Indy Eleven vs Loudoun United - 13.15

Summary

- Opponent: Loudoun United
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,234
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Dick, Quinn (C), Craig, Herbert, Neidlinger, O'Brien, J., Lindley, Omar, Sharp, Rendon, Okello

- Substitution: Kizza 61' (Sharp), Kibunguchy 61' (Neidlinger); Mesanvi 61' (Omar); Mitrano 75' (Okello)

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

- Scoring Summary:
LDN - Aboukoura 60' (assist Awuah)

- Bookings:

IND - Lindley 12' (Yellow)
IND - Neidinger 47' (Yellow)
IND - Herbert 85' (Yellow)

- Referee: Servando Berna Rico

- Adage goals: None
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy's first home game after the conclusion of the World Cup coincided with the Brickyard 400 activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so while announced attendance was listed as 9,234, it's difficult to definitively determine if there will be any kind of "World Cup bump" as a result of the tournament taking place in the United States. This is Indianapolis, so racing usually takes precedence over most other events in the city, but attendance looked more robust than in recent games. So the announced attendance was likely close to be actual attendance. Unfortunately, the good weather and the good crowd was spoiled by a 1-nil loss despite a fairly dominant performance by Indy. 

The fans in attendance saw a lot of Indy in Loudoun's half of the field early, dictating pace and maintaining possession, something that hasn't been observed much this year. For all the good things they did early, it nearly came undone when Murphy put a shot off the woodwork in the 12th minute and then followed it up with a second shot off the post in the 14th minute. Indy flirted with getting caught with the proverbial "against the run of play" goal by Loudoun, but the game stayed scoreless. After the close calls, the game became a bit more wide open with both teams getting opportunities. The "almost goals" by Loudoun also switched the possession stat, with Indy keeping less of the ball, but the back-and-forth nature of the counterattacking style from both teams meant that the possession stat settled into a near 50/50 value.

Plenty of activity in the first half, including 6 shots on target by Indy Eleven, but the teams took to the halftime locker rooms with a nil-nil score. Bandre had an acrobatic save to prevent a goal by Sharp, but most of Indy's shots weren't that threatening. Loudoun, conversely, officially didn't have a shot on target, but two balls off the woodwork felt much more likely to get the scoring started. 

I hate to say it, and I don't like doing it for a player of his age and experience, but I'm starting to worry about Neidlinger's progression as a player, at least defensively. There were frequent moments tonight where he felt like a liability on the right side of the field. It seemed like he was too easily bypassed, while also needing to grab jerseys as his attacker made it around him far too easily. One of those last-ditch efforts resulted in his yellow card mere seconds into the second half. I can only hope he gets better, and there aren't a lot of options at this point, but the immediate concern is that teams are going to start to key in on him, particularly when he runs forward as part of the attack. It's good he has some speed and the youth to run non-stop.

In a game where both teams look to counter, at some point one of those teams is going to find a goal. In the 60th minute, the first team to find a goal was Loudoun as the right side of the Indy defense broke down and Aboukoura, while falling down, put a chipped ball over Dick that snuck just inside the post. It doesn't have to look pretty, but the ball went in the goal for the game winner after a defensive mistake from Indy.  

Coach McAuley immediately made substitutions to get fresh legs, and speed, onto the field and Indy then began to turn the screw on Loudoun's defense. Despite the mostly one-way traffic towards Loudoun's end after the goal and the substitutions, Bandre's 9-save night was enough for the visitors to come away with the victory. 

Indy Eleven was absolutely abysmal in front of goal to keep the home fans from celebrating a win. On a night where 7 of the 11 games that were played resulted in the home team losing, Indy continued the league-wide trend on the night, but lost a chance to edge closer to the top of the table, again, with games to play. 

Coach McAuley stated after the game that they were going to need to look at the video to fully understand what happened tonight to determine whether "it was a lack of talent or if it just wasn't our night." Given the number of losses to home teams around the league, maybe there was just a "not our night" aspect to it, but watching the game, it feels impossible that Indy could get at least one goal from the multiple opportunities they had from close range. Bandre had a few good saves, but some of Indy's inability to score was based entirely on their struggle to get the ball out of their feet. 

Despite a 3-game losing streak, at the halfway point of the season, this is just Indy's first home loss. Yes, it would be great to make Carroll a fortress again, to win against the teams lower in the table, and to get better results on the road, but everything is still in front of them. With games in hand, Indy is only 3 points behind 4th place Louisville and 6 points behind 2nd place Charleston. With the lowest budget in the league, a constant reshuffling of lineups due to injuries (or national team callups or other factors), if you ask me, Coach McAuley has worked miracles getting this team into this position. The Cup runs weren't great, but the home league form has been really good, especially on a field that has historically been complained about by team after team, coach after coach.

Indy travel to San Antonio for a Friday night contest against one of the top teams in the Western Conference so they're going to need to find their finishing form again. After being held scoreless just twice in the first 10 games, Indy have been held without a goal in 4 of the last 5 games. That's going to need to get resolved quickly or they will continue to slide down the table and they're already teetering on falling below the playoff line.

Game Beckons Game Ball

I could probably do this more times each season, but I try to spread around the GBGB a little. However, Lindley always stands out for me. Lindley does a little bit of everything for this team. Energy. Restarts. Often dropping back deeper than the centerbacks to get the offense going again. Cam usually puts balls in positions where guys can do something with it (ironically as I typed that, he put a ball out of reach of Kibunguchy, but he's not perfect). Sometimes, and last night was one of those times, there were moments where it felt like Lindley was the only one who understood the assignment. Down a goal, time running out, against a team with a low block, you have to give yourself opportunities in front of goal. That often means quick restarts to catch the opponent before the defense gets reset or continually sending in crosses to get the ball in dangerous places. Lindley can often look like a guy with his hair on fire because he's all over the field, but if you blew the whistle and told every player to stop immediately and for Cam to close his eyes and tell you where players are located, I bet he could do a good job. He's constantly moving, constantly scanning for the next pass, the next corridor for the ball to go. And he's an Indy guy so the losses seem to affect him more than some of the others. Cam definitely gets tonight's GBGB.

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

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. 

Indy Eleven vs Miami FC - 13.13

Summary

- Opponent: Miami FC
- Location: South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium
- Attendance: 611
- Final Score: 2-0 L

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

- Substitution: Omar 63' (Mesanvi); Sharp 63' (Okello); Williams, K. 71' (Blake); Kibunguchy 71' (Rasheed)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Craig, Mitrano

- Scoring Summary:
MIA - 44' da Costa (assist Sonora)
MIA - 76' Locadia (assist Milesi)

- Bookings:

MIA - Sonora 74' (Yellow)

- Referee: Calin Radosav

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

Thoughts and Opinions

It's no secret, and I have said it more than a few times on this site, that Indy's announced attendance are generously elevated from actual attendance. Miami's announced attendance was 611 and I'm not sure how you can argue that number from what was visible in the telecast. At one point early, it sounded like there might be some fans in the stands with organized chants (maybe some Indy fans?), but even they gave up the effort and the crowd noise became almost non-existent in this game.

Within the first few minutes of the telecast, the color commentary person (sorry, I missed his name) for the game called Indy's style of play "ugly." Let's call it pragmatic or calculated. Indy know their strengths and weaknesses and don't care too much about what you think is "beautiful" soccer. You want to win the possession battle, fine. You want to pass it around at midfield or in your half, fine. A win is beautiful. 

However you get there. Miami got there, Indy didn't, but I'm not as definitive as he was that it was because Miami had a prettier style of play.

As much as he wanted to describe Miami's style as prettier, Miami took a page out of Indy's book and after a good spell of possession from Indy, counterattacked quickly and found a goal right before halftime to give Miami the lead at the break. The second goal was the same. Locadia picked up a ball on a long break after a missed header in their defensive half and attacked the goal. Locadia put Barry on skates, cut the ball back in towards the middle of the field, and then curled a shot around Dick. Miami's goals were scored from the same "ugly" style that was given to Indy when the game started.

I understand that Miami is no longer the nearly guaranteed win that it used to be a couple of seasons ago, but Indy never really looked like they were going to win this game. The stats show that it might have been closer, but the eyeball test really put this one firmly in Miami's favor. Regardless of style. They just seemed like the team that might be able to do more with their style than Indy.

Indy gets a 2-nil loss from goals that utilized their style. The soccer gods are a fickle bunch. Indy have to take this loss and travel to Detroit on the weekend which is never an easy place to play. As was repeatedly stated during the broadcast, Indy still have games in hand on every team except for Rhode Island. The question now is whether Indy does enough with those games in hand or does the perpetual reshuffling of lineups due to injuries (Kibunguchy was officially signed yesterday and played 20 minutes...though to be fair, I had heard rumor of a signing last week) finally catch up with them?

Indy Eleven vs Charleston Battery - 13.12

Summary

- Opponent: Charleston Battery
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,143
- Final Score: 2-0 W

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

- Substitution: Sharp 65' (Omar); Mesanvi 81' (Okello)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Kizza, Lowden, Mitrano, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
IND - O'Brien, J. 82' (assist Rasheed)
IND - Rendon 90'+4' (assist Blake)

- Bookings:

CHS - Kelly 18' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 35' (Yellow)
IND - Blake 36' (Yellow)
CHS - Smith 68' (RED)
CHS - Kissiedou 90'+2' (Yellow)

- Referee: Matt Thompson

- Adage goals: None
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy Eleven have played two other times on the Fourth of July. The first time was in 2017, a 1-1 draw at the New York Cosmos. The second time was in 2018, when the Ottawa Fury came into a sweltering Lucas Oil Stadium and beat Indy 0-1 due to an Own Goal by Mitchell. The night concluded with an open north window at LOS and fans able to hang out in the stadium and watch the downtown fireworks. The goalkeeper that night for Ottawa was Crepeau, who saw his World Cup run with Canada come to an end today against Morocco an hour before Indy's start time tonigh. Today, Indy instead decided to do The Fourth at Four, with game time bumped up three hours from the normal 7:00 start to 4:00, presumably to allow fans to get to any Fourth of July fireworks festivities with their families, but it also meant that fans and players were in an absolutely brutal afternoon heat of 90-degrees F and 50% humidity giving a feels like temperature of 98-degrees. The fans that braved the heat, and there weren't that many of them (regardless of what the announced attendance indicated), were treated to a 2-nil victory against one of the best teams in the league.

The game felt to me a lot like the friendly against Pachuca in June of 2016. That day, temperatures were in the low 90s, with a start time of 1:30. That day, I had measured the temperature of the turf with a baking thermometer, which pegged at 137-degrees. Water bottles were spread out around the field, but I remember watching as many players spray their boots with the water as they did actually drink the water. The turf has been changed since then, but I doubt that the new version is any cooler than it was that day. Following the World Cup's lead, midway through both halves, both teams walked over to the benches for a hydration break to replenish the fluids that the heat was taking out of everybody.

The first half progressed much like you might expect from a Charleston team in form and an Indy team who has been forced to rotate their backline as injuries continue to be an issue for the team. Charleston dominated possession (70/30 ratio), and dominated it in reasonably dangerous locations, getting 10 shots, but just 1 shot on target that was straight at Dick. Indy's restructured backline generally stayed home with rare overlapping runs from Neidlinger or Quinn because of the need to keep Charleston in front of them and not over-exert themselves due to the heat. Indy's forays into the Charleston half weren't overly frequent, but did manage to have some potential options, including a goal pulled back due to an offside, something that both teams had in the half. The two teams sniffed at getting the scoring started, but instead went into the halftime locker room with a nil-nil score line.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the game crept toward the 60th minute, Charleston's attack began to show itself with two close calls. For chunks of the game, it looked like the game was going to finish with either a nil-nil result or possibly just a one-goal differential. Charleston's flurry of shots in that portion of the game made it look like it was likely to be Charleston that got that break-through goal and not Indy. The 68th minute red card to Charleston's Smith, after he pulled down second-half substitute Sharp who had been sent through the lines by Neidlinger, changed that feeling with 22 minutes with a man-advantage for Indy. Neidlinger has been thrust into his role due to the back line injuries, and he's still a young player growing into his skills. Today, though, he had some nervy moments on the right side as he lost his man or overran them. He'll eventually get better, but a team of Charleston's talent had moments against him that could have gone poorly for Indy. Yet it was his ball that put the team in a position to get points out of the game against one of the best teams in the league, and one of the most in form teams.

Charleston came into the game against Indy in spectacular form. They were undefeated in 5 games, and with their 4-1 victory against Loudoun United last week, equaled a record for most goals in a 3-game span with 14 goals. They tied the record with...themselves. The 2024 squad also scored 14 goals in a 3-game span, starting from a 4-2 victory against...Indy. Colton Swan has scored 7 goals in the league and 10 across all competitions. Maalique Foster had scored in 4 consecutive games coming into tonight's game, his longest scoring streak in the USL Championship. Indy managed to keep them scoreless tonight.

Indy has had some rough results against Charleston in the past with a 4W-7L-2D record against the Battery, and hadn't beaten Charleston since 2023. Cards change games, and Smith's deserved red card in the 68th minute did exactly that. There aren't a lot of the game stats that point to an Indy victory, other than Indy's ability to get their shots on target at a higher rate than the Battery. Indy didn't have as many chances, but they did a better job of converting their chances. The red card also allowed Indy to hold onto the ball more and stifle the attack that Charleston had going for them before the ejection.

Indy continues to have games in hands on all the teams above them and don't have another game until the 15th. Indy has a definite back-loaded schedule so it's good they can get results like tonight despite the heat. Indy return to action in a week and a half on the road against Miami who play tomorrow and then next week in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, which Indy no longer has to deal with due to completing their group stage games and not advancing in the tournament. How Indy survives the back-loaded schedule with the continued string of injuries is going to go a long way to determining whether this team exceeds the preseason expectations of them being a fringe playoff team.

Game Beckons Game Ball

This afternoon's GBGB goes to a player whose stats don't exactly pop off the page; just 2 of 5 duels won and 1 of 4 aerial duels won. However, Barry was averaging less than 16 minutes per game and always late in the game. Due to the injury to Paco Craig, tonight was Barry's first start and he had to go the full 90 minutes. Against a team with as much offensive power as Charleston, and with as few minutes as he's played this year, Barry did as well as a job as possible. It might not always be the best factor in who gets the GBGB, but I think it's as valid a reason as any tonight. As each injury has occurred this season, it's been the "next man up" mentality and this afternoon's next man up was Barry.

Indy Eleven vs Toledo Villa FC - 05.09

Summary

- Opponent: Toledo Villa FC
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-1 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Lee, Kruer, Mill, Brecht, Dardano, Guthrie, Johnson, Jodoin, Sochacki, DeMartino

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Joyce 61' (Johnson); Jennings 61' (DeMartino); Chatterton 77' (Lee); Adam 77' (Kruer); Satterfield 86' (Brecht)

- Unused: Phillips, Cueto, May

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Kruer 14' (Sochacki)
IND - Own Goal 35'
TOL - Clark 45'+2'
IND - Johnson 47' (unassisted)

- Bookings: 

IND - DeMartino 31' (Yellow)
IND - Hodsden 80' (Yellow)

- Referee: Rachel Glago

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy began this year's USL W League season a bit slow, scoring just 4 goals through the first 4 games, including being shutout in two of those games. Once they found their scoring boots or held some kind of bad voodoo cleanse, the goals have come in bunches and the results have been drastically different. In the last 4 games, Indy has averaged 5.5 goals/game, scoring 6 goals twice, 7 goals once, and a paltry 3 goals once against Racing Louisville. Tonight's opponent, Toledo Villa FC, came into the game having scored just 3 goals total all season while conceding 24 times in route to a 0W-0D-7L record. Tonight they rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with just 2 substitutes. Let me repeat that a different way. As Norman Dale said in Hoosiers, "my team is on the floor," which wasn't far from being Toledo's mentality. It also goes back to what I've said before. Indy's depth can wear out some of the teams in this division. Even if they weren't overmatched from the start, with just two subs, Toledo didn't stand much chance if they somehow managed to keep it close late. As it turned out, Indy got on the board early, added to it, and overcame a rare mistake that lead to a Toledo goal , and finished with a 3-1 to do their part of trying to make the playoffs.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Indy got themselves on the board early in the half when Mac Kruer's height came through on a Sochacki corner kick. Indy was dominating the beginning stages of the game, but were struggling to find their moment on goal. Indy had a half dozen crosses that went through untouched showing that they were dominant in possession, but just a step behind with each other. Indy looked rushed in the final third taking crosses before there was somebody in a position or taking rushed shots AT goal, not ON goal. The goal took some of the pressure off as it related to the need to get the win, but Toledo showed much more pressure on the ball tonight than they did in the previous game.

As the first half was about to conclude, Edwards made one of her rare mistakes and misplayed a ball when Toledo's Clark pressured her and the ball got stuck under Edwards' feet. Clark pounced on the ball and calmly passed it into the goal to pull the visitors back within a goal going into the halftime locker. 

Indy came out of the half determined to restore the multi-goal advantage. Johnson latched onto a ball near the 18-yard box, beat one defender, and put a ball across the goal and out of the reach of Sluss to get the goal differential back to 2 within 2 minutes of the restart. From there, Indy's gas pedal remained firmly planted to the floor to try and further increase that lead and wear down the short-staffed Toledo. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

While the shots continued to get added to the score sheet, Johnson's early second half goal was the last of the scoring for the game. Toledo finished with just 3 shots, none of them on target, while Indy finished with 24 shots, 13 of them on target forcing Sluss into 10 saves, but Indy couldn't find another goal. 

While all this was going on in Indy, the fans, staff, and players were keeping an eye on the other game taking place tonight in Dayton as the Dutch Lions faced off against Racing Louisville. With Louisville's final game of the season against the winless Toledo team, Dayton looked to be Indy's best chance to slide into the playoffs if Dayton could get anything out of the game. Even just a draw would have been sufficient for Indy's strong finish to the season and their +23 goal differential to be enough to move on into the playoffs. Both teams scored within the first 11 minutes; Racing first in the 1st minute and then Dayton twice in the 6th and 11th minutes. Both teams then added one more goal apiece before halftime to give the home team Dayton a 3-2 lead at the break. A 58th minute goal from Racing brought the game back level and the nervousness set in. Racing added to their total with an 87th minute goal, likely ending Indy's chances of continuing their season. While no team from the Valley Division has officially clinched, it seems doubtful that Toledo will be able to go to the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center and come away with another but another loss.

Indy's early season lack of finishing that lead to an opening game draw against Louisville and back-to-back shutout losses to Dayton and Louisville means that Indy is going to not be a part of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Indy is arguably the best team in the Division, but in a sprint 9-game season, every single game and every single point matters. The team did everything they could don in the back half of the short season, but the two losses and draw took the control of their fate out of their hands. It looked like Dayton was going to do Indy a solid and get a draw against Racing, but they couldn't hold on at the end. 

Indy have to wait until it's official on Saturday when Racing Louisville and Toledo wrap up the Division's last game, but the players, coaches, and staff looked dejected after tonight's game after the news of the other game's result became clear. Despite the 3-1 win and the 25 to 2 goal differential over the last 5 games, another season likely came to an end tonight. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

Three players stuck out to me tonight. Given that it's likely the last game of the 2026 season, I'm going to give the GBGB to each of them. Jodoin continued to be dynamic in the attack, fearing no defender, and being willing to take shots from anywhere and everywhere. Johnson did her best to try and control the midfield while still getting into the attack. And the puzzle piece that keeps all of the attack going is the defensive effort and leadership of Kruer. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

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.

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.08

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 7-1 W

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

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Jodoin); May 67' (Sochacki); Johnson 67' (Dardano); Gillespie 78' (Smith); Chatterton 84' (Lee)

- Unused: Phillips, Hamm, Kikuchi, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 16' (assist Jodoin)
IND - Lee 38' (assist Brecht)
DAY - McKinney 43' (assist Kerins)
IND - Guthrie 54' (Hodsden)
IND - Own Goal 65'
IND - Kruer 70' (assist Guthrie)
IND - Johnson 83' (Penalty Kick)
IND - Guthrie 87'

- Bookings:

DAY - Powell 58' (Yellow)
DAY - McKinney 78' (Yellow)
IND - Lee 80' (Yellow)
DAY - Brunetti 83' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jordan Hindes

Thoughts and Opinions

It's been 7 days since Dayton was here on Sunday, but in the week between the games, the visitors from Ohio weren't able to locate any other players and continued to just travel with a very limited roster, having just 4 substitutes available, while Indy had their full compliment. As with the game on Sunday, the ability to have fresh legs late looked to be a potential advantage for Indy if the game was in doubt. The game wasn't fully in doubt late, but things did get out of hand as Indy scored two goals in the first half and another 5 in the second half to secure a 7-1 win. 

Guthrie put a shot off the crossbar from the kickoff to signify that Indy was going to be on the attack. Dayton to their credit were much more engaged early to get the first official shot on target in the game. The ball went straight to Edwards, but it was clear that Dayton was looking to not leave Indy conceding 6 goals again. They once against put themselves into a bad spot though when Jodoin split two defenders near the right corner and then found a wide open Sochacki at the penalty spot who made no mistake with her shot passed Brandon. As with the game on Sunday, Dayton increased their intensity again after the first goal. The visitors were going to refuse to go down easily for a second time in a week.

The Lions nearly equalized in the 25th minute when a rare mistake in Indy's defense nearly came back to hurt them. Edwards was forced to come off her line and the ball was pushed around her. The centering cross rolled within feet of the goal line, but managed to go across the entire face of goal without a player from either team. Indy dodged the bullet, but Dayton had a really good opportunity to bring the game back to level.

As has been the trend this week, Indy dominated all the offensive stats going into the halftime locker room, including a second crossbar hit, the second one coming from Sochacki. However, Dayton made good on an opportunity as the half was winding down. McKinney received the ball from Kerins around 25 yards away from goal and immediately turned and went straight at goal. Before any of the Indy defenders could step close enough to her, she took a shot from outside the box that Edwards appeared to think it was going to go over the crossbar, but it suddenly dipped down and slide just under the bar to get the visitors on the board. As the teams went into the break, Indy could have, and probably should have, scored a couple more goals, but Indy's rushed shots and Dayton's defense kept the Lions within range.

Dayton came out of the locker room looking to make an immediate impact and change the tenor of the game with two really good opportunities on goal. Indy's defense and Edwards made a mistake and Dayton was nearly in on goal uncontested. The Indy defense managed to recover just enough to get the ball to trickle just wide of Edwards' post. The gauntlet was thrown down though that Dayton was not going to go quietly. 

After the early threats at the Indy goal, Indy decided that they were still going to play and found a third goal after second half substitute Hodsden got the ball away from her defender and did what she does; she went at goal. Instead of continuing to goal, she put in a cross that Guthrie redirected into the goal with her stomach to restore Indy's 2-goal lead.

The 3rd goal wasn't the game winner, nor was it the last of the scoring, but it was the precursor of things to come. Indy scored four more times after Guthrie's goal, including a second from Guthrie, an Own Goal, and a penalty kick from Johnson, fresh from her return playing with the USWNT U20s in Spain. 

A week ago, Indy sat behind Dayton and Louisville, needing to get wins to put themselves in contention to make the playoffs as the Valley Division winners. 7 days and 3 games later, Indy have done everything they needed to give themselves a chance. Three victories and 22 goals to put them on top of the division is all you can ask from a group of women who have only played 8 games together. Now Indy have to sit and wait to determine how important the Toledo game will be. If Dayton doesn't take points off of Louisville in one of their upcoming two games, it's still feasible that Indy's recent dominance of the Valley Division could be for naught.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Sitting a few seats away from Greg Rakestraw during the game, I could hear him reference me in the telecast and who he thought I might choose for tonight's GBGB winner. His guess was that I might select Brecht, who I admit had a legitimate argument to get the GBGB. Much of the first half went through her on the right side and she routinely blasted up field and caused issues for the Dayton defense. However... I have to give the GBGB to Guthrie. Sometimes the selected GBGB player comes down to a feeling about who sticks out for me. Sometimes it's that plus who fills up the stat sheet. Guthrie kept showing up for me as someone who was going non-stop to get to the balls or win them back. She also scored a brace, had an assist, had 9 of Indy's 22 shots, committed 5 fouls, and had the audacity to try and chip the Dayton keeper on the opening kickoff. Rakestraw is correct that Brecht is deserving, but tonight's GBGB goes to Guthrie.

Photo - Don Thompson Photograpy

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 13.11

Summary

- Opponent: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
- Location: Stadium
- Attendance: 5,977
- Final Score: 1-0 L

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

- Substitution: Okello 72' (Kizza); Barry 72' (Craig); Omar 82' (Mitrano)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Sharp, Sing, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
PIT- Kelp 90'+2' (assist Barnes)

- Bookings:

PIT - Barnes 10' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 21' (Yellow) 
IND - Craig 56' (Yellow)
PIT - Mikoy 62' (Yellow)
IND - Neidlinger 90'+5' (Yellow)
PIT - Dikwa 90'+6' (Yellow)

- Referee: Nabil Bensalah

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Full Time Heat Map

I was at the Indy Eleven women's game, but watched the replay of the game, while also watching World Cup games and the replay of the Women's NCAA Track & Field pole vault championships (I had a lot of screens going tonight...). What I saw from the Indy men was about what we've come to expect from an Indy vs Pittsburgh game over the years. A low-scoring, defense-heavy affair with a lot of the game played in the middle half of the field. Nothing all that surprising.

What is surprising is how many times Indy continues to late games slip late. Even more surprising is how Dick lets a ball go through his legs in the 90'+2' to take Indy's point on the road and throw it in the Monongahela River. Dick has frequently spilled balls this year and frequently at inopportune times. Tonight was another example.

With the result, Indy's stay at 2nd in the table comes tumbling down as they settle back down to 6th place with the other results tonight. Indy does have at least one (and up to 3) game in hand on the teams ahead of them. Such is the nature of the East this year when Louisville had a four-game losing streak and had to get a late equalizer against Brooklyn to not start another losing streak, and Tampa finally showed they're mortal by losing to Hartford. 

Indy's roster is all kinds of decimated with Coach McAuley doing what he can to make something work with what he has left. Rumor is that there will be a new player announced soon to help with the lack of bodies. Indy return to action next Wednesday against the same Brooklyn team that beat them in the opening game and nearly beat Louisville tonight. Then they'll travel to Lexington next Saturday to complete a long week with their final group game in the Prinx Tires USL Cup.

Indy Eleven vs Racing Louisville - 05.07

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-0 W

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

- Substitution: Jennings 45' (Jodoin); Codd 45' (Dardano); Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Chatterton 64' (Lee); Adam 64' (Kruer); Chong 77' (Smith); Hamm 83' (Guthrie)

- Unused: Phillips, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 4' (assist Mills)
IND - Guthrie 36' (assist Smith)
IND - Jennings 62' (assist Codd)

- Bookings:

LOU - Snyder 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Dana Hackney

Thoughts and Opinions

Three games in 7 days is a lot on the legs, particularly when the games may realistically determine whether you make it into the playoffs. Even more so when the two teams you are playing in those games are the most likely other alternatives to get that playoff spot, and they don't have any other games in the same period. Additionally, unlike Sunday's game where Dayton brought 3 substitutes, Racing Louisville rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with 19 players so Indy's ability to outwork and tire their opponent late was not going to be an option. Fortunately for Indy Eleven fans, Indy got on the board early, added to it twice more, and kept Louisville off the scoreboard to stay in the race for the Divisional lead with the season winding down. A lot left to play for in the final two games, and hope Louisville drop points in one of their final games, but Indy had 3 things on the To Do list this week - well, technically, it was one thing, but do it 3 times... win - and they have checked off two of those boxes.

Indy got off to a quick start when Mills put a ball through the Louisville lines. It didn't look like it was originally intended to be for Sochacki, but that's who latched onto the ball as it rolled into the box. Reece collected it nicely and put the ball over Lee and off the underside of the crossbar before the ball bounced beyond the line for the opening, and game-winning, goal.

After the goal, possession skewed towards Louisville, but they weren't able to get many good shooting opportunities from it. Much of that ineffectiveness in the final third was due to the defensive prowess of Mills, Kruer, Brecht, and Lee who seemed to be perpetually in the right places to stifle the attacks. Racing do a good job of playing spaces and working their way through the midfield, but Indy's tenacious defending constantly put them in positions to take the ball away or eventually force Racing into locations where they couldn't do anything with the ball.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the half began to wind down, it could be easily argued that despite being down a goal, Racing was the better team...other than in their final third. Indy had 8 shots to Racing's 2 as the half closed. In the 36th minute, against the run of play, Indy found a second goal through a moment of brilliance from Guthrie. She found herself in open space 35-yards from goal and audaciously put a shot over the goalkeeper and tucked under the bar in the far corner to double Indy's lead that stunned everybody in attendance and completely surprised Lee. "Take me home momma and put me to bed. I have seen enough to know I have seen too much." When you have to get a win, putting your opponent down by two going into the halftime locker room creates a different momentum feeling than if they're only down by one.

The second half started with four consecutive corners for Indy, but after that the early part of the half had the same feel as the first half with Racing holding a significant portion of the possession in their defensive half of the field, but couldn't get much accomplished in the final third. That lack of attacking results were not Indy's problem as the shots continued to pile up until Jennings added a third goal in the 62nd minute. Indy finished the game with a 22 to 4 shot advantage, with 11 of those 22 shots being on target. Edwards, conversely, was credited with just 2 saves, neither of which I would consider to be overly threatening.

At this point, everything was finished but the whistle. Indy had some decent chances, while Louisville's offense continued to fizzle out in the final third. When the final whistle sounded, Indy took another step closer to potentially making the playoffs again, while Louisville knew their fates were now also on a razor thin edge. Everybody except Toledo still have a chance and everything to play for in the final two weeks of games.

Indy returns to the Grand Park Event Center on Saturday to play Dayton Dutch Lions for the second time in 7 days. Indy can't win the Division on Saturday, but they can lose it. It's still win out or definitely stay home. Any dropped points now will put them out of contention for the Valley Division's playoff spot.

 

Game Beckons Game Ball

It's a bit unfair that I haven't done this yet this season, but Indy's defense has been stout all season, never conceding more than 1 goal in any of the games and collecting three straight clean sheets. Indy's offense has finally started to connect on the shots they were missing early in the season and winning results have followed. However, a constant through all the results has been the play of defender Mac Kruer. The center back has been solid and constantly settled the Louisville attack that often made it through Indy's midfield far too easily. I'm going to throw in her CB-pairing of Mills, and the combined pair get tonight's GBGB for their constant effort against a very dangerous Racing Louisville attack. 

Photos: Don Thompson Photography