Indy Eleven vs Cosmos - 01.23

- Opponent: New York Cosmos
- Location: New York, New York
- Attendance: 6,225
- Final Score: 0-0 T
- Starting XI: Nicht, Norales, Miller, Hyland, Franco, Smart, Pena, Mares, Pineda, Ambersley, Rugg
- Substitutions: Frias 27' (Hyland - Injury), Johnson 69' (Smart), Jhulliam 78' (Mares), Ambersley out with injury 87'
- Goals: None
- Bookings: Ambersley 82' (Yellow), Norales 85' (Yellow)

I'm not sure why the Indy Star couldn't have put together more than 26 words about this game.  I didn't watch anything more than the @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, the YouTube highlights video, the Eleven game recap, and the stats for the game and I still saw at least five different things worth mentioning in my first look at everything.

1. The Cosmos took 7 shots and Nicht made 7 saves on the day, while the Eleven were able to only tally a single official shot on goal.  That effort gives Nicht only his third clean sheet of the season.
2. Charlie Rugg got his first start for the team only 2 days after being loaned to the team by the L.A. Galaxy II.
3. Supersub Don Smart made his 6th start for the team, his first in 7 games.
4. Kyle Hyland started at left back only to have an ankle injury in the 27th minute forcing Coach Sommer to use one of his substitutions early in the game.
5. That substitution would become important as Mike Ambersley was taken off the field in the 87th minute with a possible concussion.  All three subs had been used at this point, so the Eleven played a man down for the last 3 minutes of regulation + 6 minutes of stoppage time.

All that is not including the fact that the Indy Eleven lost nearly all of the major statistical categories and yet still managed to play the Cosmos to a nil-nil draw. Their third draw of the season against the Cosmos. The third place in the Combined Standings, appear-to-be-safely-in-the-"Championship," defending NASL Champions, Cosmos.

Or the fact that the game was called by one of the most famous voices in American soccer by JP Dellacamera.

Or the fact that before he was injured, Hyland had a great save of a shot off the line in the 13th minute after Nicht was beaten.

Or that Nicht is up for a Play of the Week thanks to a spectacular save in the 76th minute of a penalty kick from 35 yards away that was deflected on its way towards Nicht (Fine.  In the Star's defense, the Plays of the Week were selected after the Sunday edition of the paper would have been printed...)

Maybe they'll have more to say after the Eleven get their first home win in an upset over the top ranked Minnesota United this weekend.

Highlights

Indy Eleven vs Cosmos - 01.23 - Star Edition

This blog is a labor of love and my desire to write about soccer, typically about the Indy Eleven.  I'm not a writer by education nor profession, but I try to write as well as I can and with as much effort as I'm able to do in my spare time from my normal job and hectic life.  Nor do I get paid to do this in any way, not even with ads on the site.  The extent of my reward is the periodic retweet from Indy Eleven about one of my recaps. The Indy Star, however, is the opposite of all of that.  Well, except maybe the love part.  They are, however, writers and they definitely get paid.  

The Indy Eleven played the New York Cosmos yesterday, albeit in New York, and the Indy Star's Sunday edition went out of their way to let the local fans know *start sarcasm* the intricate details *end sarcasm* of the game on Page 16.

What?  You don't see it?  Here, let me zoom in a bit.

Still having trouble. Let me zoom in even further.

26 words, including the title!  Six of those words are about next week's game against Minnesota.  So take away the title and next week's information, and the Indy Star felt that you could get everything you needed to know about the game against the Cosmos in 15 words, 7 of which were the team names and when the game happened.  You could barely do this in fewer words if you did it using bullet points.

This is a professional team that is drawing capacity crowds and they deserve to be treated as such by their professional local media and not as an afterthought buried in the In Brief section.

Indy Eleven vs RailHawks - 01.22

- Opponent: Carolina RailHawks
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Attendance: 10,285
- Final Score: 1-0 L
- Starting XI: Nicht, Frias, Norales, Miller, Hyland, Franco, Kleberson (Captain), Pena, Pineda, Ambersley, Jhulliam
- Substitutions: Johnson 59' (Hyland), Smart 67' (Jhulliam), Mares 81' (Kleberson)
- Goals: None
- Bookings: Smart 90' (Yellow)













This game came down to the number one.  One touch too many or one touch too few and one goal too many and one goal too few.  I thought that the cohesiveness by the Eleven was missing and it resulted in guys continually taking one extra touch to get a good pass or shot and not getting either.  Or taking a shot or pass when one extra touch would have set themselves for a better, more effective, effort.  And the dreaded one major defensive lapse resulted in a goal for the RailHawks.

One of my favorite things from these recaps was my screen captures of the New York game where I detailed how the team gave up goals against the Cosmos.  There was only one goal in this game, but it demonstrates how quickly things can turn for this team.

In one of the few moments where I felt Franco overplayed the ball, he found himself trying to chase down the offensive player.  Yet, Norales is in a good position on his man, Miller is tracking his man while being in a position to help Franco, and Frias is in a position to eliminate the pass out to the wing.

I'm not sure why Miller decided to pinch in as much as he did at this point, but it let Albadawi get some space around him before Frias could close in on him.

Pass is made to Albadawi and Norales, Miller, and Franco are all occupying one player while Frias continues to track down Albadawi.

Frias overplays the initial touch by Albadawi...

Perfect shot back across the goal between a mass of defenders.  However, even if it had taken a deflection or if Nicht had been able to get a touch on it, there were two unmarked Carolina players at the back post ready for a tap-in goal since four Eleven players collapsed onto the ball.

A ninety-minute game came down to 5 seconds worth of questionable defense.  That's disappointing because, overall, I thought the defense did a pretty good job of keeping their shape and covering for the mistakes.  Most notably the Norales save when Miller overplayed the ball in the 30th minute.

Other items of note:

• Cory Miller is a beast in the air.  Has that guy been beaten yet on a ball played through the air?
• Hyland continues to play well, even with his move to midfield due to the injury to Smith on Friday.
• "Where's Waldo?" could have been retitled "Where's Kleberson?" for this game.  I don't think he had more than a dozen touches in the entire 80 minutes he played and that might be generous.  

Two more opportunities remain to get that elusive first home win and they just happen to come against Minnesota and San Antonio, the top two teams in the league.  Maybe the team can get a win in NYC to give themselves some confidence before heading back for the final home stand.

Update: Norales was selected as part of the Team of the Week.  Congrats!

USWNT 2015 World Cup Qualifying roster

Coach Jill Ellis' 20 woman roster was possibly leaked today ahead of the U.S. Women's National Team's qualifying games in the next couple of weeks.  The roster was due to CONCACAF yesterday, but it doesn't look like it was meant for the public just yet.

Notable absences from the recent camp and friendlies include Allie Long, Shannon Boxx, Kristie Mewis, Julie Johnston, Stephanie Cox, Rachel Van Hollebeke, Nicole Barnhart and Alyssa Naeher.

Which leaves the roster as follows:
Goalkeepers - Hope Solo, Ashlyn Harris
Defenders - Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn, Whitney Engen, Ali Krieger, Meghan Klingenberg, Kelley O’Hara, Crystal Dunn
Midfielders - Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly, Morgan Brian
Forwards - Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, Amy Rodriguez

I'm not completely surprised by the selections with the exception of maybe the midfield because I don't see a natural holding midfield player.  Morgan Brian has been playing it lately, but I think the rest of them feel more comfortable in the attacking midfield role in Ellis' 4-4-2 lineup.  Though she has been toying with a 4-3-3 lineup, so the midfield is a little more fluid in where they are playing.  Given her 4-3-3 lineups, the roster seems about right.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I think Coach Ellis should consider doing something radical, especially with the roster that she is bringing to the qualifying games.  Coach Ellis has already started toying with the idea of utilizing her riches at forward with the 4-3-3.  Even if just once, I want to see her scare the crap out of the rest of the world and start a game with a 4-2-4.

Can you imagine the opposing team's reaction if the USWNT took the field and it looked like this;

----------Morgan---------Wambach--------Press------------Leroux---------

--------------------Holiday-------------------------Rapinoe---------------------

----------O'Hara----------Sauerbrunn-------Rampone------Krieger---------

-------------------------------------Solo-------------------------------------------

With A-Rod ready and in fine form to come off the bench and take one of their spots up front when the opposing team's defense has been bombarded with one forward run after another?  That's a defender's nightmare.

What about the riches in midfield sitting on the bench too, you say?  My personal opinion is that Lloyd is a shoot first, pass second midfielder; Heath has spectacular skill but may be a little injured; and O'Reilly has always seemed to be "speed to the endline and then cross" type player.  Great players and great subs for Holiday and Rapinoe for a change of pace, but Holiday and Rapinoe do a better job of controlling the ball and getting the ball from the defense and working it to the forwards.  With O'Hara, Krieger, Dunn, and Klingenberg all capable of making runs from their outside defense positions, there could be times where it looks like a 2-4-4.  Rampone and Sauerbrunn behind all of that, combining to hold down the fort as the best two defenders in the world sitting in front of the best goalie in the world.

When I read Pele's autobiography "My Life and the Beautiful Game", he stated a couple times that during his time with Brazil, their lineup was a 4-2-4.  Attack, attack, and then attack some more.  You win games by scoring goals.  I've said before while watching the USWNT play that there is absolutely no point in games where they take their foot off the gas, no matter the score line.  If there is time left, they are going to try and add one more goal. So why hide it?  Boldly show the other team that they about to be attacked for the full ninety.

I'm not saying that the 4-2-4 would work against every opponent, but it certainly worked for Brazil back then, and I think it would work for the USWNT at times now.  Let Holiday and Rapinoe do what they do best, which is to be playmakers with an offensive tilt and let Sauerbrunn and Rampone clean up the messes that come through, while Wambach, Morgan, Leroux, and Press/A-Rod terrorize the other team's backline.

A guy can dream, can't he?

Indy Eleven vs Strikers - 01.21

- Opponent: Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Attendance: 3,112
- Final Score: 2-1 L
- Starting XI: Nicht, Frias, Miller, Okiomah, Kleberson (Captain), Corrado, Johnson, Smith, Pena, Pineda, Jhulliam
- Substitutions: Mares 45' (Pena), Ambersley (Jhulliam 65'), Smart 77' (Kleberson)
- Goals: Frias 39' (assist Miller)
- Bookings: Kleberson 75' (Yellow), Frias 77' (Yellow)

Twenty-eight seconds.  TWENTY-EIGHT SECONDS!  That takes the "adage" goal to an entirely new and disheartening level.  Remember when we were kids playing pickup games with the neighborhood kids and would have to spot them a goal or two because they weren't as good as us, but we really wanted to play and that was the only way they would agree to it.  Yeah, the Eleven need to stop thinking they're playing against the little kids in the neighborhood.  It's not working out too well.

I don't know what else to say about this game that the IndyElevenLive Twitter feed didn't say in two succinct tweets.
Half Stats:
Shots - FTL 9 IND 5
SOG - FTL 4 IND 1
Saves - FTL 0 IND 3
Corners - FTL 5 IND 5
Fouls - FTL 5 IND 6
Offside - FTL 2 IND 0

Final Stats:
Shots: FTL 14 IND 10
SOG: FTL 7 IND 3
Saves: FTL 2 IND 5
Corners: FTL 7 IND 5
Fouls: FTL 10 IND 15
Offside: FTL 4 IND 1

There were some good moments in the game for the Eleven, but even the highlights video below (from the Indy Eleven YouTube channel) felt like it had a lot more Strikers highlights than Eleven highlights.  The Eleven were beaten and it started in less than 30 seconds from the opening whistle.

I need somebody else to confirm it for me, but I believe that with Jhulliam's addition to the starting lineup on Saturday in place of Ambersley, Coach Sommer has used the same starting eleven in back-to-back games only once; games #1 and #2, way back in April.  Ambersley's removal from the starting lineup also means that Nicht is the lone player to have started every single game this season.  However, Ambersley and Smart were substituted in during the second half, so their streak of consecutively played games remains active and remain as the only three players to have played in every single game.  I have to wonder if some consistency in the lineup would have helped this season.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Eddies - 01.20

- Opponent: FC Edmonton
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Attendance: 10,567
- Final Score: 1-1 T
- Starting XI: Nicht, Frias, Miller, Okiomah, Corrado, Kleberson (Captain), Johnson, Smith, Pena, Pineda, Ambersley
- Substitutions: Jhulliam 77' (Ambersley), Smart 77' (Smith), Spencer 88' (Johnson)
- Goals: Pineda 16' (assist Pena)
- Bookings: Frias 70' (Yellow), Kleberson 82' (Yellow)










A win on each other's field with a goal differential of 0, maybe it's only fitting in this season that the rubber match ended in a tie.  The Eleven held an advantage in possession, attacks, shots on and off goal, and even a lead in the game for about 9 minutes.  Yet, from the stands, I never had the sense that one team or the other was dominant.

I saw some of the frustrating defensive lapses, but good recoveries.  I saw some shots on goal that would have been better served by an additional pass.  Basically, and this is only from my recollection of a game that happened nearly a week ago (no time this week to rewatch - partially because I was watching our other "Boys in Blue" on Monday night), I saw what we have come to expect from this team.  Good play undone by one or two moments.

Sometimes a guy hits a perfect free kick from 25 - 30 yards out that goes up and over the wall and into the side netting.  You can't fault Nicht for the effort.  That kick is what we've come to expect from Kleberson and Hlavaty delivered for the visitors on Saturday the same kind of magic touch.  Sometimes there's just not much you can do when that happens except shake your head that less than ten minutes can separate a great hustle goal by Pineda and what turned out to be the goal that kept the dreaded home winless streak alive.

The one reoccurring oddity that I noticed about this game was some heavy touches by the Eleven. Whatever frustrations I've had with the team this season, their foot skills has not been one of them. This team has been excellent at controlling the ball, but there were several occasions when the team was let down by their initial touch on the ball.  I don't remember them ever being significantly hurt by the touches, but there were more than I have come to expect.  In fact, Indy's goal followed from a bad touch by Johnson before Pena was able to recollect it and redistribute it back to Johnson.  

One last thought.  I'm constantly frustrated with Johnson because I think there are times when he holds the ball when he would be better served to make the extra pass, but the footwork clinic he put on around the 75 minute mark was a thing of beauty.  If every one of his additional touches amounted to the kind of cross he was able to serve into the box on that occasion, we would start to see 2, 3, or 4 goal scorelines.  His pace and strength coupled with a timely touch to a teammate?  Oh, I would love to see the possibilities.

Due to his first professional goal efforts, Pineda found his way to the Team of the Week.  Congrats!

Video highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Silverbacks - 01.19

- Opponent: Atlanta Silverbacks
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Attendance: 5,000
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Nicht, Frias, Miller, Hyland, Okiomah, Kleberson (Captain), Johnson, Smith, Pena, Pineda, Ambersley
- Substitutions: Corrado 17' (Hyland), Mares 71' (Kleberson), Smart 78' (Frias)
- Goals: Johnson 15' (assist Pena), Smith 37' (assist Ambersley)
- Bookings: Pineda 59' (Yellow), Ambersley 62' (Yellow), Frias 77' (Yellow)

Let's get the bad out of the way: 

1. Another "adage" goal given by the team right before the end of the first half.  Boo adage goals! 
2. Hyland, who has been playing some great soccer lately, goes out with an injury after just 17 minutes.  Turns out it was a groin injury and will be out for a bit.  Hopefully not too long. 
3. The team lost most of the statistical categories.

Other than the injury to Hyland, I don't care about the rest.  Why?  Because a victory helps cure a lot of the ills and three points in a road game is a good thing.  There is probably a lot that can be said about a road win for a team that has struggled to get any kind of win, but there are just a few things that stand out to me as I look at the game.

First, and maybe foremost, the team scored first.  It was pointed out on Twitter during the game that there have only been three other times in the history of the team where they have scored first: April 12th vs Carolina, July 19th vs Tampa Bay, and July 27th vs Edmonton.  Their record now in those four games? 2-1-1.  7 points out of an available 12 when they score first.  That's a pretty good record when scoring first.  Unfortunately, it just hasn't happened enough this year as the team has consistently been playing from behind.  The other interesting facts about the team's "scoring first" games are that they 1) happened in the Eleven's very first game, 2) resulted in a loss, and 3) happened in the 93rd minute, all leads resulting in a total of 15 minutes that the team had led all season up to Saturday's game versus the Silverbacks.  The team held a league for 5 times longer in this game than they have the entirety of the rest of the season, even going up by two goals for the first time in team history.  That, to me, is a key component of Saturday's win. 

Another key component based on the highlights (see below for video) is that there didn't appear to be any significant defensive breakdowns.  The Atlanta goal was off a set piece and should have been marked better, but there were no obvious chances where it looked like the defense was drastically out of position.

I don't know where the difference originates with getting an early goal and solid defense, but I hope the team bottled it and brought it back with them in their luggage with the three points from the win. 

In the history of the team, there are only three players that have played in every single game: Nicht, Ambersley, and Smart.  Nicht is the only one of the three to play every single minute of every single game in the team's inaugural season.  However, there are three other players who have been on the field for the entirety of every game that they have played: Norales, Smith, and recent addition Miller.  Frias and Ambersley are also knocking on the door of having played every available minute, averaging 89.1 and 87.9 minutes/game, respectively.  So when they start a game, they finish the game.  What's interesting in this number's game is that with the exception of the three players who haven't played a single minute (backup keepers Dawson and Sprenkel, and new addition Jhulliam), fan favorite Don Smart averages the lowest minutes/game played at a paltry 33 minutes per game.  For a guy who averages just over a third of a game, the guy has certainly endeared himself to the Indy Eleven faithful.

Lastly, after Saturday's win there was a tweet (yeah, I don't remember who said it) that stated that the Indy Eleven home fans "deserve" a win.  I don't believe that is true.  I think the Eleven fans "deserve" a team that plays hard the entire game like we cheer the entire game.  We have that.  The team deserves a home win based on their continued effort.  The fan's reward will happen when that happens for the team.

Jermaine Johnson was recognized by the league for his constant badgering of the Atlanta defense by being announced as one of the league's Top Performers for Week 9 of the Fall Season.

Highlights:



Update:Congratulations Johnson and Okiomah for being selected to the Team of the Week!