Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 04.08

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Athletic Complex
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 4-0 L

- Starting XI: Phillips, Adam, Pinto (C), Kruer, Albert, Joyce, Yamazaki, Smith, Komori, Sochacki, May

- Substitution: Beasley 45' (Joyce); Satterfield 45' (Albert); Malin 60' (Kruer); Jennings 60' (Sochacki); Budish 70' (May); Pittman 70' (Smith) 

- Unused: Wyatt

Scoring Summary:
LEX - Mitchell 3' (assist ??)
LEX - Mitchell 35' (assist Snyder)
LEX - Mitchell 56' (assist ??)
LEX - Mitchell 68' (assist ??)

- Bookings:

None

- Referee: ??

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

It's hard to beat a team three times in a season. It's harder to beat a team three times when the coach is a former member of your club. It's even more difficult when you're without some of your main cogs of leadership due to injury (or other life obstacles). That challenge gets even further exacerbated when the third game of the three games is on their home field, and you absolutely positively have to beat them. Indy's up or down season continued, and a 4-nil loss brought their playoff hopes to a definite and depressing end. For the first time in the history of the USL W League, Indy Eleven will not be a part of the playoff portion of the schedule. Putting the final FINISHED stamp on Indy's playoff hopes were some of the former players that followed Coach Dolinsky to Lexington. Natalie Mitchell scored a hat trick +1, with at least one of those being assisted by Hadley Snyder. 

With Edwards' callup to the US Soccer Talent ID camp, Kate Phillips picked up her first start of the 2025 season. However, that meant that the team was now without three of the main parts of the defensive spine of the team, with Edwards, Bahr, and Molloy all not making the trip to Lexington. Bahr's and Molloy's absences required some more shuffling of the starters by Coach Kim, with Pinto dropping back in the defense next to Kruer. 

At least I assume that was how they lined up. The camera feed for the game continued to show an empty field. Shortly after I questioned the empty field on X, the livestream stopped and Indy's Ian Gilmour responded back to me indicating:

"Sounds like they moved from normal field with the men’s game on ESPN2, assuming the broadcast was still routed to that camera. Hearing they are actively trying to fix it though."

From everything I didn't see, it looked like they didn't manage to get it fixed. The stream on sportsengine never restarted, and Lexington's X channel was silent throughout the entirety of the game. So the other teams in the division still lag way behind Indy when it comes to its telecast of the games. Even if they had been pointing the camera at the correct field, you could see from stream that it was just one of those cameras on a telescoping pole that tracks the action. Or no action in this case, and no commentary. 

Indy still have two games remaining, both at home, so fans still have a chance to root for the team to do well against Racing Louisville and Dayton Dutch Lions next Tuesday and Friday, respectively. The playoffs may be out of reach, but I'm sure I won't be the only one in Grand Park wishing the players well as they try to finish the season with a couple of high notes.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Given the lack of a stream, it's impossible for me to personally give out the GBGB. 

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 04.05

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 5-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Chatterton, Bahr (C), Kruer, Albert, Yamazaki, Pinto, Smith, Chester, Williams-Osswald, Soderstrom-Bulger

- Substitution: Komori 61' (Chester); Adam 61' (Chatterton); Sochacki 73' (Bulger); Joyce 73' (Yamazaki); Beasley 79' (Smith); Budish 79' (Osswald); White 79' (Albert)

- Unused: Wyatt, Molloy

Scoring Summary:
IND – Pinto 6' (assist Smith)
IND - Osswald 26' (assist Yamazaki)
IND - Osswald 44' (assist Bulger)
IND - Chester 45' (unassisted)
IND - Sochacki 85' (assist Bahr)

- Bookings:

LEX - Sexton 36' (Yellow)

- Referee: ??

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

In the midst of an unprecedented losing streak for The Girls in Blue, having Lexington show up at Grand Park was not the team Indy was most eager to see. Former Coach and former teammates on the other side of the ball, and the second of three times playing the team from Lexington, creates a chess match of tactics. Coming into the night, Indy likely would have preferred to see Dayton, a team that's conceded a lot of goals this season, but you have to play the team in front of you when they're scheduled. By the end of the night, Indy had defeated Lexington 5-nil and showed that when they play to their potential, they're still a good team. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

The game within the game was always what intrigued me about the games against Lexington this year. In the first outing a few weeks ago, Indy was without Chester, Bulger (Soderstrom), and Osswald (Williams) so that was a new wrinkle for Lexington to defend. But, Coach Dolinsky really knows what all those players are capable of providing to Indy. But, I've always been impressed with Osswald's tactical IQ and I knew she would be able to figure out and adjust to whatever Coach Dolinsky wanted his defenders to do against her and Bulger. Whoever could win the chess match, the game within the game, was going to be the one to come out on top tonight. That, and if Indy could be clinical and avoid the woodwork like last week's game...

It was Indy that got out of the gates fast, scoring a 6th minute goal off the boot of Pinto who took a long-range shot that found the lower right corner of the goal. Unlike their male counterparts who scored an early goal on Wednesday and then became more defensive-minded, Coach Kim and the women are not inclined to do that. Knowing that Coach Dolinsky also wants to attack and then attack some more, the potential for more goals by both teams was high with 84 minutes to go. In the early stages of the game, Coach Dolinsky had his Lexington side overloading the midfield when they were in possession, regularly leaving just two defenders back. Indy's early goal and propensity to go forward caused him to rethink that strategy for a little bit, but quickly dropped back into that tactic. 

Interestingly, both coaches could be easily heard barking commands to their players over the sparse crowd, telling each other what they were doing or wanting to do. The chess match is a bit more interesting when you can hear what your opponent is thinking.

Osswald doubled the advantage in the 26th minute that she admitted to me was intended to be a cross that she mishit slightly. So instead of the ball finding a path along the 6-yard box for an on-rushing teammate, it drifted towards the goal. Garrity was unable to push it over the bar cleanly and it dropped into the goal after a couple of deflections off the post and her knee. Given that it was headed into the goal without the touches from the goalkeeper, Osswald was given credit for the goal. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the half began to close, Lexington's Garrity made a questionable decision trying to play out of the back that nearly resulted in a goal by Bulger who hadn't given up on the ball. Garrity just barely got the ball out of her feet and across the end line for a corner kick. Looking flustered by conceding two goals and nearly giving up a third, Indy's forwards smelled blood in the water and became persistent. Immediately before the clock ran out of regulation time, Osswald brought down a ball near the six-yard box, took a touch to her left that freed a window when her defender overran the ball, and Osswald put a left-footed shot under the outstretched leg of the recovering defender and passed Garrity who was leaning the wrong direction. Seconds later, Chester intercepted a ball being played out of the back by Lexington and immediately ran at the goal. A slight push of the ball to the left, and she uncorked a left-footed shot to the right side of the goal. At halftime, Coach Dolinsky had his backup keeper, Bolton, warming up, realizing his starting net minder was rattled having given up 4 goals in the half.

After the break, Coach Dolinsky made two other changes in addition to his keeper trying to breath some life into his shell-shocked squad. For the first ten minutes, the game was very even with both teams getting opportunities on goal. However as much as Lexington wanted to control and overload the midfield, it was Indy's midfield that was up to the task and stifled the Lexington offense. The midfielders and defenders put themselves in good positions to limit whatever Lexington was trying to do. They switched well as Lexington tried to change the point of attack, and recovered nicely when Lexington did get balls into the final third.

Indy and Lexington have now played each other twice in this compact, fast-paced season. So far, Coach Kim is getting the best of his former boss in this chess match:

Indy Eleven 7 - Lexington SC 0

Coach Kim 2 - Coach Dolinsky 0

This team isn't used to losing, and a 5-nil clean sheet helps restore some of the confidence for the upcoming games that Indy are going to need to win to stay in the conversation for the Division title and the playoffs. The official stats indicate that Indy had 11 shots and Lexington goalkeepers had 4 saves. 4 saves + 5 goals = 9 shots on target. 9 shots on target out of 11 shots = 81.8% shot accuracy. That also helps with confidence.

Indy return to action next Wednesday when they go on the road to face Kings Hammer.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Tonight, the GBGB isn't going to a single player. Coach Dolinsky brought his Lexington squad to Indy and put them into a 2-5-3 arrangement while in attack, severely overloading the midfield. Not discounting the effort from Indy's back four, which did a stellar job, the midfield, anchored by Pinto in the holding midfielder position, completely stifled the Lexington midfield. In the second half, it was clear that they had run out of ideas on how to get through the Indy midfield. In the rare occasions when they did, Bahr and company helped put out any of those fires. The midfield four of Pinto, Yamazaki, Smith, and Chester get tonight's GBGB for their ability to take away what Lexington wanted to do.

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 04.01

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Grand Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Albert, Bahr, Molloy, White, Smith, Komori, Pinto, Yamazaki, Sochacki, Abbe

- Substitution: Satterfield 45' (White); Williams-Osswald 63' (Sochacki); Joyce 63' (Joyce); Guthrie 72' (Komori); May 72' (Abbe); Malin 83' (Albert)

- Unused: Wyatt, Kruer, Touhey

Scoring Summary:
IND - Bahr 8' (unassisted freekick)
IND - Williams-Osswald 90' (assist Guthrie)

- Bookings:

IND - Williams-Osswald 83' (Yellow)

- Referee: Dana Hackney

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

As soon as it was announced that Lexington was in the Valley Divisionwith Indy Eleven, I became concerned about this game. When the schedule was released and it was announced that the home opener was against Lexington, my concern was elevated. When the rosters for teams were announced, the concept of Indy's first home opener loss looked to be a real potential. Lexington's coach is Paul Dolinsky, Indy's former coach. Coach Dolinsky poached some of Indy's last year roster and brought 5 of them with him tonight to face his and their former club. Coach Dolinsky knows everything about this club, from how current Coach Kim wants to play to how many of the Indy players play since he has coached many of them on this USL W League team and during their youth careers. It's impossible to discount the advantage for Lexington of having an inherent knowledge of Indy, when the teams face each other three times this year.

The league, and specifically this conference, is getting better and Indy's recent stranglehold on the lone playoff spot for the Division could be in jeopardy this year. Not today(s) though as Indy scored an early goal and a late insurance goal to get a 2-nil victory in one of the more unique matches in the team's history.

A few minutes into the game a storm passed over the facility, knocking out part of the power, then all the power. With the field partially bathed in about 1/4 of the normal LED lighting, the referee and the club decided that for the safety of the players, the game would be temporarily delayed. Temporarily turned into long, which turned into a delay that lasted approximately 13 hours. When it became apparent that the battery back-up for the lighting might not last much longer, the stands were evacuated. However, the teams both decided to wait until 10:00 PM to see if Duke Energy could get the power going again. At 10:00 PM, both teams headed to homes and hotels, to get some rest before an 8:30 AM restart on Saturday morning.

Bright and early Saturday morning, both teams kicked off again with 3 minutes and 38 seconds on the clock that they had been able to play before the previous night's delay. While sitting around Friday night hoping to get restarted, I asked Coach Kim if he was able to get anything out of the first 3-1/2 minutes? "I think I know how Pauly wants to play." Coach Kim continued his back four arrangement from the night before, while Coach Dolinsky stayed with his back three arrangement that often felt like it transitioned to a back two when Lexington was in attack. 

Minutes after the restart, the Lexington defense had a miscommunication and lost their location on the field, resulting in a handball by former Indy goalkeeper Nona Reason. From the sideline, you could hear Coach Dolinsky yelling to his keeper to get back in goal, fearing a quick restart before his team was prepared. The teams set up for a typical restart, but it was Indy stalwart Grace Bahr who stepped up and put a perfect left-footed shot around the Lexington wall and out of the reach of Reason to get the scoring started. The atypical mistake from Reason put her current team in the hole behind her former team.

Lexington, as previously mentioned, is a good squad and dominated portions of this game. Indy had some moments in the 1st and 2nd halves, but the home team officially had half as many shots (my unofficial stats were a little different) going into the halftime break. 

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

In the 70th minute, there was a shot from Lexington that looked destined for the upper 90, but Edwards stretched and knocked the ball away for a corner kick. Even at the time, that felt like a difference maker in the game. Had Lexington scored there with 20-minutes left to play, this might have been a different game. As it was, Indy's substitutes that had come on at the 63rd minute (Williams-Osswald & Joyce), and then shortly after Edwards' save in the 72nd minute (Guthrie & May) did exactly what you want your substitutes to do; they affected the game. Williams-Osswald (and yes, I know that they team is officially just referencing her by her married name, but I want a distinguisher in my stats to show that Williams and Osswald are the same person, so for me, she gets the hyphen...I hope she doesn't mind) immediately showed her ability and IQ, getting called for both of Indy's offside calls. Both were either really close or completely wrong. From my angle, the second one was an incorrect call, and Maddy was upset enough about it that she picked up a yellow card for her dissent. Elise May came on and quickly, literally and figuratively, became at thorn in the Lexington defense's side. She had pace, skill, and a desire to attack. Guthrie eventually won a ball that got to Williams-Osswald for the insurance goal in the 90th minute. 

What stood out for me in the game were the tactics from both coaches. We all know Dolinsky likes to play attacking soccer. Coach Kim has also stated he wants to play the same kind of style. However, in this game, Coach Dolinsky's lineup and back 3 (or 2) defenders caused a drastic overload in the midfield. With Bahr and Malloy anchoring Indy's back four, Indy was athletic enough and disciplined enough to weather the efforts. They kept almost everything in front of them, switched players as Lexington moved across the field, and made good defensive interventions when required. By the end of the game, the Lexington players looked like they were unsure how to find the key to unlock the Bahr-led defense, and Coach Kim released his subs to attack over the top. 

Knowing these teams will face each other two more times, the chess match has been started. Both coaches have now seen some of what the other wants and can do, and both are going to have to adapt and provide some wrinkles. Coach Kim made a Star Wars padawan/master reference in the post-game, so he understands it's difficult to face the person has been your mentor the past three seasons. With the weather delay, the mentor/apprentice relationship made for a very interesting game and storyline.

Indy head to Dayton next week to face the new kids in the Division, a team who Racing Louisville beat 9-0 on Wednesday. Long-time Indy fans are familiar with the Dayton Dutch Lion organization as their men's team was Indy Eleven's first U.S. Open Cup in 2014, when Blake Smith scored Indy's first hat trick in a 5-2 win. With goal differential being a part of the tiebreakers, hopefully Indy can keep pace with Racing when Indy faces Dayton.

It was good to see Coach Dolinsky. It was good to see some old players. As an Indy Eleven fan, it was good to see the home squad get the win over our former players and coach. Now we're back to #IndyEleven. At least until June 6th when the two teams face each other again, also at Grand Park. 

Hopefully, it only takes one day to play that game though.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Oh Captain, My Captain! Game-winner. Defensive anchor. There were some good performances by a few players, including the aforementioned Edwards and Williams-Osswald, but Bahr's effort and leadership is a good portion of the reason Indy managed to withstand the Lexington offensive effort. For the first GBGB of the season, Bahr showed why she has been so important to the team in its now four seasons.

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 12.02

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Stadium
- Attendance: 4,299
- Final Score: 1-1 D

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

- Substitution: Ofeimu 64' (White); Bryneus 70' (Foster); Amoh 82' (Kizza); Lindley 82' (Blake)

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

Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 60' (unassisted)
LEX - Epps 79' (assist Rodrigues)

- Bookings:

IND - Kizza 24' (Yellow)
LEX - Beer 28' (Yellow)
LEX - Djeffal 36' (Yellow)
IND - Musa 45'+1' (Yellow)
LEX - Burks 62' (Yellow)
LEX - Sargeant 90'+5' (Yellow)

- Referee: Arroyo

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy started their 2025 campaign with a 3-1 victory on the road in Miami, who are starting 2025 much like they did all of 2024. Indy climbed into the bus, and traveled down to Lexington as they continued their 2025 campaign against the newest member of the USL Championship. While this was Indy's second official game in the new year, this was Lexington's fourth official game, having played two previous league games as well as an Open Cup game. Including this game's 1-1 result, the new squad remains undefeated in their inaugural season as a USL-C member. Indy, to their credit also remain undefeated on the year.

Coach McAuley came into this year stating that he would like to have the team play on the ball more. Through two games, this is looking to be more of a challenge than he might have expected, particularly given the opposition. Indy rode three set-piece first half goals to a victory in Miami, but was on the short side of the possession battle, 60/40. That possession difference was amplified against Lexington who held a 70/30 advantage. Yes, it's important to note when and where those possessions take place, but in the case of Lexington this week, there were large portions of the possession in Indy's defensive third. The first twenty minutes was full of last ditch defending by Indy as Lexington lived in Indy's defensive half to third of the field. Indy would eventually settle in to some extent, but it was still a far cry from what could be considered "more on the ball" for Indy's 2025 adjustments from 2024. It's still early in the season, and Indy is working some new players into the lineup, so we'll see how things change as the season progresses.

Indy is spreading around the scoring though early in the season. Four goals have been scored by four different players. This week's goal was scored by Rendon, last year's USL League One Defender of the Year while playing for our club legend Eamon Zayed at Northern Colorado Hailstorm. Indy have also had a lead in both games but not been capable of keeping a clean sheet.

Again, still early in the season, so we'll see how both of those trends continue.

Indy finally get a chance to play in front of their home fans when they kick-off a two-game homestand this coming Saturday night in a game against the defending champion Colorado Springs Switchbacks. The Switchbacks are off to a slow start in their title-defending season, having lost once sandwiched between two draws, and sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but still have 3 former Elven players on their roster who Indy fans might see at Carroll Stadium on Saturday.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Full disclosure, I watched this game on my phone in a hotel room the night before my kid's gymnastics State meet. So to say that I didn't catch every second of the game is an understatement. It's also March Madness so there are a bunch of college basketball games on right now, which means that I don't plan on rewatching the Indy game to pinpoint who I thought was the best player. Therefore, through no fault of the team, I'm not going to give a GBGB for this game. 

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 03.08

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: LSC Youth Complex
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Reason, Pelkowski, Bahr, Snyder, Chatterton, Cherry, Rogers (C), Unkraut, Dewey, S., Chester, Jacomen

- Substitution: Darey 66' (Pelkowski); Martin 66' (Cherry); Katembo 71' (Dewey, S.); Buels 71' (Jacomen); Smith 76' (Rogers)

- Unused: Phillips, Adam

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Dewey, S. 31' (unassisted)
IND - Rogers 52' (assist Chester)

- Bookings: 

LEX - Kiesling 88' (Yellow)

- Referee: -

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

I watched this game on my phone while sitting at my kid's pole vault practice. So between the small screen and the terrible angle of the Lexington stream, I can safely say that it was nearly impossible for me to distinguish certain aspects of the game. Not trying to do the women a disservice, but due to the factors of the game and my viewing of it, I think we're just going to hit the bit items tonight. It's been a bit, but I think it's bullet recap time.

• Seriously, could that camera angle been worse. I get there was a change in venues to one that's not really set up to stream games, but that wasn't great. I haven't said it lately, but Indy is definitely spoiled with our streams thanks to ISC Sports Network and Greg Rakestraw (& Brad or Angela or Ian). I will get credit to Lexington's play-by-play/color commentator Josh Braun, who I thought did a good job. He and I disagreed on some of the stat totals, but his commentary was good.
• Change of venue - The game was moved from the Georgetown College's stadium to the Lexington youth sports complex due to the heat of the stadium's turf being unplayable. How the hell hot was that turf?! I once measured the turf at Carroll Stadium to be 137-degrees F during a mid-afternoon game in June against Pachuca, where I watched players spray water on their boots instead of drink it.
• Lexington SC, which was founded in 2021 (just 3 years ago) as a USL League One team already have their own soccer specific stadium UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Not in design. Not being considered. Under. Construction. Admittedly, the scope of their stadium is significantly less than that of Eleven Park, but things don't have to take as long as it's taken for Indy. Lexington's men's team, USL W League team, and their USL Super League team will be playing in their own stadium before Indy ever figures out what is going to become of their, seemingly, never-to-be-constructed stadium plans. 
• What started as a normal game turned into "a three hour tour" (you know the tune...). A pop-up thunderstorm in the 22nd minute resulted in an approximate 40-minute delay.
• Indy's pressure on Lexington was something to behold tonight. Defense starts with the forwards was in full effect tonight. Lexington spent large chunks of this game trying to figure out how to get out of their own defensive third. The Indy players swarmed whenever possible, and limited much possession from Lexington. 
• By my count (which, again, differed from Josh's and was calculated from a poor video on my phone), Indy had 14 shots, 9 of which were on target. Lexington had 4 shots, none of them on target. Lexington had minimal chances and couldn't do much with the ones they did generate.
• I don't see many players announced yet for Lexington's USL Super League team, but don't be surprised if/when they sign one or all of Kailey Utley, Autumn Weeks, and Trinity Watson. All have high level experience and all are the best players on their USL W League team. There just wasn't, at this point tonight, enough talent around those three to compete with a team like Indy. 
• Indy get to 22 points for the season. Technically, Kings Hammer can reach that total as well, so Indy hasn't officially clinched their playoff spot. Guess who Indy plays on Friday night. Indy could make it official around 9:00 PM with either a win or a draw when Indy travels to the Cincinnati area to face the only team that has been able to get a point from Indy this season.
• With the win, the team extends their unbeaten streak to 15 games (in official games), tying the club record set by the 2016 men's team (who had a lot more draws than this team). One more positive result would tie the 2016 team's record across all competitions (including the aforementioned international friendly against Pachuca). The team has a chance to make the semantics irrelevant with positive results to close out the season.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

With my normal refrain of "how do you pick a player to give the GBGB when the entire team is so dominant" like tonight, I do think one player gets the slight edge for me tonight. Dewey was clearly in "take it to 'em" mode early in the game with a goal in the 5th minute by being in the right place and having quick reflexes on the corner kick goal, as well as another shot that just grazed the outside of the post. Dewey's lack of hesitation at attacking Lexington's goal helped set the tone for the way the team was going to play for the rest of the game. So Dewey gets tonight's GBGB for doing exactly what the team needed from one of its veteran players on a hot night on the road.

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 03.05

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Grand Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 4-0 W

- Starting XI: Reason, Martin, Darey, Bahr, Sexton, Chatterton, Rogers (C), Mitchell, Chester, Soderstom, K., Whitsett

- Substitution: Budish 62' (Whitsett), Otto 62' (Chatterton), White 62' (Chester), Pelkowski 62' (Rogers), Unkraut 62' (Darey)

- Unused: Weiger, Cuneio

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rogers 5' (unassisted)
IND - Mitchell 6' (assist Soderstrom, K.)
IND - Rogers 19' (assist Soderstrom, K.)
IND - Soderstrom, K. 53' (assist Whitsett)

- Bookings: 

IND - Bahr 57' (Yellow)
LEX - Dawahare 69' (Yellow)

- Referee: 

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

The USL W League is a weird league. Lineups change frequently. Players are added to rosters all the time. Kings Hammer get a draw from Indy, but then give up St. Charles' first goal of the season. Coach Dolinsky is in North Carolina with the ECNL teams, and just like Indy has Abby Unkraut on the roster who played for Kings Hammer the previous two seasons, Lexington comes to town with one of our former players, Trinity Watson. Trinity played in 9 games for Indy last year, starting 8 of them, and was a steady defender. With many of the younger Indy Eleven players with Dolinsky in NC, the veterans from last year's team got to face off against their former teammate who is now captaining today's opponent. Dolinsky's presence in North Carolina also meant that in addition to the number of changes in Indy's starting lineup, assist coach Brandon Kim took the reigns for the day.

The early minutes of the game were a bit frenetic as both teams looked like they were fully aware of the magnitude of what this game could mean for the Valley Division standings. Both teams had several giveaways as they tried to settle into the game. Before either team was fully under control, Indy managed to put two goals into the Lexington goal from crosses on the right side into the box. The first one wasn't handled well by the Lexington defense nor goalkeeper Vukas and the ball fell nicely to Rogers to put it on frame and off of Vukas' hands. The second goal from Indy came from a cross from Soderstrom that Mitchell one-timed into the goal. 

The second goal also seemed to settle both teams down after the action-packed start, but continued to be played in Lexington's defensive half of the field. Lexington did manage to get a foray forward in the 16th minute that Woods pushed just to the side of the goal. However, it was just minutes later that Rogers found her second goal of the day and fifth in the past three games. Rogers had just two goals in the previous two seasons, but has found her scoring touch this season. 

Just before the 30-minute mark, Indy thought they had found a fourth goal, but it was called off by an apparent handball by the alleged goal scorer Whitsett. The referee made the call from a difficult position but checked with his lineup to confirm the call. Looking at the replays from the telecast, Indy and Whitsett had a legit complaint about the goal being taken off the board. Regardless, Indy took a three-goal lead into the halftime break.

Lexington came out of the locker room intent on getting themselves on the board and had an early chance when Martin didn't step quickly enough. The ball found a wide open Bookhard, but she dragged her shot wide, keeping Indy ahead by their three-goal margin. Indy extended their lead a few minutes later when Whitsett lofted a ball towards goal that Vukas had difficulty punching and the ball fell to Soderstrom who made no mistake with the ball to get it on her left foot and blasted it past the helpless goalkeeper from just a couple yards away. While Whitsett was officially credited with the assist, I'm not sure that I would have given it to her given the play on it from Vukas, but what do I know? I'm also splitting hairs, so I appreciate the score keeper leaning toward awarding the assist.

While Lexington had a much more concerted effort in the second half to be on the front foot and spent much more time in Indy's defensive half of the field, their final efforts continued to fail them. In the moments when they finally made all the right passes and shots, Indy's defense proved to be better and stifled the attack with last-ditch defending and saves from Reason. The talent is there for Lexington, particularly along the back line with Watson and Weeks, but it wasn't to be on this Sunday matinee.

Indy return to action on Friday in the season's second edition of the WLIPAFC when Racing Louisville come to town. Indy won the first round in Louisville by a score of 3-1, with goals from White, Cuneio, and Jacomen and missed out on the clean sheet after conceding an 89th minute goal. Racing will look to try and reel back in Indy to keep themselves in the division race while Indy will look to make make the division theirs to lose.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

On a team where the finest of margins can separate who can get the GBGB due the high level that every single one of these women play, I could easily give this to Katie Soderstrom because of her goal and two assist night or to Rogers for her brace and nobody would think me crazy. However, I think I'm going to give today's GBGB to the duo of Bahr and Martin, for a solid defensive effort that stifled all of Lexington's attacks, limiting the opposition to minimal good looks on goal. For a pair of players that have day jobs, and one that is coming off MCL rehab, I want to reward their effort and leadership in today's game.

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 02.09

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Toyota Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-0 W

- Starting XI: Reason, Kugler, Creel, Bahr, Chatterton, Hershfelt, Rogers (C), Dewey, S., Soderstrom, K., Chester, Williams

- Substitution: Watson 45' (Creel); Kraszula 45' (Kugler); Soderstrom, K. 62' (Dewey, S.); Lynch 62' (Williams); Sexton 66' (Hershfelt), Slimak 76' (Soderstrom, K.)

- Unused: Edwards

- Scoring Summary:
IND – Dewey, S 29’ (assist Hershfelt)
IND - Soderstrom, K. 43' (unassisted)
IND - Williams 45'+1' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

NONE

- Referee: ?

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Some new names for Indy in this game with Creel getting the start, and Lynch and Susie Soderstrom on the bench. Lynch is a returnee from last season with 6 starts and a goal last year, scoring the game winner in the 5th game of the season against Midwest United, and playing her last game in the 7th game against Kings Hammer. For 14-minutes tonight, we were able to see both Soderstrom women on the field at the same time. From what I saw tonight in her limited time in the second half, let's hope the younger Soderstrom takes over the Soderstrom mantle on the Indy Eleven USL-W team if her older sister finds a pro team in Europe.

Indy and Lexington split the possession early in the game until about the 20th mark when Indy seemed to settle into the game and became more patient and picking their spots in the attack. Indy had several crosses throughout the first half that went to the back post when the runs were going to the near post. Eventually in the 29th minute, Hershfelt dropped a ball near the 6-yard box that Josephson couldn't come off her line to get and Dewey ushered the ball around Josephson to get the well-deserved first goal of the game. With the exception of the first 15 minutes of the game that looked like the Lexington that I saw against Racing Louisville, Indy were in complete control of the first half with dangerous attack after dangerous attack. If the crosses had been on the same page a couple more times, this game would have been put away much earlier.

As if Lexington wasn't having a hard enough time with keeping possession and out of Indy's feet, they shot themselves in the feet twice in the dying minutes of the half with poor defenses touches that let Soderstrom and Williams in on goal. Soderstrom put a couple of shimmies and shakes on three separate defenders and then shot back across her body and away from the way that Josephson was leaning. Minutes later, another poor touch by a defender and an individual effort by Williams to get around said defender put Indy up 3-nil at halftime when Williams calmly slotted the ball to the opposite side of the goal under Josephson. 

The halftime graphics indicated that Indy had 7 shots, 4 on target, and 3 goals. That's efficient. And could have been worse for Lexington based on the possession advantage and the number of crosses that went a bit wasted by Indy. The first half was the kind of game we know Indy can provide against many teams, but I'm a little surprised it happened against Lexington. Lexington have shown signs of putting it together, particularly that game against Racing, but for now, there's still a pretty decent gap between 1st/2nd and 3rd in the Valley Division.

Indy came out of the locker room just a little more conservative and not as clean as they were in the first half, but a three-goal lead can sometimes do that to a team. Additionally, the substitutions immediately out of the locker room changed the early dynamic as it pushed Hershfelt into a centerback role. There were some weird events as Slimak missed a shot from 6-inches when she didn't get her foot turned enough and the ball went back in the direction it came instead of taking the perpendicular direction into the goal. 

The result is ideal even though the second half wasn't as high scoring as the first half. Again, the math remains easy. Keep winning, and they'll keep playing into the playoffs. Indy return home to close out the regular season with a game against St. Charles, the only team to have found a win against Indy in two seasons. Win and their in, and looking to exact revenge against that losing result, I fully expect Indy to come out and try to put that game away early.

Williams is now averaging 1 goal every 35 minutes for the past two games. I suspect we might see her in the game next Friday against St. Charles. Indy has 6 different players that are averaging a goal in less than 90 minutes, with 3 of the top 4 goal scores (3+ goals each) averaging a goal in less than 75 minutes.

• Dewey, S - a goal every 59.5 minutes
• Soderstrom, K - a goal every 148 minutes
• Whitsett - a goal every 71 minutes
• Williams - a goal every 55 minutes

There are some other higher scoring teams in the league, but I wouldn't want to face this team in the playoffs. You can't defend just one player, though I think some teams have tried to throw multiple players at Soderstom this year in that "let's not let her beat us" mentality, and eventually somebody is going to find a look to beat the defense and the goalkeeper.

One more game. That needs to be the mentality the rest of the season, and hopefully it finishes with a trophy for the club.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

You can call this a cumulative award if you want, but I think I'm going to give Reason tonight's GBGB. She has a stellar 0.2 goals against average, 4 clean sheets out of 5 starts, and played solidly tonight when called upon to do so. She had a very early poor pass that led to a giveaway and a shot by Lexington, but Reason settled in after that. It's easy to give praise to the plethora of scorers on this team, which I did just before this, but the defense might be what sets this team apart from many others and that defense was anchored by Reason tonight (Edwards is no slouch herself at 0.5 GAA and 3 clean sheets out of 4 starts). Reason played tonight, so she gets the official GBGB, but Edwards can take a piece of it if she wants. #GKUnion

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 02.06

 Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Grand Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Sexton, Martin, Bahr, Chatterton, Kraszula, Rogers (C), Vanegas, Matsuhisa, Chester, Watson

- Substitution: Whitsett 45’ (Kraszula); Soderstrom 45’ (Matsuhisa); Hershfelt 45’ (Vanegas); Kugler 61’ (Sexton); Williams 61’ (Watson); Houweling 79’ (Chester)

- Unused: Reason

- Scoring Summary:
IND – Soderstrom 61’ (assist Chester)
IND – Whitsett 81’ (assist Soderstrom)

- Bookings:

LEX – Kiesling 35’ (RED)

IND – Watson 56’ (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

When you are playing your third game in a week’s span (Fri – Tues – Fri), lineup rotation was bound to happen. If there was going to be a moment when the plethora of riches available to Coach Dolinsky as it relates to roster depth was going to make itself known, this game was it. Coming OFF THE BENCH, were Soderstrom, Hershfelt, Kugler, Whitsett, and Maddy Williams. The starting lineup still consisted of Chester, Rogers, Chatterton, and Watson. I don’t know the Lexington players, but to look at a scouting report and know that you are going to have to prepare for Indy’s top scorer last year, their leading scorer this year, and Hershfelt, and then realize that they are going to be coming off the bench as a late burst of energy has to be deflating.

You still have to play the games though, and despite the rotation required due to the number of the games in such a short period of time, Indy knew that they had to come out an play hard. Otherwise, the draw and win against Racing Louisville will go for naught if Indy can’t close out the rest of the season ahead of Racing by losing one (or more) of their remaining games against the bottom portion of the table. 

In the opening minutes of the game, Indy controlled the tempo, but Lexington worked their way into the game with some steady pressure of the Indy backline. Lexington pushed the line of pressure forcing Indy deep into the defensive third to try and play out. Lexington managed a couple of shots out of the pressure, forcing good saves from Edwards. Indy tried to take back control midway through the half, forcing their first corner of the half in the 28th minute. The corner led to a header from Matsuhisa that was kept off the line by a Lexington player before a follow-up shot from Martin that was eventually cleared by Lexington. 

A straight red card to Lexington’s Kiesling in the 35h minute changed the entire complexion of the game. Lexington had been physical to that point, but was way too physical off the ball and it cost them as the infraction did not go unnoticed by the lineswoman even though the center ref hadn’t seen it. It was always going to be a difficult task for Lexington to come into Indy and get points, but being down a player only made it more difficult. Lexington spent the remaining 15 minutes killing off the game where they could and with desperation defending, just trying to give themselves time to regroup in the halftime locker. It just felt like a goal, or more, were going to come.

Watching the game, you would like to think that Indy would have broken through before halftime, but just couldn’t get past a very stingy Lexington backline. As mentioned before, Coach Dolinsky had a plethora of available high-powered substitutions in his back pocket, with a woman advantage to help tilt the field towards Indy’s favor. Lexington’s defense proved to be stout, particularly after going down a player. The question coming out of the halftime break was whether they could continue that effort for another 45-minutes. As Dolinsky gave his halftime speech, Hershfelt, Soderstrom, and Whitsett began their warm-up process, and made their way onto the field immediately after half.

"They [Lexington] came out with everything they had. We kind of expected it. We could throw out excuses and reasons. They were playing on more rest than we were. Our third game in eight days. And I think they had a point to prove after the first meeting against them. Again, they gave us their best shots in the first half, and we absorbed them, and I think fortunately, we were able to regroup at halftime. As I told the girls [at halftime], get a little bit of the arrogance or the let down after a big win out of our system, and fortunately we didn't get punished for it."

Watson had been playing striker in the first half, but moved out to the left with the appearance of Whitsett up top, who is a more natural striker, and as we’ve seen, a goal scorer. With fresh legs up top and a player advantage, Indy began to pour on the pressure in the opening minutes. Lexington was doing everything they could do to hold some possession and counterattack whenever possible, but it felt like there was going to be a moment when their defense wouldn't be able to withstand the Indy pressure. As the game neared the 60th minute, it looked like a matter of time as Indy’s pressure was unyielding and if not for good saves and timely defensive interventions, the game looked like it would break open. It was at that point that Chester recycled a ball to a perfectly timed run from Soderstrom, and the near miss she had minutes before was not going to be duplicated as she slotted the ball below Josephson and in the far corner. 

After that, Indy kept their foot on the gas, but just struggled to find the back of the net. Indy fans began to worry that a goal for Lexington against the run-of-play was going to undo the effort. It wasn't as if the quality from Indy wasn't there though. The quality of the passes between the midfield and the forwards was spectacular. The men's team have been quoted recently saying they're a new team and are still gelling. These women played their first game together a month ago today, and they have come together much quicker than the men. There were moments in the second half that the midfield and forwards looked like they had played together for a long time, not just over a month and a half. Admittedly, there were still some wayward passes, but I'm going to blame some of that on the tired legs. As good as this team can be, there were definite moments when they looked like the week had taken something from them. I remember one ball over the top to Watson, and you could just tell that she wanted to get to it, but knew she wasn't going to make it. It's a nice problem to have that you can take Watson off and bring on Maddy Williams.

When Williams came on, she took over Whitsett's striker role, which allowed Whitsett to fall in behind Williams and distribute. I say all that, but the roles between the forward and midfield lines of Indy during the latter stages of the game was very fluid. Williams would drop back and defend for a bit and Whitsett or Soderstrom would go forward. Hershfelt and Rogers would drop back between the centerbacks to receive a ball and then find themselves in attacking positions. Even on tired legs, they were fun to watch.

Just past the 80th minute, an inch perfect ball through the lines by Williams found Soderstrom streaking up the right side, who then to proceeded to put her own first time inch perfect cross to the far post that Whitsett headed home past Josephson. After that, the main focus was holding onto the clean sheet until the final whistle. In the dying minutes, Indy had a corner kick that didn't amount to much, but instead of recirculating it back into the mixer, Indy calmly went one pass backwards, then another, all the way back to Edwards. Then Indy played keep-away for the next few minutes. The second goal took the sting out of the game, and Indy's high IQ understood time and space, and maintaining possession at that point in the game was more important than their usual attacking mindset.

Indy finish a long week with a 2W-1D-0L record and sit at the top of the table, with four games remaining. I would expect to see a rejuvenated squad next Thursday when Indy return to Grand Park to face St. Charles in the first of another 3 games in 8 day stretch (Th-Sun-Th) where they will again face Lexington on short rest. The difference will be that Lexington will have played two days prior so Indy might not see the same fight as they saw in tonight's first half.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

If you've been paying attention to my GBGB awards, it's not always the goal scorers. Sometimes it's just the player that stands out for me. Somebody who I keep thinking to myself, "they're having one hell of a game, tonight." Look, the second half substitutes changed the game, and that's nothing against players like Matsuhisa, who continues to impress me. Yet, it was one of the starters that gets tonight's GBGB. Jenna Chatterton had the task of defending Lexington's Utley for large portions of the night. Utley was fast, good with the ball, and one of the main focuses of Lexington's attack. Chatterton was faster, better with the ball, and didn't really allow Utley to get many good looks, either at goal or with passes. It's no surprise that Chatterton is fast; we've seen that from Day 1. She also takes the Becky Sauerbrunn approach to wearing her jersey's sleeve in that she would wear a tank top with the Eleven crest on it if you let her. Yet, her game IQ was on full display tonight (and not just her biceps), and combined with her lighting speed allowed her to anticipate a pass and be able to get to it to intercept to stifle a Lexington attack before it happens. 

Additional Photos - Don Thompson Photography