Indy Eleven and its place in the American Lower Division Soccer Landscape

In the Spring of 2014, Indy Eleven officially began their tenure in the North American soccer landscape, having joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) the previous Spring. Indy kicked off their club history by playing their first game on April 12, 2014 at Michael Carroll Stadium against the Carolina Railhawks in front of 11,048 fans. The game would end as a 1-1 draw, with Michael Ambersley getting Indy's first goal in the 43rd minute, only to give up the game-tying goal in the 50th minute to Shilawski. Indy struggled in their inaugural season, finishing 10th (last) in the Spring Season and 7th in the Fall Season. Indy did not get a single win in the Spring Season, but managed a 2-1 win against Carolina in the first game of the Fall Season. Indy famously did not get their first home win until October 11, 2014 against Minnesota United FC, a 2-0 result that spurred a celebratory storming of the field by the fans and is still considered to be one of the best moments in club history.

Photo Credit: Don Thompson

Indy did not pick up their first piece of hardware until winning the Spring Championship in 2016; a 4-1 win against the Carolina Railhawks, continuing a trend of having important games against Carolina and causing a second celebratory storming of the field by the fans. I have been recently reflecting on Indy Eleven's history since we have just passed the 5 year anniversary of that game, dubbed the "Miracle at the Mike" due to the number of factors that Indy had to overcome to win the title, such as the number of wins and goal differential scenarios with the New York Cosmos. As I have been thinking about Indy's only piece of hardware to date, I began wondering how much the American soccer landscape has changed since Indy joined the NASL and what it means for Indy Eleven and its fans. 

So I decided to find out.

So much background information...

Strap in, there's a lot of background. When Indy officially started playing in the NASL in 2014, there were three distinct levels of professional soccer in the American pyramid at the time. MLS was (is) at the top, holding Div I status, the NASL held Div II status, and USL Pro held Div III status. For simplicity, I'm going to mostly ignore MLS since it has maintained its Div I status, but the other two leagues have dealt with some issues with their status, much of their legal issues with their status is also going to be outside the scope of this article.

Let's first look at the teams in NASL and then in USL Pro during Indy's inaugural 2014 season. In 2014, NASL consisted of 10 teams:

1. Atlanta Silverbacks 
2. Carolina Railhawks
3. FC Edmonton
4. Fort Lauderdale
5. Indy Eleven (1st season in league; Carroll Stadium; 10,465 average attendance; Coach Sommer)
6. Minnesota United
7. New York Cosmos
8. Ottawa Fury (1st season in league)
9. San Antonio Scorpions
10. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Minnesota United and the New York Cosmos finished 1st and 2nd in the Spring Season and San Antonio and Minnesota finished 1st and 2nd in the Fall Season. As a result, Minnesota and San Antonio had automatic bids into the playoffs and then New York and Fort Lauderdale entered based on their combined records between the two seasons. San Antonio and Fort Lauderdale played in the Soccer Bowl, with San Antonio winning 2-1.

Meanwhile, the 2014 USL Pro consisted of 14 teams:

1. Arizona United SC
2. Charleston Battery
3. Charlotte Eagles
4. Dayton Dutch Lions
5. Harrisburg City Islanders
6. LA Galaxy II (1st season in league)
7. Oklahoma City Energy FC (1st season in league)
8. Orange County Blues FC
9. Orlando City
10. Pittsburgh Riverhounds
11. Richmond Kickers
12. Rochester Rhinos
13. Sacramento Republic FC (1st season in league)
14. Wilmington Hammerheads

Harrisburg and Orlando City ultimately competed in the USL Pro Championship game, with Orlando City coming away with the victory. This was also Orlando City's final season in USL as they made the move to MLS the next season. 

When Indy Eleven joined the landscape, there were 24 teams between the Div II and Div III levels. The 2015 season is where things begin to be interesting. Internally, Indy Eleven dismissed Coach Sommer mid-Spring Season and continued with interim Coach Tim Regan for the rest of the year. Externally, NASL added one more team with the Jacksonville Armada. However, USL Pro added 12 more teams, bringing the league to 24 teams after Orlando City's departure to MLS and Dayton Dutch Lions departure to the PDL (additional note, the Charlotte Independence obtained the franchise rights from the Charlotte Eagles). Combined with NASL's 11 teams, the total lower division professional soccer total was dramatically increased to 35 teams. A large part of this expansion was a result of USL Pro adding "2" teams that were directly connected to MLS teams. USL Pro added the following teams that season:

1. Austin Aztex
2. Colorado Springs Switchbacks
3. FC Montreal (MLS II Expansion)
4. Louisville City FC (obtained the USL franchise rights from Orlando City)
5. New York Red Bulls II (MLS II Expansion team)
6. Portland Timbers 2 (MLS II Expansion)
7. Real Monarchs (MLS II Expansion)
8. Saint Louis FC
9. Seattle Sounders 2 (MLS II Expansion)
10. Toronto FC II (MLS II Expansion)
11. Tulsa Roughnecks
12. Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (MLS II Expansion)

The 2016 season continued growth for both leagues as USL Pro added Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati, Orlando City B, Rio Grande Valley FC, Swope Park Rangers, and San Antonio FC, but Austin Aztex went on hiatus. NASL growth was much more modest as they added Miami FC, Rayo OKC, & Puerto Rico FC, but lost Atlanta and San Antonio. From an Indy Eleven perspective, they hired Tim Hankinson to be their new manager and drastically adjusted their roster, leading to the above mentioned Spring Season hardware.

The 2017 season is where things get even more interesting. NASL was able to maintain their Div II status, despite having only 8 teams after adding San Francisco Deltas, but losing Minnesota to MLS; Tampa and Ottawa leaving for USL, and Fort Lauderdale and Rayo OKC folding. At the same time, USL was given provisional Div II status, having added Reno FC, Tampa Bay and Ottawa from NASL, but losing FC Montreal. 

So the 2017 American soccer landscape had two separate leagues at the same level in the pyramid that looked to be going in opposite directions. By the time the 2018 season rolled around, NASL were no longer operating, finding themselves in a legal battle arguing against US Soccer's decision to place NASL as a Div III league. Conversely, USL obtained full Div II status, losing the provisional designation, but was not without some team adjustments of its own. Atlanta United 2, Fresno FC, Las Vegas Lights, and Nashville SC were added as expansion teams and Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC moved between the leagues. Orlando City B and Rochester went on hiatus and Vancouver 2 folded.

It's at this point in the Indy Eleven timeline where everything changed. Indy Eleven had joined a new league. They hired their third (non-interim) coach in its history, bringing in Martin Rennie. Home field advantage was shifted from Carroll Stadium to Lucas Oil Stadium. A new roster was created in a very short amount of time, with a large majority of the 2017 roster gone. Indy had some familiar foes as it transitioned into USL, including Louisville City FC, who they had faced regularly while in separate leagues. 

Where are they all now?

With all that extensive (and unnecessary?) background behind us, we can begin the main point of this article. When Indy Eleven began playing, there were 24 teams playing in lower divisions of American professional soccer. Of those 24 teams, there are 6 teams that have ceased operations; 2 are on hiatus; 2 have moved up a tier into MLS, 2 are in USL League One, 1 is in USL League Two, and the final 11 are in USL Championship (3 former NASL; 8 USL Pro). Here's a reminder of those teams and their status:

1. Atlanta Silverbacks - defunct
2. Carolina Railhawks - rebranded, moved leagues to USL, and now playing in Div III USL League One
3. FC Edmonton - defunct
4. Fort Lauderdale - defunct
5. Indy Eleven - moved leagues to USL and playing in Div II USL Championship
6. Minnesota United - moved to MLS
7. New York Cosmos - NISA, but on hiatus
8. Ottawa Fury - defunct
9. San Antonio Scorpions - moved leagues and playing in USL Championship
10. Tampa Bay Rowdies - moved leagues and playing in USL Championship
11. Arizona United SC - rebranded to Phoenix Rising and playing in USL Championship
12. Charleston Battery - playing in USL Championship
13. Charlotte Eagles - rights transferred to Charlotte Independence, playing in USL Championship
14. Dayton Dutch Lions - currently playing in USL League Two
15. Harrisburg City Islanders - rebranded as Penn FC; now defunct
16. LA Galaxy II - playing in USL Championship
17. Oklahoma City Energy FC - playing in USL Championship
18. Orange County Blues FC - playing in USL Championship
19. Orlando City - moved to MLS
20. Pittsburgh Riverhounds - playing in USL Championship
21. Richmond Kickers - playing in USL League One
22. Rochester Rhinos - indicated to be "on hiatus"
23. Sacramento Republic FC - playing in USL Championship
24. Wilmington Hammerheads - disbanded (continues as youth academy)

How do you judge success?

Keeping in mind that list of teams who were around in 2014, but has dramatically changed to date, how do you judge success of a club?

If you judge success as just surviving in lower division soccer in America, then Indy Eleven has navigated the many twists and forks-in-the-road as well as can be expected. They are one of only four NASL teams from that inaugural season that have found a way to stay in at least the second tier of American professional soccer, despite their original league failing. There's something to be said for just surviving and existing that can be commended.

However, if you judge success by winning and championships, then success has been much harder to achieve for Indy Eleven. To be fair, not many in the above list have been able to achieve that level of success either. Of Indy's seven completed seasons, Indy has only made its league's playoffs in 2016, 2018, and 2019. Beyond the 2016 Spring Championship hardware that Indy won with the 3rd tiebreaker with the Cosmos, Indy has made just one Final game (the Soccer Bowl in 2016 in NASL where they lost to New York) and one Conference Final (in 2019 in USL where they lost to Louisville City FC) with 2016 being the only time that Indy has finished in the top two in the table. Comparing that to Louisville City, Indy's now regional rival, during that time, Louisville City FC has been in 6 conference finals and 3 league finals, winning 2 of them. 

If you judge success by stadiums, Indy has continued to lag behind in that area too with Louisville. Indy began talking about the desire/need to have a dedicated soccer specific stadium in 2013 before they had ever kicked a ball. Since that time, they have played at Carroll Stadium from 2014-2017, at Lucas Oil Stadium from 2018-2020, and back to Carroll Stadium for 2021 and the foreseeable future. In 2019, Indy managed to get legislation passed that will facilitate the construction of a new stadium and a multi-purpose development with the expectation that the stadium would be in the range of 20,000 seats as required for entry into MLS, which has been a stated goal in the past from the team and owner Ersal Ozdemir. However, in 2020, CEO Greg Stremlaw indicated that the stadium could actually be built closer to 12,000 seats, with the ability to expand. In 2021, Indy was able to get further legislation passed that extended the deadline needed to build the stadium/development as the 2020 pandemic affected everybody's schedules. To date, no announcement has been made indicating where the stadium

Photo Credit: Louisville City FC

will be located, what it will ultimately look like, how many seats it will hold, nor when it might actually come to fruition. Louisville City's schedule for their soccer specific stadium was much more advanced. After coming into USL in 2015, they announced that they would be constructing a new stadium in April 2017. While they continued playing at Slugger Field, their dedicated soccer specific stadium had its groundbreaking in June 2018. A limited number of fans were able to attend games in the new Lynn Family Stadium in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The official "Grand Opening" of the stadium recently took place in June 2021. 

If you judge success by expansion of your brand, Indy has also lagged behind in this too. Indy had an NPSL team for a season in 2016 as a way to expand and to develop young players. It lasted a season. It has signed Academy players during Coach Rennie's tenure, but with the exception of Josh Penn, none of the others have ever seen any first-team minutes. The club has talked about a women's team since the beginning, but have continually stated that they will be more receptive to forming a women's team once they have their own stadium, claiming that the financial aspect of having a women's team will make more sense at that time. Indy Eleven do now have an academy connection as part of the USL Academy, where, "Indy Eleven will partner with the acclaimed Indiana Fire Academy (IFA) program in establishing squads that will represent Indiana’s Team in the regional USL Academy League (eligible for U-15 through U-19 players) and the national USL Academy Cup (U-13 and U-17 Teams)." On the flip side, Louisville City has a women's NWSL team that began play in 2021 after being announced in 2019 as an expansion team for the league, plus their own Academy teams. 

What does it all mean (A.K.A. What's my point)?

Is Indy Eleven a successful club? Yes. However, if you compare them to their geographical rival in Louisville City FC and what they have been able to achieve, then I would argue "no." Indy falls behind Louisville in all the above categories and in the record books, which I didn't even mention anywhere above. Maybe that is an unfair comparison since by looking at all the background data above, nearly every team that has existed in the lower divisions of soccer in the past decade has been unable to obtain the success that Louisville has managed to achieve. 

Photo Credit: EM Dash

Indy has always said that their goal is to be a top-level organization, regardless of division and that includes Div I. I suppose there are wide ranges of what constitutes "top-level," and there are a lot of things that Indy does right. I've never seen the inner workings of a "top-level" organization, so I don't have anything to compare Indy against. Make not mistake, Indy is my team. I'm XI til I die (or until they cease operations). However, this photo comes from the most recent game against Louisville City and it looks exactly like how you would expect a team that has not had a ton of recent success against another team would react during a run-of-the-mill regular season game. Though the late game fashion of the win probably played more into it than the history, since only a handful of these guys have seen the rivalry in action before the game. Yet, as I witness Indy's struggles this year, despite their first victory in the LIPAFC (Louisville Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest) in some time, I have been wondering what it will take to get them over the hump from "good" to "great." 

For awhile, I thought it was consistency in coaching since the first few years saw three different coaches, but Indy is now into year 4 with Coach Rennie. For full disclosure, I always thought that Coach Hank was unfairly shown the proverbial door after a rash of injuries to the 2017 roster (that was basically the same as the hardware winning 2016 roster) hampered the team's ability to get results . Yet, Coach Rennie's tenure of 4 seasons has produced a first-round exit from the playoffs in 2018 (again, to Louisville), a Conference Final in 2019 (bounced by a late goal in regulation and collapse in Extra Time...to Louisville), and a missed playoff in 2020 after a string of poor results late in the season. This year's result TBD, particularly now that Rennie and Indy Eleven "mutually parted ways" on the 16th. Will the departure of Rennie create a "lost" season as Indy searches for a new coach and as the players that Rennie selected adapt to a new coach with a likely different style of play? 

For awhile, I thought it was consistency in players, which Louisville has had during their tenure, but is something that Indy has never had for more than 2 seasons. Scorched Earth rebuilds have been a regular occurrence for Indy, with this year being no exception. 

For awhile, I thought it was talent in players. On paper, Indy have had some of the most talented rosters in their leagues (2014 & 2015 notwithstanding, due to a single player hamstringing the majority of the budget in those years). This year seems to be no exception.

Or maybe it's just really damn hard to win. Players, coaches, injuries, and even your opponents' players, coaches, and injuries factor into what a "successful" season is for any given team. Maybe Louisville has just been able to minimize the negative factors while maximizing the positive factors and have seen success on the field. As a result, it's easier to move forward with some of the other things like a second professional team and a stadium, etc. 

However, I can't eliminate the factor of "punching your weight." Maybe Louisville have decided to be the best they can be in their division, hoping that success can lead to a promotion to the next level at some point in the future. Whereas Indy's periodically stated goal of MLS has kept them from realizing that they likely need success in Div II before they will get the attention of MLS. I'm not convinced that Indy have figured this out yet. You don't have to initially build a 20k seat stadium that has to be maintained when you are averaging in the vicinity of 10k in attendance. Don't talk about what you want to do. Talk about what you are doing. Punch your weight until you can punch harder.

I honestly don't know the answer and I'm just a supporter with a modest platform to say what I think. As a Cubs fan, I know that eventually the factors can fall into your favor and a championship is possible. From what I have seen of Indy Eleven this year, I don't see the factors falling into place to get them to that level this year, but a lot can happen before the season ends.

Indianapolis has a team and not every fan base that was around when Indy Eleven starting playing can say the same thing. After the first couple of seasons, Indy have mostly had a good team and not every club can say that. Indy Eleven front office staff keep saying that a stadium is coming and not every club can say that. When (if) it does, a women's professional team might follow afterwards and not every club can say that is a possibility for them.

I have a local team to support and for that I'm grateful, particularly having gone through this exercise of seeing how much the American lower division professional soccer landscape has changed since Indy Eleven first took the field.

Maybe I'm just ready to see them punch harder.

Goin' back to Carroll

We're goin' back to Carroll. 

Carroll. 

Carroll. 

We're goin' back to Carroll.

The Indy Eleven made an announcement today that their 2021 home games (and possibly up to the point where the proposed stadium is constructed) will take place at their original home on IUPUI's campus; Michael A. Carroll Stadium.

📍 Going back to where it all began.

🏠 Indiana's Team is back home again at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.

📰: https://t.co/h9fv3KX7Ex pic.twitter.com/2C10Ty2fU4

— Indy Eleven (@IndyEleven) February 3, 2021

That's a simple tweet, with quite a bit of ramifications. Enough ramifications that the team felt the need to roll out a Carroll Stadium FAQ page later in the day. The key component to me is: 

... after continued discussions with Lucas Oil Stadium, it became clear that there were not enough potential available dates to host a season at the venue, especially pivotal weekend dates that result in a schedule most conducive to success both on and off the field. 

It's important to note that this is a change from everything that the team had mentioned to me in the past. That they were going to be at Lucas Oil Stadium "for the foreseeable future." I guess a pandemic will readjust many things, including what I perceive as a step back in stadium. 

From what I saw of the Twitter responses, the move was well received by the majority of the fans. As was indicated in my twitter exchange with Andrew Retz, he pointed out that, "honestly perhaps the only people most excited about going back to Carroll are the ones in the supporters section." To which I fully agree. 

The fans who don't sit in the supporter's section are likely not all happy with this move. The BYB appreciated the atmosphere of "The Mike" because they were standing in permanent temporary stands, but could set off smoke, their chants seemed louder because they weren't lost to the cavernous corners of Lucas Oil Stadium, and frankly didn't care about the stadium amenities anyway. 

The rest of the stadium attendees, however, get to go back to metal bleachers instead of seats, porta-potties for their trips to the bathroom, concessions out of cargo containers (I don't foresee this changing despite their FAQ stating "our focus will be on improving our gameday experience for all fans"), and the evening crushing opportunities to go home early when inclement weather forces everybody to evacuate the stadium because there isn't a weather safe concourse (many people can't hang around during extended rain delays). It doesn't get any better for the players who will now go back to having their locker room in the Natatorium across the street and a storage room for the halftime resting space. 

Back in 2018, before the team made the move to Lucas Oil Stadium, I wrote a fan tribute to Carroll Stadium for what it provided this team in its infancy. Like many fans, I have a soft spot for Carroll Stadium and what it means to many of the key moments in the club's history. I ended the article, by saying (new emphasis not in original article): 

The Indy Eleven may have temporarily kept Carroll Stadium from demolition and may one day find itself playing there again. With the changes affecting the team in 2018, the stadium is the one that seems the least clear about what the future holds. If the team never makes its way back to Carroll Stadium, I think it's served the team as well as can be expected of a stadium built in the early 80s and ideally designed with track and field events in mind.

I didn't expect then that just three years later they would be back in the stadium full-time. In that article, I also called many of the items above "as superfluous distractions from the main attraction of the game," but I still feel like this move to Carroll Stadium is a step backward for the club.

Yes, I know, the move also allows the team (see previously linked FAQ):

... not only greater control of our scheduling, but also gameday atmosphere, in-stadium promotions, partnership activations, promotional signage, and more items that make Eleven matches a unique experience in Indy’s sports and entertainment scene.

Recently on Soccer Saturday, Greg Rakestraw and Brad Hauter were talking about the move to Lucas Oil Stadium and remarked how at every single game, there were players from vising clubs who would step onto the field for the first time with their cell phones, recording the experience. I imagine the visiting coach breaking out his best Norman Dale impression and reassuring his team that despite the envelope, the field is basically the same (though with football lines). 

Lucas Oil Stadium garners that reaction. 

Carroll Stadium does not.

I have also seen the responses from some former players stating that they like this move. I hope everybody else is right, but I said it earlier today in the exchange with Andrew Retz and I'll reiterate it here. The excitement for this moves seems to be from people remembering "the good old days" and forgetting that the stadium is "old," but not necessarily "good" and that Lucas Oil Stadium is likely the only reason that there were fans at the games this past year. Lucas Oil Stadium provides so much "social distancing" opportunities that they were 1 of only 7 USL teams to allow fans into the games in some form and earlier in the season than most teams. I honestly don't think that happens with Carroll Stadium, for much the same reasons as the other 28 teams in the USL had for not having fans in attendance (likely in outdoor venues).

I don't know the team financials. They wouldn't tell me even if I asked. I don't know what it costs to be in Lucas Oil Stadium. I don't know what it used to cost and will cost in Carroll Stadium. What I do know is that the average person in Indianapolis could see a move from Lucas Oil Stadium to Carroll Stadium as a sign of a struggling second division soccer. Which, if we're being frank, would it surprise anybody if they were? I'm sure they have one of the highest budgets in the league and a pandemic-affected year of reduced ticket and merchandise sales isn't going to help the bottom line. 

Moving back to Carroll Stadium affects the fan experience, even if it may somewhat improve the supporter's experience. Getting casual fans to return to porta-potties and rain-delayed exits from the stadium is going to be a tougher sale now. I suspect that the team hopes to temper some of those concerns with the announcement of the site for Eleven Park in the coming week, but even with that announcement, it's still likely 3 years away from playing a game there. 

I hope I'm wrong and this goes well for everybody. I hope the team remembers how to operate under the challenges of cargo containers and temporary stands so that a repeat of opening night 2014 isn't repeated. I hope the new stadium eventually solves all of the issues. I hope Jon Busch tells Jordan Farr to get some Indy Eleven baseball hats...

But goin' back to Carroll Carroll Carroll is not the home run decision for me that it was for the majority of the responses I saw on Twitter. 

Guess we'll see in about 3 months.

Indy Eleven vs Sporting Kansas City II - 07.15

Summary
- Opponent: Saint Louis FC
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
- Attendance: 6,039
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Lindley, Ilic, Pasher

- Substitutions: Carleton 45' (Lindley); Moon 69' (Ilic); Watson 69' (Conner); Rafanello 86' (Gibson)
- Unused: Farr, Antley, Dumas

- Scoring Summary:
SKCII - Harris 41' (assist Mompremier)
IND - Carleton 49' (assist Pasher)
SKCII - Sparks 90'+5'

- Bookings:
IND - Lindley 38' (Yellow)
IND - Watson 73' (Yellow)
SKCII - Sparks 86' (Yellow)

- Referee: Calin Radosav
- Adage goals: Two

Thoughts and Opinions
It wasn't a "must-win" game tonight against Sporting Kansas City II, but the prospect of going to Saint Louis to get a draw or a win in Saint Louis' potential last game ever, put some expediency into Indy's offense early, creating numerous chances. However, midway through the first half, SKCII began to see more chances of their own until they eventually took the lead on a 41st minute goal by Harris on a "chipping wedge in his bag" cross by Mompremier. Indy had four first half shots on target, but SKCII's goalkeeper, Prieur, was better than Indy's shots in the first half. 

"We have to finish." - Coach Rennie (at halftime during telecast)

Rennie was referencing the number of chances that they had around the goal that they were unable to convert into goals. We would find out later that it also could have referred to finishing the game. 

After the halftime break, Rennie substituted Carleton in for Lindley. Carleton's creativity and vision were immediately made apparent. Within five minutes, Pasher sent a cross/pass towards the top of the box that Carleton buried into the lower right corner away from Prieur. For the moment, it looked like the game would be salvaged as Indy evened the game and still had 40 minutes remaining to get a much needed second goal. 

And yet, the finishing around the goal never happened again, despite 3 more shots on target in the second half and a total of 24 crosses. Headers went just over the top. Another Carleton shot from outside the box went wide. At one point in the telecast, Rakestraw said something to the effect of "Indy isn't lacking for soccer IQ," and that their "speed of thought" was on full display tonight. What he missed what that their play was good for everywhere except that finishing touch. 

I don't want to harp on it game after game, but Indy's end-of-season scoring has not been consistent with the rest of the way they have played. Pasher, Indy's leading goal scorer, hasn't scored a goal in the run of play since August 15th against Pittsburgh. Since that time (6 games), Indy have been held scoreless twice (both against Louisville City), Pasher scored a first half stoppage time penalty kick, Moon and Rafanello scored vs SKCII, and Hackshaw headed home the game tying goal last week versus Saint Louis after a recycled corner kick. Run-of-play goals have never been the cornerstone of a Rennie team, but the team is struggling to find the goal as this season concludes.

Then there was the 90'+5' goal by Sparks that took Indy's reasonable result (from a confidence perspective as it didn't really help in the standings in comparison to Saint Louis) and threw it into the dumpster. A dumpster that many fans are going to set on fire if Indy is unable to get a result and finish the season without making the playoffs in a group where many thought Indy could have been the top team and after their promising start to the season. The good news for Indy is that they really are playing mostly good soccer and that a draw against Saint Louis on Saturday still manages to get them into the playoffs despite having a 1W-1D-4L record in their last six games. 

With their recent inability to finish chances and their ability to give up poor goals, I'm not very optimistic this season continues past Saturday. If it does, it looks like it will have to be done entirely on the road in the playoffs as Indy has one of the worst records of all of the eastern conference playoff teams.

One last thing. The #RennieOut birds are out again, so I will reiterate that I don't think this will ever happen after this season. Particularly after a COVID shortened season where the team will still be able to win 50% of their games if they get the win on Saturday. I went back to the USL Championship 2020 Record Book (which covers teams through the 2019 season). Coach Rennie's overall record for the club ranks near the Top 10 for all coaches who have been at a club for more than 2 years (I admit I could have missed a couple, but I think I was fairly comprehensive in my evaluation). Unless he gets caught saying something racist, homophobic, sexist, etc., put in jail, or finds another job on his own, I fully expect that the #RennieOut crowd better get used to him being here at least one more year.

• Luke Spencer / Paolo Del Piccolo / George Davis IV (LCFC) 66.7% (This was only one season, but I had to include it here because LCFC had 3 player/coaches and still won 2/3 of their games. That's damn impressive.)
• Rick Schantz (Phoenix) 65.3%
• John Hackworth (LCFC) 55.75%
• Preki (Sacramento) 54.1%
• Patrice Carterton (Phoenix) 53.0%
• James O'Conner (LCFC) 52.4%
• Ian Russell (Reno) 51.0%
• Bob Lilley (Pittsburgh) 50%
• John Wolyniec (NYRBII) 48.1% overall (70% in 2016)
• Simon Elliott (Sacramento) 48.6%
• Martin Rennie 47.25% overall (including 2020 to date)
• Stuart Campbell (Tampa Bay) 44.1%
• Mike Anhaeuser (Charleston) 42.7% 
• Paul Buckle (Sacramento) 42.4%
• Darren Powell (San Antonio) 40.8%

The Game Beckons Game Ball
This game's Game Beckons Game Ball is going to go to two players. Andrew Carleton and Ilija Ilic. Their vision and creativity were on a different level for this game and it's a shame that some of their passes and effort weren't rewarded. We've seen promise from Moon and Rafanello, but seeing both Ilic and Carleton on the field together for 24 minutes makes we wish that we could see more of what they could do with more time.

PHOTOS (@DLTPhotog)

Indy Eleven vs Saint Louis FC - 07.14

 

Summary
- Opponent: Saint Louis FC
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
- Attendance: 5,664
- Final Score: 1-1 D

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Lindley, Moon, Pasher

- Substitutions: Ilic 61' (Gibson), Rafanello 79' (Moon), Watson 87' (Conner), Carleton 88' (Ayoze)
- Unused: Farr, Antley, Osmond

- Scoring Summary:
STL - Cicerone 50' (assist Blackwood)
IND - Hackshaw 72' (assist Ayoze)

- Bookings:
STL - Wharton 4' (Yellow); 75' (Yellow) - RED
STL - Greig 45' (Yellow)
STL - Adewole 45'+2' (Yellow)
STL - Fink 45'+4' (Yellow); 61' (Yellow) - RED
IND - Conner 55' (Yellow)
IND - Hackshaw 64' (Yellow)

- Referee: Lukasz Szpala
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Saint Louis plays in a way that makes them comfortable sitting back and absorbing play and counter-attacking at key moments. The first half consisted entirely of that style of play. Indy had 7 shots on goal, forcing Morton into 6 saves.  Conversely, Saint Louis' less than 40% of possession in the first half resulted in just one easy save from Newton. Indy's one shot off target was from Moon who couldn't put a Pasher cross on frame from inside the six yard box.

Indy pushed their tempo a little more in the second half early, nearly getting a goal within the first couple of minutes when a non-call on Moon in the box (probably the correct call) bunched the Saint Louis defenders and Cam Lindley stole the ball from the group and proceeded to put a ball across the six that Pasher ushered just outside of the right post. 

Yet, against the run of play, Indy gave up a ball in the 50th minute in the Saint Louis box and Saint Louis sprinted to the other end, with Cicerone ultimately slotting a ball past Newton and turning a dominant performance by Indy on its head. Much like Coach Rennie's comment last week, "Even sometimes when we hardly made a mistake, we’ve been punished, and when we’ve had chances, we’ve not taken them," Indy found themselves trailing after making very few mistakes. In this one, nobody tracked back with Cicerone as Greig opened some space for Cicerone to run into. Blackwood had an easy pass to the middle of the field where Cicerone could shoot at the goal uncontested.

Then a second yellow to Fink in the 61st minute once again turned the game on it head. Just before the card to Fink, Indy had subbed in Ilic for Gibson, in a clear plan to get more players in the attack. The red card tilted the field in Indy's favor and their persistence paid off when Indy was finally able to put the ball past Morton in the 71st minute. In a typical Conner play, he hustled down a ball in the corner, that led to him being fouled. The ensuing free kick led to a short corner, which Haworth (who took the free kick) played quickly to Ayoze who sent a perfect cross to the back post that Hackshaw headed into the goal.

Less than 5 minutes later and a second yellow on Wharton put Indy up two men with plenty of time to get a victory. Throw in what became 10 minutes of stoppage time and Indy had 25 minutes with a two-man advantage to get the game-winning goal. In that timeframe, Indy managed another 7 shots, but only forced Morton into a single save in the entire second half, even with the man advantage. 

Twenty-five minutes of a two-man advantage and Indy finishes the game in a 1-1 draw, but also not taking ahold of 2nd place in the Group that they absolutely needed to take with this game. Now their path to the playoffs looks even more daunting after looking like they were going to easily make it based on their results in the first portion of this season. Rakestraw reminded us on the telecast that the last time Indy had a two-man advantage was in 2015 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. That game also resulted in a tie, thanks to a 97th minute goal by Kyle Hyland. What Rakestraw didn't mention was that the draw was the final nail in the coffin on Coach Sommer as head coach. While I don't expect that to happen here (and a former high ranking front office staff member agrees with me), the #RennieOut crowd has not been happy with the past month of results and have started to become more vocal.

I said it last week and I'll say it again this week, this team misses the services of a proper striker who can be, and is, in the right place at the right time. For all of Indy's talents, to me that is the piece that just isn't there and it's not something that Coach Rennie seems to want to find or know how to utilize properly; see Dane Kelly as the league's all-time leading scorer and 2nd leading scorer this season as an example of the latter. With the way that Indy plays and the way that Saint Louis was forced to play down two men, Pasher's goal scoring strengths were completely neutralized. I began to think that it would have been better to drop him back into a defenders role (which is where he started in Indy so he's capable back there) and put Hackshaw or Ouimette up top to get their head on one of the 29 crosses Indy had for the game. While it seems counterintuitive to put Indy's top goal scorer out of a goal scoring position, Pasher isn't likely to get a 1v1 situation where he can run past the defender nor is he going to get many goals from his head. Indy needed a different way to attack the goal.  

An ongoing refrain from Coach Rennie in the post-game press conferences, which is stated again tonight is, "We created a lot of chances tonight and I think we need to be a little bit more clinical with those chances, there’s no doubt about that." I want to believe that some of these guys have that ability, but chatting with former Indy Eleven player Eamon Zayed after the game, he too doesn't see a true striker on the roster and also thinks it's the piece that is missing. In his words, "if you play without an actual 9, then you better have two wide forwards to score 10+ goals and Indy only has one!!!!! [Indy is] a 10+ goal man short of being a title winning team!"

So without a true number 9 nor a second 10+ goal scoring wide forward, are we seeing the pinnacle of where Indy can reach? Who knows, but tonight's draw makes it much more difficult for them to even be in this year's playoffs, much less have success in them if they get there. I was asked today my thoughts about the game before it started. I responded with, "I'm not sure if this is a must-win game, but it's definitely a must-draw game. Given that it's at home, it needs to be a win." Indy can still make the playoffs if some other results go their way (a Louisville vs Saint Louis game on Saturday with Saint Louis missing some players because of tonight's red cards is big), but Indy needs to consider the final two games of the season as "must-win" games to help keep their fate somewhat in their control. 

Indy returns to action next Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City II, who are now just playing for pride and to ruin other team's chances. Regardless, they have already proven they can win in Indy and the Eleven shouldn't take them lightly. By this time next week, we should have a better understanding of the importance of the final game of the season in Saint Louis. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball
If you're a defender and you get the goal that pulls a draw out of a come-from-behind scenario, you get the Game Beckons Game Ball. Congrats Hackshaw.

Indy Eleven vs Louisville City FC - 07.13

 

Summary
- Opponent: Louisville City FC
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 L

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Lindley, Moon, Rafanello

- Substitutions: Pasher 59' (Rafanello), Antley 72' (Ayoze), Watson 72' (Conner)
- Unused: Farr, Carleton, Ilic, Osmond

- Scoring Summary:
LOU - Lancaster 39' (assist Hoppenot)
LOU - Bone 76' (assist Ownby)

- Bookings:
IND - Ouimette 37' (Yellow)
LOU - DelPiccolo 66' (Yellow)
LOU - Bone 66' (Yellow)
LOU - Hoppenot 73' (Yellow)
LOU - Totsch 79' (Yellow)

- Referee: Kevin Fikar
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions
LIPAFC 4.0 for the year had the same result as LIPAFC 2.0 & LIPAFC 3.0. 

Meaning, Indy Eleven lost. 

In the description of the word "rivalry" from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it includes the statement, "sibling rivalry exists when there is competition or jealousy between sisters or brothers." That's what these games are starting to feel like, and not the definition that the Indy Eleven front office staff want us to believe about the match-up of "rival can also mean "equal" or "peer."" These games have been happening long enough (the 1868 "Bloody Affair" comes to mind) that it's starting to feel like little brother (Indy) is just never going to stop getting his ass kicked by big brother (Louisville). At some point, Indy fans are going to have to accept the fact that a "rivalry" needs to see both teams win, otherwise it's just two teams who are in proximity to each other. Whatever talent Indy has on paper, it isn't being translated into any kind of actual success against Louisville. 

Indy has played 44 league home games since moving to the USL Championship in 2018, with 42 of those taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium. With tonight's loss, Indy have only lost 8 times in those games. Louisville owns 3 of those losses; once last year in the Eastern Conference playoffs and twice this year. Indy's USL regular season record against LCFC is 1W-4D-4L, which breaks down to 1W-1D-2L record at home (3 GF /6 GA) and a 0W-3D-2L record in Louisville (7 GF/12 GA). If you expand that to include all games in the modern era (NASL, USL, USOC, postseason), Indy's record against LCFC is a dismal 2W-4D-7L (11 GF/22 GA), with the record at home being 2W-1D-4L (6 GF/12 GA).

Louisville owns this series in every meaningful category. Even in the games where Indy is statistically similar (as in this game) or even seems to have the advantage, the eye ball test tells me that Louisville is the better team, from top to bottom, than Indy is right now. Indy managed 34 crosses in this game to Louisville's 12 and LCFC had a 0.0% crossing accuracy rate. Indy had 2 shots on target, while LCFC had 3 shots on target. Indy even had a few more go agonizingly close to the post or crossbar. Yet, Louisville scored 2 goals on 3 shots on target. With Pasher and Carleton sitting on the bench, Louisville's finishers were more clinical. Moon and Rafanello continue to show flashes of their ability, but they aren't on the same level as Lancaster, et al. Louisville defenders know their roles and were quick to get behind the ball on Indy's (sometimes painfully slow) counterattacks, providing few uncontested attempts on goal from Indy. Indy's offense seemed a half- to full second slower in their decisions than they needed to be and those extra beats were enough for the Louisville defenders to regroup and stifle most of the Indy threats. 

There were two statements that Coach Rennie made after the game that speak not only to this game, but several times over the season, particularly when it comes to the Louisville games.

"Over the majority of the game, we had lots of chances and didn’t take them, and that’s really the frustrating thing from tonight. ... but it’s just that final ball and final touch has to be a little better. I think sometimes we are in good positions and don’t shoot." 

"Even sometimes when we hardly made a mistake, we’ve been punished, and when we’ve had chances, we’ve not taken them."

I would argue that he isn't wrong. Indy had chances. I would clarify though, that many of them were chances that Louisville's defense quickly turned into half-chances. With the exception of Haworth's unopposed shot from the 6-yard line that he managed to put over the goal, Indy's best chances came from their set pieces, which has been a constant throughout Coach Rennie's tenure. The clinical finisher or poaching forward just has not been a part of Indy's weapon under Rennie. That seems to be the piece that this team really needs to get over the hump against a team like Louisville. A guy that hovers around the goal and is able to turn those half-chances into goals.

Louisville's ability and comfort with each other is why minor mistakes get punished against Indy. Louisville know they aren't going to get many chances against Indy's defense and this game was no different. Yet, they there will be a mistake and they are able to capitalize on them.

Lastly, Louisville struggled out of the gate, but are finding the form that we all expected they would find. They have played Indy enough, and there's enough video on Indy, to know you aren't going to get any major surprises from game to game. Pasher is the only significant goal scorer this year and if you can effectively isolate him and keep him to only a couple of chances, you're going to put yourself in the mix for a win or draw. 

Indy currently has a 25 man roster, but there have been a total of 30 this year. 8 of those 30 are USL Academy contracts who haven't seen a single minute of action. 2 are Yeferson (who the team released back to his home squad due to COVID) and Dumas (who has only seen a total of 76 minutes of action). 1 is a backup goalkeeper who has to be considering his options elsewhere for next year if he wants to progress in his career. 1 was released to El Paso where he has become an immediate starter for Coach Lowry. If you're counting, that leaves 18 players making up the minutes for the team and two of those were playing in League One last year and a 3rd came from an open tryout. Of those 18, 7 have double digit starts, leaving just 4 spots in the starting XI that are "unknowns" on a game-to-game basis. Coach Rennie is going to make his first sub around the 70th minute and despite having 5 subs available to him this year, has only used his full compliment of subs 3 times out of 13 games. 

Coach Hackworth has seen Indy enough the past couple of years to know the strengths and weaknesses of this Indy team, knows he isn't going to get any significant surprises from Coach Rennie, and has been able to find ways to exploit it.

• Limit Pasher
• Get guys back quickly when Indy tries to counter
• Use as much width as possible to stretch Gibson and Conner
• Press Indy's defense into making mistakes and make good on at least one of them.

For his part, Coach Rennie has not been able to do the same against Louisville.With the current roster, I don't know how Indy overcomes Louisville, even if the roster/lineup can beat 80% of the rest of the conference. Until they unlock the Louisville key though, they're going to struggle to achieve their goal of being the best. I keep saying it, but if you want to be the best you have to beat the best. Right now, that is Louisville, and Indy can't beat them.

Indy can't sit on this game for too long because the loss opens the door for Saint Louis to push their way into the Top 2 of Group E and send Indy's promising start to the season into an early post-season break. Indy finishes the season with a Saint Louis-SKCII-Saint Louis run and need to get points off of Saint Louis to not feel like the season was wasted, regardless of what may happen in the playoffs.

The Game Beckons Game Ball
Ayoze. Only because somebody should get it and he put in a solid 72 minutes. 

(I told you Rennie subs around the 70 minute mark...)

Photos (@DLTPhotog)

Indy Eleven vs Sporting Kansas City II - 07.12

Summary

- Opponent: Sporting Kansas City II

- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium

- Attendance: 5,066

- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Newton, Osmond, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Carleton, Moon, Rafanello

- Substitutions: Watson 82' (Rafanello), Antley 82' (Ayoze), Ilic 89' (Moon) 

- Unused: Farr, Dumas, Senanou, Lindley

- Scoring Summary:

IND - Moon 6' (assist Ayoze)

IND - Rafanello 63' (assist Haworth)

SKCII - Freeman 88'

- Bookings:

IND - Barrett 3' (Yellow)

SKCII - Resetar 23' (Yellow)

SKCII - Serna 53' (Yellow)

SKCII - Riley 58' (Yellow)

SKCII - Davis 59' (Yellow)

SKCII - Cuic 74' (Yellow)

IND - Conner 87' (Yellow)

SKCII - Manager Nagamura (Yellow)

- Referee: Ismir Pekmic

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Pasher wasn't on the game day roster. Pasher is the only player to have scored for the Eleven since July 29th. Where was Indy going to get a goal in his absence? The good news is that Ayoze was back in the roster and in the 6th minute, he sent a long pass up the left side that found Moon near the 18 yard box, who proceeded to take on his defender one-on-one and slide the ball under Thompson into the right side netting. Just like that, some of the pressure was taken off of the Indy Eleven, who needed to look at this game as a must-win.

While Indy's first half defense against Louisville was fraught with multiple errors, Indy's game plan of limiting the touches of Sporting Kansas City II's Wilson Harris' in dangerous locations was highly effective. That included not only having Barrett key in on Harris with Gibson hanging around just in front of him to limit his touches, but the Eleven also limited the easy touches from the rest of SKCII. Indy pressed the young backline of SKCII frequently on the field as far back as within SKCII's 18-yard box.

Without Pasher on the field, Moon looked more focused at going forward and finding his own shot instead of trying to feed Pasher. After a perfect cross from Haworth in the 63rd minute, Moon was nearly able to connect with the cross to give himself a brace. While Moon was not able to find the ball, the effort that Bone showed against Indy, Rafanello matched with a back post run where he was able to get the ball past Thompson through a very small window.

With a two goal lead, Indy's focus became maintaining the clean sheet. A clean sheet that they were not able to successfully accomplish due to a perfectly taken free kick from just outside the 18-yard box by Freeman, SKCII's 17-year old forward. A kick that went just over the wall and just out of the reach of Newton. Down a goal and with time running out, SKCII had a late corner kick that looked to provide the tying goal off of the head of Barbir. However, the referee ruled that Barrett was fouled in the process of Barbir creating space for the header and called off the goal. Without knowing what Pekmic saw from his position, the replays make me think that the SKCII players and fans have a valid complaint about the goal being disallowed. Though when players from your team have been shown yellow cards five times to the point in the game, it's not like you have been a beacon of sportsmanship and rule followers. When that has been the way you played, a non-foul can look like a foul from the referee's perspective and location on the field.

While the final goal/non-goal can be debated, Indy was the better team for the majority of the game and deserved the win. SKCII were limited in their chances and only managed 7 shots, with just 3 on target. Both teams needed this win to stay in the Group E playoff race, as every game in the group now has the feel of being the proverbial 6-point swing. Louisville and Saint Louis play on Saturday to bring the group back to even in games played and then everybody do-si-dos and changes partners for the Week 13 games.

Such is the life of the USL Championship in the final weeks of the season.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Nick Moon deserves this game's Game Beckons Game Ball and not just because he scored the opening goal. He put in a good shift and showed that he's not just growing into his role as a forward (remember that wasn't his role at Lansing nor any of his other previous stops), but also growing in his confidence.

Additional Photos

Indy Eleven vs Louisville City FC - 07.11

Summary

- Opponent: Louisville City FC

- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium

- Attendance: -

- Final Score: 3-1 L

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett, Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Lindley, Haworth, Watson (C), Pasher, Rafanello

- Substitutions: Moon 62' (Rafanello), Carleton 62' (Watson), Ilic 76' (Conner), Antley 87' (Haworth) 

- Unused: Farr, Osmond, Walker

- Scoring Summary:

LOU - Williams 23' (assist Lancaster)

LOU - Bone 27' 

LOU - Matsoso 44'

IND - Pasher 45' + 6' (Penalty Kick)

- Bookings:

IND - Ouimette 29' (Yellow)

LOU - Souahy 45' + 5' (Yellow)

LOU - Totsch 77' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

- Adage goals: Two

Thoughts and Opinions

The halftime stats were fairly even. The final stats were fairly even. Yet, Louisville City FC found themselves with a 3-1 win at Lucas Oil Stadium to bring the season LIPAFC record to 2 wins for Louisville and a draw. Early in the season restart, I indicated that the Eleven needed to try and split the games with Louisville and then get favorable results in the other games to solidify themselves in the playoffs. Indy has received some favorable results in the out of group games, but Group E has proven to be the most difficult group in the league, with Saint Louis and Sporting KC II nipping at the heels of Indy and Louisville. Indy's loss tonight prevents the season split for the LIPAFC and further opens the door for Saint Louis to overtake Indy for the second playoff spot. 

When you are playing a team as good as Louisville, it's the little things that differentiate between finishing with a win or continuing to lose to their local rival. When Indy gives up 3 goals in the first half, it's the little things that they didn't do right. All three goals scored by LCFC in the first half were a result of the trailing player finding themselves wide open after deflections and Indy players not tracking the players properly.

In the case of the first goal from a corner kick in the 23rd minute, it's painful to admit that it was mistakes by Barrett and Hackshaw that led to the goal. In the pre kick setup, Hackshaw is lined up as one of the defenders on the eventual goalscorer Williams.

With the ball in the air, both Watson and Hackshaw fall back towards the 6-yard box with Souahy. Given Hackshaw's propensity to win headers, it's difficult to fault him, but it left Williams alone on the back post. 

While Hackshaw was attacking the corner kick, Barrett continued to man-mark Lancaster, which is a smart decision. However, it further left Williams unmarked on the back post.

With the ball in the air, clearly not in the area of Lancaster, Barrett should have dropped back to get between the goal and Williams. Instead, Williams continued to be left unmarked and easily found the net after Totsch's shot/cross. Louisville City 1. Indy Eleven 0.

The second goal Louisville was hustle. Louisville's Corben Bone out-hustled Gibson, which is also painful to admit. "Somebody out-hustled Gibson?" you ask? Unfortunately, yes. When Hoppenot sends a ball over the backline, Hackshaw is a step or two behind Speedy Williams, Barrett is a few yards ahead of Lancaster, and Gibson is a yard in front of Bone.

After the long pass to Williams, Barrett correctly slides further towards the ball and closer to Lancaster. Gibson has run 2 yards, while Bone has run 5 yards.

As Williams is taking the initial shot, Bone has developed a 10-yard advantage over Gibson.

Newton makes a partial save that goes off the crossbar and Bone has continued to increase his distance from Gibson.

When the ball bounces back off the crossbar into the middle of the box, only Bone, who put in the extra effort, is around for a simple header past Newton. 

The little things matter when you are playing Louisville. Before the game was a third of the way complete, Indy had made two very crucial mistakes and put themselves in a hole that was going to be extremely difficult to overcome. 

While Indy managed to get a goal on the board in stoppage time of the first half through a penalty kick goal from Pasher, they had already given up a third goal minutes before. While the third Louisville goal wasn't nearly as egregious of errors as the first two, the defensive breakdowns were more than the offensive opportunities in this game could overcome.

A lot can happen in the remaining 5 games, but it's absolutely vital that Indy get a positive result against Sporting Kansas City II on Wednesday and not let the bottom portion of the table get any closer. As Rakestraw said on the telecast, "Don't lose the same game twice." Don't let this game, and the fact that you have to lost back-to-back games against Louisville and have to play them again in a week and a half, cause you to not focus on SKCII and not get a positive result out of that game. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Haworth gets the nod for this game's Game Beckons Game Ball. The stats don't reflect all that he brought to the game, particularly in the beginning of the second half when Indy dominated the game and attempted to get the game back within reach, but Haworth was a definite bright spot in that portion of the game and provided a necessary spark.