Indy Eleven vs Orange County SC - 12.30

Summary

- Opponent: Orange County SC
- Location: Championship Soccer Stadium
- Attendance: 5,000
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Zalinsky, Ofeimu, Schaefer, Musa, Lindley, Murphy, Quinn (C), Blake, Rendon, Williams, R.

- Substitution: Amoh 67' (Murphy); Kizza 85' (Williams, R.); White 85' (Musa)

- Unused: Pruter, Hogan, O'Brien, J., Soumaoro

- Scoring Summary:
OC - Latinovich 23' (assist Hegardt)
IND - Williams 36' (assist Quinn)
OC - Sylla 90'+1' (assist Kone)

- Bookings:

IND - Williams 45'+3' (Yellow)
IND - Blake 48' (Yellow)
IND - Ofeimu 73' (Yellow)
OC - Latinovic 80' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

Due to a 58th goal by LeFlore in the Detroit versus Tampa Bay game, it had all appearances that by the time Indy and Orange County would kick off, Indy wouldn't be able to do anything to move themselves above the playoff line and would be forced to the role of spectator no matter their result. However, an 81st minute goal by Tampa Bay brought everything back into play for Indy. The draw meant that Tampa Bay's playoff bubble had officially popped, and Detroit still sat in the cat bird seat, with Indy lurking in a position to overtake them. Orange County left it late, but picked up a 2-1 win to send Indy home wondering what they need to do in the offseason to get better to be able to get back to the playoffs next year.

Indy found themselves down a goal earlier than they would have wanted on a recycled corner kick. To their credit, Indy pulled one back 13 minutes later on their own recycled corner kick when Quinn put a ball to the back post that Williams was able to rise above everyone to head it passed Shutler. The two set piece goals were all that either team could get across the line and the first half ended as an relatively even affair. Despite an OC advantage in possession, the game was deservedly a 1-1 draw when the teams went into the halftime locker room. 

In a game where a draw meant nothing for Indy Eleven, the second half turned into a wide open game with the midfield players going box to box. Indy needed every effort to get the ball up top, which created a plethora of opportunities for OC to play the same open way, despite wanting to normally play with more possession. With so much field available to them as Indy pushed forward, OC played to what was given to them. Moments of calm were reserved for the moments when players were injured or preparing for long throw-ins. 

As time wound down, Coach McAuley and the Eleven needed a 2nd goal and began pushing everyone forward, leaving just Ofeimu and Schaefer back to defend with Zalinsky pushed forward and Musa taken off for White. The stretched defenders finally broke in the 90'+1' when second half substitute Sylla was able to get Schaefer to bite on a ball, then pushed the ball away from Ofeimu, before putting a laser to Sulte's left that he was unable to reach. As the ball pushed the netting out, a Championship Soccer Stadium crowd erupted in excitement while simultaneously taking all the air out of the Indy Eleven hope of surviving the last day of a long season.

Indy's absence from this year's playoffs had very little to do with tonight's results. Yes, Detroit left the door open for Indy, and Indy couldn't get over the finish line a couple hours later, but it could be argued this season's chance at the playoffs was derailed much earlier in the season. Indy didn't need to be in the win-or-die situation they found themselves in tonight.

The cards for Indy's inability to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year were greatly affected by their unfortunate trend of conceding late goals to teams; tonight being no different. Not counting the two games in the Jagermeister Cup where Indy conceded late goals that forced the team into penalty kicks (or tonight), Indy had lost 18 points from winning positions, most notably four games when Indy dropped points with just minutes (seconds?) remaining in the game:

• April 5 draw North Carolina (90'+3') - 2 points lost
• May 10 draw vs Sacramento (90'+6') - 2 points lost
• June 21 loss vs Las Vegas (90') - 3 points lost
• Aug 16 loss vs Loudoun (86') - 3 points lost

As mentioned, Indy also made life difficult for themselves in the Jagermeister Cup when they conceded late, the second of which meant that they were eliminated from the competition at home by a League One team.

• June 28 "draw" vs Birmingham (90'+4') - win in PK Jagermeister
• Aug 20 "draw" vs Greenville (90') - loss in PK Jagermeister

The USL Championship season is more of a marathon than a sprint, but the tightness of both the Eastern and Western Conference tables shows that every point counts when you're not Louisville, Charleston, or Tulsa (at least this year...). In the West, 4th through 9th were separated by just 5 points; in the East, 3rd through 9th were separated by 10 points. Indy's inability this year to see games over the finish line is the main cause of why they'll watch the playoffs from their own homes, and likely wondering who will be elsewhere once the roster for next year starts to be announced. I'll have my post-season recap post in the upcoming weeks giving my opinion on who I think might be returning.

Tonight though, I once again let myself start to get hope that maybe Indy could get the win after Tampa Bay did Indy a solid and pulled out a draw against Detroit. Then Indy pulled back their own goal after conceding early. 

Apparently, it IS the hope that kills you.

Well, that and late opposition goals.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Despite the loss, I want to give a final GBGB of the season. Blake seemed to continue to find himself in dangerous positions, but just couldn't get the right touch. Blake is one of those players that I think returns next season, at which point he will likely, and maybe quickly, become the leader in many of the categories in the team's history, including surpassing Zayed as the top goal scorer.

Indy Eleven vs Orange County - 11.16

Summary

- Opponent: Orange County FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,490
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Ofeimu, O'Brien, J., Diz Pe, Stanley, Mines, Blake, Lindley (C), Wootton, Guenzatti, Williams, A.

- Substitution: Schneider 38' (Diz Pe); Williams, R. 45' (Blake); Collier 79' (Wootton); Ikoba 79' (Guenzatti)

- Unused: Oettl, Gibson, Henderlong

- Scoring Summary:
OC - Zubak 25' (assist Lambe)

- Bookings:

OC - Sorto 35' (Yellow)
OC - Zubak 42' (Yellow)
OC - Karlsen 45'+7' (Yellow)
IND - Ofeimu 45'+8' (Yellow)
IND - Williams, R. 52' (Yellow)
OC - Chattha 73' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joe Surgan

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Back-to-back weeks brought Western Conference foes to The Mike, with both teams hovering around that conference's playoff line. On a night where the starting kickoff temperatures were right at 90-degrees but felt slightly higher than that due to the humidity, I came into this game expecting it to be a slow paced game with a mistake by one of the teams potentially being the deciding factor. Orange County, like San Antonio last week, are accustomed to higher temps, but tonight's temps are the kind where you sweat in the shade. Or maybe that's just me. 

Given how slowly Orange County took every single throw-in during the early stages of the game, they knew they needed to take some of the humid air out of the game. The referee and fourth official were both observed telling the OC players that they needed to keep the game moving. To their credit, the OC players disregarded those requests and continued to milk the game where they could. Indy, contrarily, tried to restart every free kick as quickly as possible. Many times with multiple restarts because they didn't let the ball come to a complete stop or were further up the field than Surgan deemed acceptable.

While I thought a mistake would be what separated teams, OC proved me wrong. From a corner kick recycle in the 25th minute, Lambe put a ball into the middle of the box that found Zubak forcefully headed past Sulte to open the scoring. The protestations of offside from the Indy players were met with deaf ears and Indy found themselves chasing the game, a position they haven't found themselves much during this undefeated streak. Despite tilting the field in their direction as the half progressed, OC's one-goal lead was how the teams went into the locker, but not before Blake went down finishing his day. Coach McAuley made the decision to play a man down for the remainder of the half, wanting to get to halftime before using his second substitution window. 

As expected, Blake did not return to action after the halftime break, but was instead replaced with newly signed Romario Williams. The change in personnel also provided a change is formation as Guenzatti dropped back into the midfield with the Williams duo up top together and a change to a back four. Indy's desire to equalize put them on the front foot early. Their exuberance to claw one back also put them offside a couple times, one of which called off a goal. 

Their exuberance also meant that many of their touches were slightly off and they couldn't keep things going smoothly. The team looked like they were trying to effort their way to a goal because things weren't coming easily as OC stayed compact and physical defensively. Indy's effort resulted in 38 crosses, connecting on 24% of them, which led to 36 clearances from the OC defense. Sulte wasn't credited with a single save, while his counterpart Shutler had 7 saves. Shutler's saves and Indy's lack of clinical finishing in their offensive 1/3 of the field marks the first time all season that Indy has been held without scoring a goal. Let that sink in for a minute. The 16th game of the season is the first clean sheet for an Indy opponent.

Indy's effort, in the second half, was much better than in the first, but this wasn't one of those games where they were able to effort their way to an equalizer or win. If the team had been more clinical in their shots, they might have won this game going with ease. As it was, the early injuries to Diz Pe and Blake, the latter of which was carted from the sideline because he was unable to walk, created a bit of a disjointed midfield. Diz and Jack join the rest of Indy's injured list (Quinn, King, Chapman-Page...) that seems to be ever growing, and ever worrisome. The off weekend this coming weekend might be helpful in getting guys healthy again. 

I've often heard Coach Painter of Purdue men's basketball say that winning can hide a lot of problems. Indy have been grinding out games, getting timely Own Goals and penalty kicks, to keep the undefeated streak going. However, maybe the wins were hiding some problems that reared their head tonight. Regardless, Indy go into their bye week with a bad taste in their mouth and a longer line into the medical staff's room during next week's training. The undefeated and winning streak are something they will look at appreciatively at the end of the season, but post-game, both McAuley and Lindley said the same thing. What has happened in past games is in the past. Neither could take solace in knowing the loss came at the end of a near record-breaking club results streak. For now, the 2016 team remain as the undefeated torchbearers in (men's) club history, but this 2024 team will be known for their win streak, whether they were in a place to admit it last night or not. 

 As we creep towards the halfway point of the season, Indy sit in 3rd place in the table. The teams immediately behind them have games-in-hand so we'll see where they start to land once those teams begin to become more even in games played. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

It might seem strange based on his stat line and his amount of time in the game, and while Lindley's control of the midfield makes my midfielder heart want to give it to him, he's going to get edged tonight for the GBGB by his newest teammate, Romario Williams. His stats weren't eye-popping, but his first touch was really good and he looked dynamic. With a little more time with his teammates, the up top pairing of the Williamses with Guenzatti tucked underneath should prove to be a formidable weapon. I think fans saw in this game just a glimpse of what the trio could be capable of providing moving forward. They'll want to see any or all be more clinical in their finishing than they were tonight, but there's promise there that could separate them from the other recent starters in Martinez and Ikoba. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Orange County SC - 10.05

Summary

- Opponent: Orange County SC
- Location: Championship Soccer Stadium
- Attendance: 3,977
- Final Score: 0-1 L

- Starting XI: Oettl, Boudadi, Diz Pe, Vazquez, Dambrot, Lindley, Blake, Quinn, Martinez, Robledo, Guenzatti (C)

- Substitution: Fjeldberg 65' (Martinez); Asante 65' (Robledo); Rebellon 75' (Boudadi); Tejada 79' (Blake)

- Unused: Trilk, Jerome, Rissi

- Scoring Summary:
OC – Iloski 30’ (Penalty Kick)

- Bookings:

IND – Dize Pe 23’ (Yellow)
IND - Blake 36' (Yellow)
OC - Jamison 56' (Yellow)
OC - Scott 73' (Yellow)

- Referee: Ricardo Fierro

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

To say that Indy's previous two trips to California in 2022 were not pleasant, is an understatement. Indy lost to San Diego in June by a score of 5-nil, and then traveled to Monterey Bay in September and returned back to Indy with another 5-nil loss. So the west coast wasn't friendly to Indy. Indy did play tonight's opponent, Orange County SC, in April to a 3-1 win, but did so from the friendlier confines of The Mike.

This, however, is a different Indy Eleven team. Basically from top to bottom. Of tonight's starting lineup, only Dambrot and Vazquez were a part of either of those two games' starting lineups. None of Indy's scorers in the Orange County game are still on the team. However, the results were the same. Different team, same flight home without any points. 

Orange County was awarded a penalty kick in the 29th minute awarded, against the run of play at that point of the game, which felt exactly like a repeat of last week's game against Oakland. Iloski stepped up and hop skipped his run-up to his shot that sent Oettl the wrong way, giving Orange County an early lead. After the goal, the game opened up as OC began to realize they could win the game, and Indy searched in vain for the equalizer or winner. Indy couldn't break down the OC defense, and OC couldn't unlock Indy's for a second goal. So a 1-nil loss is how Indy finished their first west coast road trip of the season.

Which leads us to an important question.

Is the beautiful game "beautiful" if you can't score goals and win goals? 

I would argue no. It was absolutely frustrating to watch Indy not convert any of their possession nor shots into actual goals. Did I accidentally post a blank image from the USL match center? Nope. That was Indy's shots on target in the first half. With a roughly 60/40 advantage in possession, Indy managed to add just 2 shots on target in the second half when they were chasing, but considering that they had 39 crosses, 26 of which came in the second half, Indy gave themselves plenty of opportunities to test Orange County's goalkeeper, but continually didn't do that. Cropper finished the game with just 2 saves. Indy have just been extremely poor in their finishing, if they even shoot. At this point in the season, Indy haven't translated their possession into enough shots, and certainly not enough goals.   

Tonight's loss brings Indy's recent California trips goal total to 11-nil. The bad news is that Indy have to return back to the Golden State in May to play Sacramento. Before that though, Indy return home to play another California team in Monterey Bay on the 22nd. I wasn't worried in the beginning of the season about the possession not translating into goals, but we've reached a point where goals, or at least chances on goal, should be happening more often with the amount of time that the team control the ball and the game. I'm now succumbing to my pessimistic nature, and am now worried.

I guess we'll find out next Saturday.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I hope that at some point I'm able to award the GBGB to a player for their ability to score (at least) one goal and give Indy a victory. Until that happens, I have to look for other ways to acknowledge good play, despite the losses. For his burst of energy in his role off the bench, tonight's GBGB goes to Fjeldberg. In 25-minutes of action, Fjeldberg accounted for one of Indy's shot on target, 2 of their crosses, and won 66% of his duels. He immediately made an impact upon entering the game, but he too couldn't find a shot or goal.

Indy Eleven vs Orange County SC - 09.07

Summary

- Opponent: Orange County SC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 5,906
- Final Score: 3-1 W

- Starting XI: Panicco, McQueen, Jerome, Cochran, Timmer, Ingram, Law, Aguilera, Ayoze, Fjeldberg, Pinho
- Substitution: Hackshaw 25' (Jerome - injury); Arteaga 45' (Ayoze); Powder 53' (Law - injury); Briggs 70' (Pinho)
- Unused: Trilk, Michael, Ouimette

- Scoring Summary:
OC - Kuningas 13'
IND - Powder 54' (assist Pinho)
IND - Pinho 64' (assist Arteaga)
IND - Briggs 90'+2' (unassisted)

- Bookings:
OC - Henry 45'+3' (Yellow)
IND - Powder 54' (Yellow)
IND - Aguilera 90' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elijio Arreguin
- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

I've already conveyed a few times this year that I lean pessimistic and so I'm going to start out that way here. I won't end that way though. 

A 3-1 win is great and it sends fans home happy. As can be seen in the graph to the right, Indy's five-game unbeaten streak and three-game win streak, has Indy trending in the right direction. Which is good.

Sliding towards pessimism, with the exception of the draw against Louisville, AT Louisville, Indy's undefeated streak hasn't come against the USL world-beaters. However, clawing my way back towards optimism, you can only play the teams in front of you and get positive results from those games. Indy has found itself at home, against (on paper) "lesser" teams, while Indy gets used to each other and a new coach, and recovers from some key injuries. If you win your home games and beat the teams you are supposed to beat, you'll likely make the playoffs where anything can happen. That's exactly what is happening for Indy right now. They're winning the games they are supposed to win, even if they aren't doing themselves any favors at times.

Orange County's goal is a good example of that last statement. They're a big team who started the first half playing long balls over the top to avoid Indy's midfield. In one of the rare example where Cochran (or Timmer or Hackshaw or Ouimette) didn't win a header cleanly, the ball made it over all the defense putting Kuningas in a 1v1 with Panicco and he nicely finished through the five-hole. Seven games into the season and a clean sheet continues to elude the Eleven. Which is a bit frustrating, but Panicco also didn't have to make a save. Having your goalkeeper finish the game without a save, and win, is always a good thing. 

There were also some close calls where OC crosses narrowly missed being placed into Indy's goal by Indy players. Yet, Coach Lowry confidently told the broadcast at halftime, "we're going to win this game." When I asked him why he said it so confidently, he said, "I thought, the goal aside, the first half was fine. We finished the first half really well...with the subs I knew I had in my back pocket on the bench, I just felt like we were going to win this game."

Look at the stats. In nearly every category, Coach wasn't wrong. Indy won this game. For me, this is one of those times when the stats and the eye test agree. Did OC have some chances? Sure. Did I think they played at a level to win the game? No, not really.

I still have my doubts about a couple of the players (I'm not going to name them right now, but I know others disagree with me), but this team took the hit in the first games as they worked their way into the system and gained familiarity with each other. As they have gained experience together and with Lowry's system, they have been able to play games at home and against struggling or tired teams (remember, OC played LAFC midweek in the U.S. Open Cup). That's not an unimportant fact. Playing at home is supposed to be an advantage. An advantage the 2016 and 2019 versions of Indy Eleven understood and rode to, and into, the playoffs. That can be the case here and Coach Lowry knows it:

"I feel we have the environment to do that. The fans are obviously fantastic, The BYB make the energy superb. Sometimes having this type of field [editor's note, yes, that is yet another reference to the crappy Carroll Stadium turf]...is an advantage because teams don't enjoy coming here. So we have to embrace that and find ways to win here. And I think we're doing that. Teams don't want to come here and play here. So you know what, we'll make them miserable for 90 minutes as well, beat them and send them home with zero points. We have to keep doing it. We can't lose games at home. If we do that, at the end of the season, we'll be in the playoffs. That's how football works."

What doesn't help are injuries. Getting Ayoze and Arteaga back has taken this team from "ok, let's see where this goes" to "yeah, this team could be dangerous." More on Arteaga later...hint, hint. Yet, Lowry's substitution pattern was thrown completely out of the window last night with two more injuries, both key injuries. The first one was Jerome in the 25th minute when he rolled his ankle chasing down a high-bouncing ball and came down wrong. Fortunately, Hackshaw has returned and seems to be healthy again and slotted in the backline in his old left back role, and Timmer took over the CB role vacated as Jerome sat down early. The versatility of the guys on the roster makes that change easier, but Jerome is still a major loss depending on the extent of his injury. The second injury was Nicky Law who left the game in the 53rd minute. I've had two years of telling you what I think about Nicky Law, so I'll save that today. So just as Indy is getting two very important pieces back, two more very important pieces left this game early. Oh, and Fjeldberg left with cramps, further hampering Lowry's substitution patter in this game. 

"Nicky should be fine... Jerome rolled his ankle over in the corner...the next couple of days will let us know how quickly it goes down. We got a home game next weekend against Hartford and then we got a week off. So that week off might come at a good time. ... looking back at Nicky's [injury] at halftime, we probably should have taken Nicky off at halftime and kept Ayo on for another 10 minutes, that would have saved a sub, but the plan was to try and win the game and get Manu and Ayo quality minutes with some thought to it."

I might have the next statement from Coach placed somewhere permanently on my site. With the possibility of Jerome maybe missing some time, I asked Coach if he thought it was going to be beneficial that Hackshaw, Timmer, and Cochran all had time together last year along the back line? "Yeah, that's a good point." 

That's it. I had an Indy Eleven coach tell me I said something worthwhile. I could retire now and go out on top.

Or I'll just keep going, like I seem to do... Back to the game...

This version of Indy Eleven has attacking options for days. Even with the affected sub pattern, Indy is able to bring on Arteaga, Powder, and Briggs. That's some serious firepower to have in Lowry's back pocket, and you can see why he was confident about winning this game. As I said last week, it's not always the team that starts the game, but the team that finishes it, and with back-to-back 90'+2' goals, Briggs is showing he can absolutely destroy a back line that is tired of dealing with Pinho for the first part of the game. And Asante is still to arrive! 

Look, I'm prone to pessimism, but in some ways this team is setup like what it feels like how many of the Western Division conference are setup. Indy, undoubtedly, has the ability to start getting clean sheets, but they definitely feel like they are close to being able to try and outscore some teams. They're not there yet, but having Arteaga back in the mix feels like the piece that was missing and Asante is just going to make that attacking threat greater...and deeper.

Indy gave up an early goal, absorbed pressure towards the end as OC were looking for a game-tying goal, and yet Indy not only hung on, but found a third goal through Briggs. Indy remain home for another week against a bottom of the table Hartford and a chance to stay in the top half of the table. 

Win your games at home. Beat the teams you're supposed to beat. Make the playoffs.

I know Indy has some struggles and some things to fix, but even my jaded pessimistic self is starting to see that Indy has the ability to follow that formula.  

An opposing goalkeeper with his hands on his hips in a cloud of smoke from the BYB.
The way it should be.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This is another game where I think several guys deserve the GBGB. Ingram was spectacular in an unassuming way. Pinho, Briggs, and Powder all had goals. Fjeldberg was inches from having his own. Hackshaw came into the game so early he had to take his earring off and give it to Gabe right before he went onto the field. Ayo looked like Ayo. All that being said, I have to give it to Arteaga.

He just changed what OC had to deal with when he came on at halftime. He had 2 chances created, 1 assist, won 11 of his 15 duels, won 6 of his 7 aerial duals, and was 80% accurate with his passes in ORANGE COUNTY'S HALF. 

This likely won't be the last GBGB for Arteaga this season, but I also think that it isn't going to be long before Ingram gets "rewarded" with a future GBGB.

Additional Photos (Courtesy of @DLTPhotog)