Indy Eleven vs Loudoun United - 13.15

Summary

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

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

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

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

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

- Bookings:

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

- Referee: Servando Berna Rico

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

Thoughts and Opinions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game Beckons Game Ball

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

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Detroit City FC - 13.14

Summary

- Opponent: Detroit City FC
- Location: Keyworth Stadium
- Attendance: 6,509
- Final Score: 2-0 L

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

- Substitution: Omar 57' (Blake); Mitrano 57' (Mesanvi); Sharp 74' (Okello); Herbert 74' (Craig)

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

- Scoring Summary:
DET - Mentzingen 47' (assist Stanley)
DET - Rodriquez 52' (assist Mentzingen)

- Bookings:

DET - Rodriquez 11' (Yellow)
DET - Yamazaki 35' (Yellow)
DET - Diouf 55' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 83' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 87' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 89' (Yellow)
IND - Mitrano 90'+3' (Yellow)

- Referee: Joshua Encarnación

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

Thoughts and Opinions

The lead-up to this game for most fans was likely the England vs France World Cup game that was, in a word, bonkers. The third place match had just about everything the casual fan hopes to see and what every soccer sicko relishes whenever it happens. 10 goals. 20 shots on target. A hat trick. An epic first half by one team followed by an epic comeback by the other team in the second half. England jumped out to a 4-nil lead by halftime and France clawed their way back to 4-3 before England added a 5th, only to see France get one more in stoppage to make it 5-4. Bellingham put the nail in the coffin in the 90'+8' minute with a 6th and final goal to make one of the most interesting and unique games of the World Cup. For me, England playing Mexico in Mexico City is one of the best games of the World Cup, but their 3rd place match is right up there.

Indy and Detroit fans then watched this game.

Interesting to watch but in a different way. Smaller, turf field. Ten times fewer fans. Good and great players giving it their all compared to great and elite players. That talent difference though leads to more poor touches, last ditch defending, missed finishes, missed headers, or slow reactions. 

That last one was what happened to get Detroit on the board early in the second half when Mesanvi was caught ball watching and Mentzingen got to the ball first to get the ball passed Dick. An adage goal amount of time later and Rodriquez doubled the scoring when a missed header by Okello fell to Maxi who one-timed it in to the goal. With fine margins, it's the simple mistakes and simple acts of doing things right that wins and loses games at this level.

Despite a 7-save night from Dick, Detroit found the goal twice and picked up the win in a feisty, hard-fought game. The four-ish hours of soccer that fans watched tonight were vastly different in how they looked, but for soccer sickos (like anybody that is actually reading this), soccer is soccer and somehow we keep coming back to watch it. England, France, Detroit, or Indy. Somehow we can't get enough of it. I would have liked to see Indy get the win in Detroit, but I was able to watch 4 hours of weirdly entertaining soccer.

Indy return to action next Saturday against Loudoun. I assume I'll see some of my fellow sickos at Carroll Stadium ready to watch two teams in the middle to lower part of the Eastern Conference of a second division league in the United States compete for a chance to not get left out of the league's playoffs in the fall. 

Indy Eleven vs Miami FC - 13.13

Summary

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

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

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

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Craig, Mitrano

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

- Bookings:

MIA - Sonora 74' (Yellow)

- Referee: Calin Radosav

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

Thoughts and Opinions

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indy Eleven vs Charleston Battery - 13.12

Summary

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

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

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

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

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

- Bookings:

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

- Referee: Matt Thompson

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

Thoughts and Opinions

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

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

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

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

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

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

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

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

Game Beckons Game Ball

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

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Stadium
- Attendance: 5,127
- Final Score: 0-0 D AET (7-6 Indy in Shootout)

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Barry, Craig (C), Rasheed, Neidlinger, Omar, O'Brien, J., Okello, Rendon, Williams, K., Sing

- Substitution: Mesanvi 45 (Rendon); Blake 61' (Williams, K.); Sharp 61' (Sing); Mitrano 82' (Barry)

- Unused: Dick, Kizza

- Scoring Summary:
NONE

- Shootout Summary:
IND - Blake (Saved)
LEX - Molloy (Scored) - 0-1
IND - O'Brien (Scored) 1-1
LEX - Midence (Scored) 1-2
IND - Omar (Scored) 2-2
LEX - Ordonez (Scored) 2-3
IND - Mitrano (Scored) 3-3
LEX - Epps (Scored) 3-4
IND - Sharp (Scored) 4-4
LEX - Hafferty (Saved) 4-4
IND - Craig (Scored) 5-4
LEX - Firmino (Scored) 5-5
IND - Neidlinger (Scored) 6-5
LEX - Greene (Scored) 6-6
IND - Rasheed (Scored) 7-6
LEX - Blessing (Saved) 7-6
Indy win 7-6

- Bookings:

IND - Neidlinger 18' (Yellow)
LEX - Bench 69' (Yellow)
LEX - Firmino 70' (Yellow)
LEX - Zengue 78' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 88' (Yellow)

- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

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

Thoughts and Opinions

I thought that I was going to be discussing Indy's 3 games in 8 days stretch and how it might affect this game against Lexington. However, thunderstorms came through Indy on Wednesday forcing, I think, Indy's first-ever home cancellation. So Indy made the trip to Lexington with one less game on their legs than anticipated. The roster still looked different though with guys that are injured, on international duty, or somewhere else. Indy somehow managed to get a nil-nil draw and bump themselves, likely temporarily, up to 2nd in the Group 4 USL Cup standings thanks to the 7-6 penalty shootout victory.

As many people may tell you, mathematics are hard. Indy's math to get out of the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup is even harder, but a win was almost vital to even come close to giving themselves a chance. With tonight's game, Indy is the only team to have played all four games of the group stage and their fate is now completely out of their hands. And yet... they haven't been mathematically eliminated from contention. IF Forward Madison beats Union Omaha AND Louisville beats Lexington AND Fort Wayne beats Detroit City, then Indy would miraculously finish 2nd in the Group. The odds would still be against them in the tiebreakers to get one of the wild card slots, but they haven't been officially eliminated from the knockout rounds. Maybe that's grasping at straws, but getting a draw and the shootout win shows Indy's continued fight despite the issues they continue to have with player availability.

Indy next return to Carroll Stadium for a July 4th contest against Charleston after a bye week. Thanks to the postponement of the Brooklyn game and Indy's USL Cup games, the game against the Battery will be just their 2nd league game since the Rhode Island game from May 30th. Despite the infrequent league games, Indy has still clung to a spot above the playoff line, which is miracle number two in this article. 

I don't know how the season is going to end for Indy, whether that's a spot in the playoffs or not, but I have to appreciate the fight that this team continues to show game after game. Nobody would really say that it's the prettiest of soccer, but they do seem to find a way to get good results (and put themselves in a position to get better results) more often than not. Tonight was no different; Charles-Cook came up big and players gutted out a draw and shootout victory. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

He doesn't get a lot of minutes playing behind Eric Dick, but Reice Charles-Cook made 7 saves in regulation and two vital saves in the penalty kick shootout to help get the team into the shootout and then to get the extra point from the shootout win, respectively. The team still doesn't have much chance to make it out of the group stage as a Wild Card, but it's good to see Reice get some good minutes and play well in them. So he gets tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 13.11

Summary

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

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

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

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

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

- Bookings:

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

- Referee: Nabil Bensalah

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Full Time Heat Map

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

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

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

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

Indy Eleven vs Forward Madison - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Forward Madison
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,586
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Quinn (C), Rasheed, Craig, Neidlinger, Lindley, O'Brien, J., Blake, Okello, Rendon, Kizza

- Substitution: Mitrano 36' (Quinn - Injury); Omar 63' (Lindley); Sing 63' (Kizza); Barry 86' (Rendon); Lowden 86' (Williams, K.)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Mesanvi

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Craig 48' (assist Rendon)
IND - O'Brien, J. 54'

- Bookings:

MAD - Torres 12' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 21' (Yellow)
MAD - Shannon 47' (Yellow)
MAD - Kanyane 50' (Yellow)
MAD - Toure 58' (Yellow)
IND - O'Brien, J. 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Muhammad Kaleia

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

Thoughts and Opinions

In the game against Rhode Island, I mentioned Indy's kickoff starts being much like a Hail Mary pass in the other type of football and that it resulted in a 17 second shot on target for Indy. Forward Madison had the exact same starting formation with nearly the same results. The only difference was that Madison's was 1 second quicker and not on target. However, the Hail Mary formation has been effective for the team starting the game that way in the past two men's game. In a modern game where position often reigns supreme, it's a stark difference in the way that Indy plays and how effective the long ball kickoff has been recently. 

Shots - Full Time

The League One side may have started the shots, but it was Indy that dominated that stat. The final totals were 24 shots for Indy to 8 shots for Forward Madison. More telling was the Shots on Target that were swayed drastically to Indy's favor to the tune of a 14 to 1 advantage. Had it not been for some great saves by Manske, this had the makings of a major drubbing. Some of Indy's 14 shots on target were right at Manske, but he was forced into some really good reaction saves, all from close range as Indy took 20 of their 24 shots from within the box. Madison's shots were scattered throughout the game, while Indy had a constant peppering of Manske's goal throughout the entirety of the game. The two-goal difference is good for Indy but could have been much worse for the visitors if it hadn't been for some of Manske's saves. 

Indy's injury struggles have been discussed frequently on this site this year, but Indy has mostly found a way to be successful, getting points out of 8 of their 10 home games across all competitions. Watching Quinn get subbed out in the 36th minute ultimately didn't affect this game, but does create some concern for the future depending on the type of injury he sustained. The backline has been a constant work effort in sending out a workable lineup as McAuley has dealt with season-long injuries and international duty. For multiple reason, hopefully, Quinn's injury isn't severe.

There's still a lot of season to be played, with injuries continuing to be something to keep in mind, but as of today - after the 10th league game, 3 USL Cup games, & 2 Open Cup games - the 2026 team is sitting at the second highest percentage rate in team history at points achieved behind only the 2016 team (who took points from a game 81% of the time) and just ahead of the 2019 team (at 72.5%), arguably the two high water marks for successful Indy Eleven seasons. For a team that I called a potential middle of the table League One team a month ago, they have continued to get results. Are they games against the highest echelon teams in the Eastern Conference? No. But you have to get wins or at least positive results from the teams that are struggling/not good, and Indy has done that really well the last month. Tonight's win was against a League One opponent and likely still isn't going to be enough to help Indy advance to the USL Cup knockout rounds, but Indy has also had poor results from other League One opponents this year. 

Getting a solid victory at home with a week to prepare for games against Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, and Lexington in a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday stretch is a good way to start June.

Game Beckons Game Ball

I don't do it very often, but periodically I have to give credit where credit is due, even if that player is on the opposing team. Indy's constant attack resulted in constant shots and shots on target. Manske clearly kept this game within an arm's reach for Madison. Otherwise, the goal differential would have been far worse for the Flamingos. For Manske's 12 saves and 5 clearances, I have to give him tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Rhode Island FC - 13.10

Summary

- Opponent: Rhode Island FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,188
- Final Score: 1-0 W

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

- Substitution: Barry 57' (Kizza); Sing 67' (Neidlinger); Omar 80' (Okello); Williams, K. 90'+3' (Blake); Mitrano 90'+4' (Rendon)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Lowden

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 55' (assist Quinn)

- Bookings:

RI - Thompson 8' (Yellow)
IND - Okello 15' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 36' (Yellow)
RI - Holstad 56' (Yellow)

- Referee: Thomas Snyder

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Rhode Island, the franchise, has shown that a team can flip the switch and play really good soccer. Rhode Island, this year, has had a mixed bag of results, coming into the game with a 3W-3D-3L record while scoring 4 goals twice (vs Charleston and Brooklyn) and conceding at least 3 goals twice (vs Louisville and Birmingham). Indy's highest output this year has been a couple of 3-goal games (Monterey Bay and Lexington, but not counting the 3-nil result against Des Moines). So the potential existed for the game to be a high-scoring affair. Instead, what happened was a 1-nil win for Indy Eleven after getting a second half goal and then grinding out the result with good team defense at the end of the game.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

The player landmarks continue to roll in for the Indy Eleven players. Lindley officially overtook Ayoze for the Games Started lead in team history, as well as the Minutes Played statistic, which also pushed him over the 15,000 minute mark for his USL Championship career. 

Not to be outdone, Aodhan Quinn achieved his 300th regular season appearance in USL Championship, while also becoming the first player to reach 25,000 minutes in the league. 

Congrats on the milestones, guys!

When Indy has the kickoff for the first or second half, the team lines up like the kind of football with the oblong ball. Multiple guys line up on the center stripe like a bunch of wide receivers and tight ends getting ready to make a run downfield for a Hail Mary pass. Once the referee blows the whistle, it doesn't look that much different from that other kind of football play as the ball gets blasted up the field in the hope that somebody latches onto the ball. Usually, it doesn't amount to much, but that type of start does set up the team to get an early shot if they get the first or second header. In this game, Indy's starting play resulted in Indy getting their first shot on target just 17 seconds into the game, but Okello's shot was right at Vegas for the first save of the game.

After that, though, the game turned into an up-and-down game as neither team seemed to care that much about holding possession and working slowly up the field from the back. Both teams looked to get the ball into their offensive half as quickly as possible. Watching the game, you can see how Rhode Island can score a bunch of goals, but can also concede a bunch of goals. The first half included some good shots and shots on target, including a shot by Rendon that just drifted wide of the post, but that was about the only shot that could be argued really tested the goalkeepers or had a legitimate shot in breaking the dead lock. As a result, the two teams finished the half nil-nil, with nearly identical statistics.

Post Indy Goal Shot Map

Indy got the scoring started in the 55th minute when Rendon connected on a corner kick ball put in by Quinn. The opportunity was created by some good interplay between Rendon and Neidlinger that was ushered across the endline by Rhode Island. Rendon's shot happened as he drifted away from the goal and put his shot in the left side netting in a place where Vegas couldn't get to it. Rendon admitted after the game that he wasn't completely sure how he managed to get the ball where it finished, but was glad that it did.

Just seconds after the restart, Rhode Island had their own opportunity when the communication by the Indy defenders looked like the were using Morse Code and Kwizera nearly snuck a shot around the defenders and Dick. Fortunately for the home fans, Kwizera pushed the shot wide. Indy's goal and Kwizera's effort ratcheted up the Rhode Island intensity and the play tilted drastically to Rhode Island's advantage. 

Despite the barrage of shots that Rhode Island sent towards the Indy goal in the final 30 minutes of the game, the late equalizer that Indy has frequently conceded never occurred and Indy Eleven extended their league home unbeaten streak to 9 games and getting Dick his first clean sheet of the season. Thanks to the other results around the league tonight, including losses by Detroit and Louisville (who dropped an unprecedented - for them - fourth straight loss), Indy vaulted up the table to 2nd place. With a third of their season complete, I'm not sure that was where I would have picked them to be given the youth of the roster and the injuries they have sustained. 

There's still a lot of season left to play out, but based on my records, the last time Indy was this high in the table was Week 18 of the 2024 season when they were ranked 3rd before finishing the season in 4th. The last time they were sitting higher than Louisville in the table was Week 5 of the 2021 season (Louisville finished that season top of the table while Indy missed the playoffs, so hopefully that doesn't repeat itself). 

Indy return to action next week to play League One side Forward Madison as part of the Prinx Tires USL Cup. Given Indy's recent struggles against their League One opponents, it's impossible to gauge how the team will fare despite the continued string of good results at home in league play. It seems highly unlikely that Indy will make it out of group play due to their other USL Cup results and the other teams' results, but Coach McAuley holds Cup competitions in high regard so I'm sure he will have the team fired up to make a good showing of themselves in the final group stage games.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

When the season started, it was generally believed that Paco Craig was signed to provide depth at the defender position. Given the early injury to Pat Hogan, Craig became the starter. White has also sustained a season-long injury, meaning the back line has been in constant flux this year. With Herbert's temporary departure from the team while away on international duty as part of the friendlies ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Craig was once again thrust into playing alongside a different defender, while also trying to help contain Rhode Island's dangerous striker J.J. Williams. Time and again tonight, it seemed like Craig was in the right position to help his young defense partner, Rasheed, contain Williams. Looking at his stats for the game, Craig won every single one of his duels, every single one of his aerial duels, and accounted for 14 of the team's 42 clearances. On a night when Indy get a 1-nil victory and their first league clean sheet of the season, Craig was a big reason why. I could give the GBGB to Rendon for his goal or Dick for the clean sheet, but I think the 33 year old 5-time All-USL defender deserves the recognition tonight. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 13.09

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,745
- Final Score: 3-1 W

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

- Substitution: Barry 55' (Kizza); Sing 66' (Mesanvi); Mitrano 78' (Barry); Rasheed 79' (Neidlinger)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Okello, Williams

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 13' (assist Kizza)
LEX - Molloy 51' (assist Ferri)
IND - O'Brien 71' (assist Blake)
IND - Sing 76' (assist Quinn)

- Bookings:

LEX - Brown 3' (RED)
IND - Rendon 4' (Yellow)
LEX - Zenque 32' (Yellow)
LEX - Goodrum 80' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 90' (Yellow)

- Referee: Luis Diego Arroyo (& Braeden Frey)

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

At some point, Indy Eleven may enact a Ring of Honor for the club. When that happens, I have some thoughts on who should be included in it. Brad Ring is at the top of the list for me. After that, Ayoze, Zayed, Busch, and Smart have legit arguments to be in that initial class. There are three players from the current team that may not be in the first Ring of Honor announcement (but probably should), but it would just be a matter of time for them to make their way to that honor as far as I'm concerned. Blake, Quinn, and Lindley have cemented themselves into that discussion. With his appearance tonight, Lindley became the official leader in Games Played for the team, and will become the leader in Games Started and Minutes Played if/when he plays against Rhode Island next week. I had some objections to the way McAuley utilized Lindley in the early part of last year, otherwise those records would have already been Cam's. As far as I'm concerned, he has as much of an argument to the first Ring of Honor group as those other guys. They have already, but by the time they finish their careers in Indy, Blake, Lindley, and Quinn will have fully cemented their places as the best players to have been a part of the Indy franchise and two of the three got assists on the night.

When you're struggling to get wins, like Lexington has struggled to do this season, the last thing you need to do is put yourself in a position to make that harder. Lexington did just that when Brown took offense to Rendon putting a ball into Brown's chest when he was on the ground, and Brown did his version of Manny Pacquiao and threw a left jab that firmly caught Rendon in the jaw. The red card was immediate and deserved and Lexington found themselves a man down in just the 3rd minute of the game. Rendon picked up his own yellow card for his involvement in the altercation, but 87-minutes with a man-advantage is a difficult ask. As a result, Lexington found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-1 loss with an Josh O'Brien 71st-minute winner.

Indy's first goal came from Herbert's ability to blast headers back from whence they game. Turns out his ability to win balls in the air can result to instant offense. In the 13th minute, he did that once again and his ball found Kizza in the middle of the field. Kizza immediately turned and went straight at the Lexington defense. A well-placed ball through the line to an on-rushing Rendon who put the ball over Semmle for the early Indy lead. Lexington is a team that possesses the ball really well, so the early goal from Indy gave them an ability to dictate the game more. While Indy still conceded some possession because Indy's going to Indy, but they're attacks were more effective with the man advantage.

For I think the first time in team history, just before the 40th minute of the game, referee Arroyo came up limping as he chased down an attack from Indy. As both teams sprinted towards the Lexington goal, you can see Arroyo do the universal "just pulled a hammy" stutter step and must have signaled in the earpiece that he was done for the game. Arroyo gingerly walked to the sideline where he and fourth official Braeden Frey swapped the required electrical gear as Frey became the lead official and Arroyo took over the fourth official duties. The referee stoppage and the red card dust-up resulted in 6 minutes of stoppage time, but Rendon's early goal was the extent of the scoring as the teams went into the halftime locker room with Indy's 1-goal lead. 

Lexington didn't have any official shots on target in the first half, but they did rattle the woodwork early in the game and, of course, held the possession advantage despite their man disadvantage. Indy, with the man advantage, did make more use of their possession with a 0.79 xG vs 0.15 for LEX. Indy was also to adjust their style of play enough that they were significantly less than their average for long passes. That they weren't up by more than the one goal was really the only downside to the first half for the home team.

Then Molloy came out of the locker room and found a 51st minute banger from long distance that had so much swerve on it that Dick went one way and the ball went the other way into the right side of the goal. Suddenly, Indy's obvious win because of their early goal and man advantage looked tenuous. Lexington's ability to hold possession while also knowing that they would also fully bunker late if they could keep the score tied to get a draw on the road with a man down meant that Indy's trend of losing points from winning positions was again in play.

Yet a 5-minute stretch gave Indy the cushion they needed to feel better about the performance and the result. In the 71st minute, a Blake cross missed Sing's head, but O'Brien latched onto the ball as it hit the ground and redirected it into the Lexington goal restoring Indy's lead. Five minutes later, Sing did get his head to a cross, this time from Quinn and Indy had their insurance goal to make the final 15-minutes nervy, but not as concerning as Indy's other games with just a one-goal lead. As Indy saw out the game with a 2-goal differential (and a 2.64 xG to 0.29 advantage) to make the result more closely match what you hope to get when a team has a man advantage for 87 minutes. 

With the win, Indy extend their league home undefeated league streak to 8 games and bumping the team up to 5th place in the table with game(s) in hand on the teams ahead of them. While people might not call their style of play "pretty," the team is getting results and would be even further up the table if they hadn't given up some late goals. Thinking about the season, it feels like the season has gone worse than what their timeline (in league games) shows. Two losses in 9 games is a very respectable start to the season, possession stats be damned. We're almost 1/3 of the way through the league season, but at this point, the team is getting positive results out of games at the 3rd highest rate in team history (69.23%) behind only the 2016 team (81.08%) and the 2019 season (72.50%), arguably the two most successful seasons in the team's history in two different leagues. 

Louisville lost tonight for their first 3 game losing streak in almost 3 years, Tampa Bay is undefeated, and the historically perennial doormat Miami is sitting in 4th place in the table. It's already been a weird season and there is a lot still to go where things can get even weirder, but Indy is finding ways to get positive results out of games even if they aren't the full points that they probably should have at this point. 

Indy look to keep their undefeated streak going next weekend when they face Rhode Island at Carroll Stadium in the second game of the current 3-game homestand. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

Rendon has 7 goals through 12 games in all competitions. It's crazy to think that just a couple of seasons ago he was the League One Defender of the Year, and now he has ~1/3 of Indy's goals for the season and probably should have more. He's playing so well right now that it's almost expected to the point that despite being near the top of the league in goals scored and getting tonight's opening goal, he wasn't the player talking to Rakestraw and Ring after the game. Because I don't want to disregard the kind of heater he's on right now, Rendon gets tonight's GBGB. 

Indy Eleven vs Sporting JAX - 13.08

Summary

- Opponent: Sporting JAX
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,419
- Final Score: 2-1 W

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

- Substitution: Kizza 45' (Okello); Barry 84' (Mesanvi); Sing 88' (Rendon)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Mitrano, Rasheed, Williams

- Scoring Summary:
JAX - Al Qaq 45' (assist Jääskeläinen)
IND - Rendon 51' (assist Quinn)
IND - Herbert 65' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

JAX - Pedder 10' (Yellow)
IND - Herbert 45'+1' (Yellow)

JAX - Al Qaq 45'+5' (Yellow)
JAX - Neville 87' (Yellow)

- Referee: Igor Bych

- Adage goals: One.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 6

Thoughts and Opinions

It's not easy to be an expansion franchise. Positive results can be difficult to achieve as you're learning your team as well as the other teams in the league. There are slim margins between winning and losing. Sporting JAX came into tonight's game against Indy with a 0W-1D-7L record, but 5 of those 7 losses were 1 goal differential games. In their last 6 games, Sporting JAX was held scoreless, scoring just 5 goals all season. Indy's plan coming into the game had to be stay defensive to frustrate and continue JAX's offensive struggles and find a couple of goals of their own. Sporting JAX did manage to find a goal for the first time since March 28th, but they also couldn't keep Indy off the board as Indy converted 2 of their 9 shots on target into goals to give the home side a 2-1 victory.

For the first time this season at Carroll Stadium (at least during the league season), when referee Igor Bych blew his whistle, the game actually started. With a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) agreed upon, players didn't need to come together and stand unified to silently express their displeasure of how their fellow players were being paid and treated. The CBA took awhile to get approved, but seems to be a good step up from the previous version, notably getting minimum year-long contracts preventing players from having gaps in their salary while also requiring health insurance from all clubs and bumping the minimum salary by 40% (from $26k a year to $36.4k).

Indy got an early opportunity to open the scoring within the first 2-minutes, but it wasn't until the 20th minute until they got their first official shot on target. Both teams rank at the bottom of the league in possession and for what felt like the first time this season, Indy had a reasonably close possession battle in the early portions of the game. They even managed to hold a possession advantage at halftime and at the end of the game for the first time this year. What they didn't get in the first half was a goal despite a 3 v 1 opportunity in the 37th minute where they didn't even get a shot as Mesanvi, Rendon, and Okello made an absolutely mess of the chance. Indy dominated the first half in all the ways that should have led to a minimum 2-nil halftime advantage. However, the finishing by the team was drastically lacking, and Sporting JAX's one opportunity on goal was blasted by Dick to give the visitors a 1-nil lead headed into the locker room with a whopping xG of 0.18.

This Indy team is finding new ways to get poor results despite good performances. The consistent thing has been the inability to close out halves.

Whatever was said in the locker room from Coach McAuley or from the players themselves, Indy came out of the halftime break like a team on fire. Increased energy and effort tilted the field entirely in their favor. A 51st minute goal from a Rendon header on a Quinn corner kick brought everything back to level. Indy continued to keep the hammer down and found a second goal in the 65th minute, again off of a corner kick. After Lindley's initial delivery into the box, the ball recycled itself back around to him towards the top of the box. Lindley laid the ball off to Neidlinger who blistered a shot off the cross bar that bounced nearly straight up into the air. Herbert, who was still up from the initial corner, put a header towards the post and caught Olivares going the wrong direction. Down a goal to up a goal, but a one-goal lead is never safe with Indy despite the dominance they were showing in the second half.

Despite peppering the Sporting JAX goal with 26 shots (9 on target), Indy finished the game with just the two goals, but it was enough to get the victory. Indy held JAX to just the single shot on target, but this was a game where Indy imparted their will on the game and dominated from start to finish, with the notable exception of the JAX goal at the end of the first half. Indy had a 39.4% crossing accuracy rate on 33 crosses, forcing JAX into 50 clearances. If it hadn't been for Olivares' 7 saves and if Indy had been a little bit better with their 26 shots, this game could, and probably should, have been a higher scoring game for the home side. This is the kind of game that Indy had to have if they want to move up the table or at least stay in the playoff picture. Sporting JAX is a new team to the league struggling to get results and a defeat, or even a draw, could have been difficult on the team's psyche. As the final whistle blew, Lindley could be seen dropping to his knees and looking up in celebration, and then getting up to hug his teammates. After going down a goal to a team they had bossed all first half, and with some of the other results this season, McAuley admitted afterwards that going into halftime, the players could have easily fallen into a mentality that "maybe it wasn't going to be their day." Lindley's excitement at the win against an opponent they should beat was an outward expression that they can win these games even if the games against Union Omaha might have had them questioning themselves.

In the grand scheme of things, there's still a lot left in the season, they beat a team that they should beat, and they're still hovering around the playoff line. What the win does do is help with belief. Belief that good results can come from good performances.

Indy return to action next Saturday when they head up to the newly opened Ruoff Mortgage Stadium in Fort Wayne (don't get me started on how Fort Wayne has a new stadium and Indy is still playing at The Mike...) as part of the USL Cup group play. The aforementioned losses against Union Omaha are going to be a motivating factor for Indy as they try to get points to at least stay in the discussion to advance out of the group play in the tournament.

Indy's USL-W League team kicks off their season on Wednesday night against Racing Louisville at Grand Park, so if you can't get to Fort Wayne next Saturday, you can get your local soccer fix by supporting the Girls in Blue.

Game Beckons Game Ball

It often feels like a cop-out when I do this, but I give the GBGB to the player(s) that stand out for me, and in this game that was the veterans of Blake, Lindley, & Quinn. The three players seemed to be everywhere and wherever they needed to be. I remember a moment when Lindley had the ball around the midfield line but in a position that would have been more for a centerback. Quinn, who was on the right side of the field after a corner kick, could have received a pass from Lindley, but there wasn't much that Quinn could do with the ball if he had received it. Since he wasn't under any pressure from the Sporting JAX players, Lindley put his foot on the ball and let Quinn run across the entire field to get himself back into his left back position so that the attack could begin again with their crossing ability on opposite sides of the field instead of bunched together. The three players accounted for a combined 12 chances created and 15 crosses. Lindley's decision to hold the ball was just one example of the level of play from the three veterans that stood out to me.

Lindley is mere minutes away from overtaking Ouimette for 2nd all-time in minutes (and Ayoze is within reach within a few games), will equal Ayoze in Games Played in his next game, will equal Ayoze in Games Started in a couple of games. Blake's the team's all-time leader in goals. Quinn will be the next player to join the Century Club, and with his assist tonight, tied Dylan Mares for 2nd all-time with Ayoze in his sights. 

At some point, the three guys are going to finish their time at this club as legends, and they showed their class tonight. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography