really didn't have many opportunities in the first half. The Eleven nearly tripled their shots in the second half, but still had a significantly fewer number than NCFC.


I don't think the team was overly happy with my pre-game criticism of the new turf. Let me rephrase that. The turf is nice. There was a very noticeable difference between the old turf and this new one and the new one felt much better, even to my untrained evaluation. However, I don't think the team was overly happy with my pre-game criticism of the much more obvious LINES on the new turf. When I asked him about the turf (not the lines) after the game, Coach Rennie stated, "It plays, like, much better – much, much better. There was a much better game tonight, and there was much more passing, interaction, and changing. Obviously, the difficult thing is the lines. That’s hard for the players. It’s difficult to see."

That's where the Indy Star article stopped Coach Rennie's quote.

Since I asked him the question, I'm going to give you the rest of what he had to say:

"That's one thing that's a little disappointing. I've been coaching in other big stadiums around the U.S. and they all had green surfaces and then line it for the NFL games, like Seahawks, Patriots, and Atlanta. So that's a bit disappointing because it makes it difficult to make this a multi-sport venue when there's that many lines and there's that many murals. I suppose it's a sign we really need our own soccer stadium. There's so much interest in this club and we really need to grow it now, but the players made the most of it and I thought they did a good job. So the surface does play a lot better so that's one big positive.”

There was never any doubt in my mind from the moment the Eleven announced they were playing in Lucas Oil Stadium that they were going to have to make some concessions to the "primary" tenant of the facility. Three Wednesday home games in August made that clear. A field full of football markings and extremely faint soccer markings speaks volumes on where the Eleven rank in importance at Lucas Oil Stadium. I was on the field and I can tell you that even at that level, the yellow lines for the Eleven were difficult to see. Carroll Stadium was not ideal. Lucas Oil Stadium is not ideal. I don't see a soccer specific stadium happening with the current owner and current legislative climate. So Indy Eleven fans might as well get used to being considered second class citizens. It doesn't mean I can't (and won't) complain about it on Twitter.

Tonight @IndyEleven take the field on new turf. Good luck lads with the lines. pic.twitter.com/OTtcjI21kg

— Drew (@GenWRX6) August 15, 2018

The game against NCFC started a difficult stretch of 7 games in 22 days and so it was good to start it off with a win. Now the team heads to Ottawa to face former captain Colin Falvey again after losing 1-nil at home on an own-goal before returning next Wednesday to face bottom of the table (but winners of 2 of their last 4 games) Toronto FC II.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

For being in the right place at the right time and opening his scoring column, Juan Guerra gets this game's Game Beckons Game Ball.

Runner-up nod goes to Carlylle Mitchell who saved a ball off the line in the 21st minute after a shot from NCFC was partially blocked by Fon Williams, but continued towards the goal.

Photos

Highlights

Indy Eleven vs NCFC - 05.03

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Cary, North Carolina
- Attendance: 3,169
- Final Score: 1-0 W
- Starting XI: Fon Williams, Ring, Ouimette, Mitchell, Ayoze, Matern, Lewis, Pasher, Watson, Saad, Braun
- Substitutions: Steinberger 27' (Lewis - injury); Speas 67' (Braun); Rusin 90' (Mitchell)
- Unused: Farr, Moses, Guerra, Amankona
- Goals: Pasher 15' (assist Braun)
- Bookings: Mitchell 37' (Yellow); Fon Williams 71' (Yellow); Ouimette 90'+5' (RED)
- Adage goals: None

On a dreary night at WakeMed Soccer Park, the Indy Eleven roster shuffle continued due to Ferreira's injury last week against FC Cincinnati providing Indy's OG, Brad Ring, with another start and another game closer to the 100 game mark for the team. Unfortunately, that dreary night also produced two more injuries as first-time starter, and Trinidad & Tobago international, Nathan Lewis left in the 27th minute with an apparent concussion and fellow T&T resident, Carlyle Mitchell left in the 90th minute with a leg injury. Guess we'll see how severe they were in the coming days.

In his short time on the field, Lewis showed some promising moments on the right wing, but an inadvertent arm to his head cut short what was looking to be a potent attack against NCFC with Pasher pushed into the LW role and dual forwards in Saad and Braun. Less than 30 minutes after starting the game, the Eleven went from a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 with Braun the lone striker. With a one goal lead on the road in rough conditions, the Eleven seemed to take their collective foot off the gas. A tactic that rarely seems to go well, but after Braun found a streaking Pasher up the left side in the 15th minute, there was the proverbial parking of the bus and the Eleven defended a significant amount of the remaining 75 minutes. To the tune of a 70/30 possession defending.

That's a long time to defend and a lot of time without the ball. That much time defending well was nearly undone when center ref Kevin Broadley awarded a penalty to NCFC in the 90'+3' for what seems to be a borderline call. Fon Williams dove to his right, putting his hands on Bekker's attempt, and salvaged the win. Minutes later, NCFC's Guillen and Indy's Ouimette were both shown red cards for an incident in the box and the game finished with a roller coaster ending.

The good news is the Eleven have won two of three games to keep themselves in the upper half of the conference while they continue to gel. The bad news is that, much like last year's team, there is a constant reshuffling of players due to injuries. Getting positive results as guys are getting healthy and guys are playing out of position is important and a good start to the season, but the preseason depth we also see with this team is already starting to get tested.

One last takeaway for me is going to be my reoccurring them of this year's reviews. Goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams. I'll preface this by saying I'm not a goalkeeper. My one season between the posts when I was a kid doesn't count towards knowing how to play the position. However, in addition to my concerns about his footwork and balls sailing on him out-of-bounds, there were moments in the game where he seemed to not know what play to make. There seemed to be too many moments where he let crosses (and NCFC had nearly 30 of them) drop instead of attacking the cross and grabbing it out of the air. With the wet conditions, I kept thinking that one of them were going to take an odd, skipping bounce and find its way off of a player, NCFC or otherwise. Fortunately, my fears were unrealized, but I'm still concerned about the fact that he seems rooted on the goal line.

The Game Beckons Game Ball:

Pasher. Moments before he scored his goal, he had another chance but was unable to get a shot off with his preferred left foot and the chance was missed. He made up for it by putting away the chance gifted to him by Braun.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs NCFC - 04.32

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 8,813
- Final Score: 2-2 D
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Miller, Vukovic, Torrado, Smart, Thompson, Speas, Goldsmith, Zayed
- Substitutions: Ubiparipovic 58' (Speas); Junior 75' (Thompson)
- Unused: Cardona, Watson-Siriboe, Lomeli, Ables
- Goals: Zayed 20' (assist Speas); Miller 65' (assist Vukovic)
- Bookings: Goldsmith 88' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: Two

Going into this game, the Indy Eleven had been eliminated from post-season play and North Carolina FC had already solidified their place in the post-season. All that remained to be decided was NCFC's seeding. Win or draw and they would be the 3rd seed and avoid a semi-final matchup with Miami FC, the first team in NASL 2.0 to ever win the double, having won both the Spring Season and the Fall Season by clinching on Saturday night against Edmonton FC. San Francisco, the 2nd seed in the Championship, has looked strong lately, going 7W-7D-2L in the Fall Season, but given their preference, nobody is eager to face Miami.

With a mindset of get points, but definitely don't lose, NCFC came out of the gates and scored in the 4th minute on a goal by Schuler. Schuler was reasonably well defended by Miller, who was a late addition to the starting lineup due to a pre-game injury to Keller. However, Schuler put his shot under Miller's legs and Busch's outstretched arms into the side netting. Exactly how the road team looking to avoid a matchup with Miami needed to start. Put the struggling Indy Eleven team down and watch the fight drain out of them.

NASL/Opta Stats Goal Replay

However, the starting lineup for the Indy Eleven included David Goldsmith and Tanner Thompson, and their youthful exuberance, and potentially their desire to one last time show their abilities to try and make a roster next year (here or elsewhere) put themselves into dangerous attacking positions. Coupled with a final game from Torrado and an inspired effort by Franco and the Eleven gave themselves a number of chances to even the score, which they did in the 20th minute. Interestingly to me was that the play that scored the goal for the Eleven was basically duplicated seconds beforehand.

NASL telecast screen capture - Goldsmith assist to the assist

For the first attempt, Torrado received the ball at 18:50 in the first half, near the center circle, dribbled a couple paces and then sent a ball to Goldsmith. Goldy took a couple dribbles and then sent a gorgeous ball through the backline that Speas was able to run onto, but his cross was blocked by Moses. A poor clearance by Moses to Franco and Torrado found himself with the ball again at the 19:16 mark. One dribble and he put the ball back to Goldsmith in nearly the same location. With his head on a swivel and surrounded by NCFC players, Goldsmith again found Speas out wide, who two-touched his cross to the six-yard box where Zayed slammed it home. It was pretty soccer, preceded by pretty soccer.

This team, even with its limited budget compared to the New York and Miamis of the world, has ability and it reared its beautiful head periodically at times this year. The team underachieved all season, but have found a good stretch of play in the final game of the year in a game that meant nothing to them except for pride. The Eleven even found a 2nd goal in the 65th minute by Cory Miller, surprisingly not with his head. After Thompson was taken down not far from the 18-yard line, Vukovic put a ball over everybody that Miller ran onto and powered past Robinson, who had come into the game in the 32nd minute for an injured Sylvestre.

Yet, like much of this season, for as much good play that was displayed by the Eleven, it all ended with a thud in the 89th minute. Moments away from being able to finish the season on a positive note, the Eleven gave up a set-piece goal and gave NCFC the draw and the 3rd seed.

That's just the way this season went. The balls and plays that went their way in 2016 were nowhere to be found this season, injuries were rampant, and moments of brilliance were undone by unnecessary mistakes. With so many questions standing before them this off-season, from most of the players not being under contract, a coach who's not under contract, questions about the status of the league, no further progress of a more appropriate stadium, to General Manager duties being performed by Coach Hankinson and President Belskus (who is not a "soccer guy"), every single player sat down at a table in the West End and signed autographs for fans after the game. On a night where the end of the game temperatures were in the 30s and the guys had just lost a win in the closing minutes, they stayed and signed. That speaks volumes to me of their character.

Coach indicated afterwards that there are a lot of decisions to be made and they all start with a domino of the league's lawsuit. Once that domino falls, decisions about his future will be made. Decisions about player's futures will be made. In back-to-back games, he has indicated that much like when he first arrived, the roster is going to get an overhaul. Many of the guys we watched this year will not be back next year. Those that will return will be greeted by a strong, dedicated fan base, already itching to get back to cheering for their club.

In the words of sports fans for ages, "there's always next year."

The Game Beckons Game Ball:

Been a bit since I've given this out, but I think there was a player actually deserving this week. David Goldsmith. He may be listed as a forward, but he has great playmaking abilities and he showed them off from time-to-time this year, but particularly during this game. Dylan Mares made a jump from his first year to his second year and I'm willing to bet that Goldsmith does the same next year. Maybe that will be with Indy, maybe that will be with an opponent, but I saw enough out of him this year to make me think he's going to be a good player sooner rather than later.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 04.26

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Cary, North Carolina
- Attendance: 4,209
- Final Score: 5-0 L
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Miller, Vukovic, Ring, Henderson, Junior, Thompson, Speas, Goldsmith
- Substitutions: Watson-Siriboe 45' (Falvey), Keller 45' (Ring), Ables 65' (Speas)
- Unused: Cardona, Smart, Zayed
- Goals: NONE
- Bookings: NONE
- Adage goals: THREE

I've been saying that it might be time to give the young guys some more playing time to see if they can provide a spark to the team that seems to be missing from their older counterparts. I don't know if that thought process had anything to do with it, but Coach Hankinson took the lineup and significantly reduced the average age, particularly in the second half, when both Ring and captain Falvey were pulled at halftime for Keller and Watson-Siriboe. Speas continued for another 20 minutes in the second half before his replacement in Adrian Ables found the field. Not counting Busch, at the end of the game, Vuko was the oldest player on the field for the Eleven at the age of 33. Henderson is barely 30 and the rest of the lineup consisted of twentysomethings. I'm not sure what precipitated the change in Coach's mind, butthe youth were clearly given their chance. Torrado and Ubi didn't even make the trip while Smart and Zayed were available for selection but didn't play.

Unfortunately, the spark created by the young guys ignited a dumpster fire. A 2nd largest goal differential in the history of the Indy Eleven dumpster fire. It could have been much worse dumpster fire.

Passes were sloppy, touches were careless, and goals were aplenty for NCFC, starting with a goal in the 9th minute where Gorne got inside position on Miller. NCFC were the aggressor from the start, providing constant pressure on the ball every time the Eleven players had the ball, whereas the opposite mindset was in play when NCFC had the ball. Indy chased the ball as North Carolina moved it at will around them.

NASL Scoreline Summary

Last week, the team posted an article on their site, written by Eamon Zayed. Zayed has done this a couple times this year, but this post relates to his time as a youth with Leicester City FC and "the fairytale story of the 2015/16 season when Leicester went on to secure the most unfathomable dream of winning the Premiership Title that year." Zayed goes onto describe how prior to the 2015/16 season, the Foxes were 9 games from the end of the season, having won only 4 times in 29 games and being 7 points away from the relegation line. They then proceeded to win 7 of their last 9 games and securing their stay in the Premier League and then winning the entire thing the next year. Zayed conveys this story because he was looking for belief that the Indy Eleven, with 8 games remaining at that point, could go on a run to get into this year's NASL Championship. I thought of this article after the NCFC game, not because I had the same belief as Zayed that the team could go on this year, but because he had the Leicester City reference correct, just the wrong years...

In the 2015/16 Premier League, Leicester City won the league. In the 2016/17 season, Leicester City "finished 12th, thereby setting a new record for the worst Premier League title defense." In 2015, the Indy Eleven finished 9th out of the then 11 teams in the NASL, but got wins in two of their last three games. In 2016, the Eleven had their own fairytale story, winning the Spring Championship and going undefeated at home. Like water, maybe Leicester City and the Indy Eleven have just "found their level" and last year's amazing run can, and should, be looked as a lightning in the bottle season where very few things went wrong.

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic again, but the guys looked disinterested, like they were going through the motions to just get through a crappy, injury-riddled season, in a league that might not be here next year. If that's the case, I can understand their mentality, because it's much the same way as I feel right now continuing to write these posts.

Guess we'll get to see how interested I'll be in writing on Wednesday.

Highlights: