Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 04.12

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 8,092
- Final Score: 2-0 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Braun, Zayed
- Substitutions: Henderson 81' (Ubiparipovic), Plumhoff 89' (Braun), Goldsmith 89' (Zayed)
- Unused: Cardona, Lomeli, Manning, Ables
- Goals: Braun 60', Speas 84' (assist Goldsmith)
- Bookings: Smart 77' (Yellow), Ring 90'+1' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

By the twelfth match of the season, I should be better prepared to discuss an Eleven victory, particularly when this was the sixth home game of the Spring Season. Yet, I find myself wondering how to describe a game where the Eleven score twice, Braun and Speas both get back on the field and on the board, and the team gets their first win of the year and yet I'm not convinced that this week's uptick in points is a definitive sign of more positive things to come. At the end of the day, a win is a win, but it felt very underwhelming. Though that could my pessimism talking, the fact that this was a NCFC team that was coming off a mid-week game against MLS's  Houston Dynamo, and the fact that a win next week, against this very same North Carolina team, wouldn't change the table standings because the Eleven have dug themselves such a large hole.

Looking past my pessimism, there were definitely some positives in this game. For starters, Justin Braun was back from his calf injury giving the Eleven their offensive engine. Combined with Zayed, Speas, and Smart, the re-introduction of Braun into the starting lineup gave the team their first chance to have all of the offensive weapons on the field at the same time since early in the season. Braun showed a few signs of rust at times with some heavy touches, but given that he hadn't played in a couple games, his work-rate never faltered.

NASL/Opta Stats - Average Position - Indy Eleven

As seen from the Average Position graph, this version of the 4-4-2 looks exactly like how you would expect this collection of players to play together. Zayed up top with Braun just underneath. Speas and Smart tucking inside slightly on the wings so that Franco and Vukovic could make the runs up the sides from the backline. Ubiparipovic in the attacking midfield role with Ring sitting (or in his case, never sitting) in the defensive midfield role. Falvey, Keller, and Busch controlling and directing the defense. With the exception of Keller, this lineup is one of the few times this year where you can realistically say that every guy is playing in his position and to their strengths. That's an important aspect of this game and maybe even more important moving forward if the Eleven want to have any hope of clawing their way up the table (the combined table at this point).

If there's anything I've learned in my time covering the Indy Eleven in the NASL, it's that if you fall down with contact, even minimal contact, you're likely going to get the call. Other teams have learned to exploit this fact and the Indy Eleven, for whatever reason, tend to try and fight through the contact and stay on their feet. We can argue about which is the better way to play, but the Eleven are losing set piece opportunities and acquiring yellow cards at a much quicker rate. If Ring's yellow/yellow/red card against Edmonton in May hadn't wiped away the yellows, Ring would have received his fifth yellow card of the season (giving him a one game suspension). Ring plays with passion and energy, but you can't convince me that he's played rough to a point that would necessitate 5 yellow cards in 12 games.

Photo: Don Thompson

The second is that "even is off" when it comes to an offside call. My family's seats are at a location in the stadium where we can get a good look at whether an offside call is correct or not. It will come as no surprise to most Indy Eleven fans, but from my vantage point, the NASL refs are routinely wrong. When I think they are most often wrong is when a player is in the "even is on" position. That was in full display in the 13th minute when Marco Franco put a perfect ball into the box, which Zayed deftly headed over Sylvestre and into the back of the net. As former President of the Eleven, Peter Wilt, put it, "Indy Eleven robbed. Eamon Zayed was onside."

. @IndyEleven robbed. @EamonZayed was onside. Goal called back. pic.twitter.com/vwbCFo7L3v

— peter wilt (@PeterWilt1) June 17, 2017

Photo: Don Thompson

I bring up those two points because they seem to be things that the Indy Eleven have not yet figured out how to overcome. They have received almost twice as many yellow cards as their opponents on the season and nearly 50% more offside calls on the season as well. In this game, the Eleven received two yellow cards to North Carolina's zero and I don't think they played any more physical than NCFC, but they don't seem to get the same calls. NCFC were called offside three times, while the Eleven were called off seven times and if we're honest, the goal that Speas scored in the 84th minute from Goldsmith's cross could have been called offside as well. Not because Speas was in an offside position, but because Braun was offside and it would not have surprised me if the goal had been disallowed because Braun's run affected the defense. The Eleven need to adjust to the way games are called to give themselves more chances, because they are squandering good opportunities by not giving themselves a half-yard more than they might normally if refs were actually calling "even is on" mentality. For a team that has struggled to get the ball into the goal, it's a change they need to make.

Justin Braun's goal in the 60th minute is a microcosm of Braun and his importance to this team offensively this season. On a soft cross from Speas, 5 defenders and Sylvestre had the goal well defended. Poor touch followed by poor touch and Braun's workrate gets rewarded by not stopping on a ball. I was reminded of his goal in Miami when Smart put the ball into the middle that should have been easily cleared, but Braun continued his run and gently ushered a ball into the goal that had no business being scored. This version required him to take an attempted clearance into his gut, but it still comes back to his motor.

NASL television screen capture

One last thing before I award this week's Game Beckons Game Ball. Immediately after the Eleven scored their first goal, the infamous "adage goal" looked like it might make an appearance because the team defending led to a scramble situation in front of Busch. Watching live, I wrote in my notes that the defending at that point was "poor." On the rewatch, I have to rethink my "poor" comment and reword it to just "frenetic." Guys were all over the place trying to cover for each other, but when Busch left the goal face and found himself on the outer edge of the 6-yard box, not one, but two Indy Eleven players placed themselves in the goal to try and prevent shots from going in; Falvey and Keller; with Ring right there to further clog the goal and prevent shots. I debated giving Keller the Game Ball because he's turned into a solid center back and I feel much more comfortable with him next to Falvey than I do with the other "true" centerbacks on the team. I wouldn't be disappointed to see him permanently supplant KWS in that role.

NASL television screen capture

The Game Beckons Game Ball
As I said, I thought about giving this to Keller. I also thought about giving it to Busch because he was credited with 6 saves and they were all fantastic saves. Yet, despite his late game yellow card, Brad Ring has become a defensive midfielder from hell. That ninja kick clearance of his is a sight to behold and he just seems to have a way of keeping guys from doing what they want to do. He had 6 clearances, 3 interceptions, 2 of 2 tackles won, was 90% accurate on his passes, and was the guy who got the NCFC defense to shift to the middle by faking a shot before passing out to Speas on the cross that ultimately led to Braun's goal. With Franco and Vuko pushing forward into the offense, Ring perfectly served as the shield in front of Keller and Falvey, helping keep guys like Laing and Fondy in check.

The Eleven head to Cary, North Carolina on Saturday in another of NASL's odd back-to-back scheduling to face an NCFC team that will have more rest than they had this week. Will that be enough to help NCFC flip the switch, or will the Eleven be able to use this week's win as a catalyst to more wins?

Photos:

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Armada - 04.11

- Opponent: Jacksonville Armada
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 8,516
- Final Score: 1-4 L
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Palmer, Falvey, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Keller, Thompson, Speas, Zayed
- Substitutions: Ubiparipovic 45'+3' (Thompson), Plumhoff 64' (Smart), Goldsmith 75' (Zayed)
- Unused: Cardona, Lomeli, Manning, Ables
- Goals: Zayed 10' (assist Vukovic)
- Bookings: Franco 30' (Yellow), Palmer 45'+1' (RED), Ring 48' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: Two

I honestly don't know what to write anymore about this team. Yes, there have been issues, but the lineup at this point should have been able to get at least one win on the season. Looking at the remainder of the Spring Season, I don't see where the Eleven get their first win. This coming week against North Carolina might be their best shot, only because NCFC will be coming into the game on short rest since they play a mid-week U.S. Open Cup game; a game in NCFC against the Houston Dynamo. Based on what I've seen out of the new NCFC (and NWSL's NC Courage) owner, they are not going to take the USOC game lightly, so they will likely play the normal starters in hopes of taking down an MLS squad. If the Eleven can't get a win at home against a tired opponent, the rest of the Spring Season doesn't look spectacular. They turn around and play two away games (NCFC and NYC) before coming back home to play the Cosmos and Jacksonville. Tell me where you see a win in those games right now.

Jacksonville came into Carroll Stadium, which was an impossible location for teams last year, and walked away with a 4-1 win. In the process, they might have also taken three more players out of the lineup for the Eleven as I wouldn't be surprised if Thompson is out on concussion protocol after taking a hard hit ball to the face in the waning minutes of the first half, Plumhoff dropped to the ground as soon as the game was finished after taking a hit late in the game, and Palmer picked up a red card shortly after that. More on that one in a minute, but for a team that has been struggling to keep guys available for selection, the potential for three more guys to be hurt/out is concerning.

Coach Hankinson was quoted on Soccer Saturday that the Eleven wanted to limit Pitchkolan's ability to be the Armada's starting point for playing the ball out of the back. It was clear in the early parts of the game that this was definitely a focus in training during the week because Pitchkolan rarely touched the ball where he wasn't chased into some kind of relief pass instead of being able to calmly start the offense. Pitchkolan had 69 touches, and a 62 of 67 pass completion rate, but he only had one successful pass in the Eleven's defensive half and most of them well in the Armada defensive third. Zayed listened to his coach early in the game because he routinely pressured Pitchkolan, but Speas and Thompson followed his lead and Coach's direction and routinely pressed the backline. The high press helped create some chances early, but the lack of depth and the man disadvantage made that tactic much more difficult in the second half.

Smart is no longer a Super Sub. He's an absolute necessity for the Eleven offense. The Eleven, due to a number of factors, including experience and injuries, do not have a difference maker on the offensive side of the ball. There hasn't been anybody that has routinely take guys on one-v-one, nor run past them to get to balls, nor put in well placed crosses. That all changes with the addition of Smart back to the lineup and was in full display just seconds into the first half when he created two good chances (even if he was only officially given credit for one all game).

I don't like to blame refs for poor results, but this ref made a ton of poor decisions. Starting with the penalty kick he awarded to Jacksonville in the first 3 minutes of play on marginal contact between Gebhard and Falvey, the poor decisions kept coming. One of the last that I remember was when he indicated advantage for the Eleven in the 79th minute when Plumhoff was taken out by Pitchkolan. Once he stopped play because Plumhoff was clutching his knee on the ground, the ref gave Pitchkolan a yellow card. A foul, feet outside the box, that is worthy of issuing a yellow card should nearly instantly be blown dead for a free kick at that spot. That's a much larger advantage at that point in the game.

The decision I can't argue is the red card given to Palmer. Palmer forced the ref to give it to him and there wasn't any other decision that could be made. The second you retaliate, after the play has been blown dead, you're going to get at least a yellow card. The second you retaliate by hitting another player at neck level or above, you're finishing the game in the locker room. It was a terrible decision by Palmer and as a result, the Armada were able to score two more goals while the Eleven were down a man.

This team has the talent. I still believe that, but they seem like they're constantly chasing the game and that makes it hard to get the mojo back. The belief that they had last year where it seemed like the balls were going to bounce their way has flipped 180-degrees and it seems like if a ball can go against them, it will. This team needs a win in the worst way and next week's home game against a NCFC team on a 3 games in 8 day stretch might be the thing that turns a season full of valleys into something better.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This week it's easy to give the Game Beckons Game Ball. Don Smart. He was effective when he was in. He gave the Eleven a dynamic that they haven't had in weeks and they didn't look the same after he left in the 64th minute.

Photos:

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Deltas - 04.10

- Opponent: San Francisco Deltas
- Location: San Francisco
- Attendance: 1,441
- Final Score: 2-2 D
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Watson-Siriboe, Vukovic, Keller, Ring, Palmer, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Zayed
- Substitutions: Plumhoff 59' (Ubiparipovic), Manning 66' (Palmer)
- Unused: Cardona, Torrado, Thompson, Goldsmith
- Goals: Palmer 57' (assist Ubiparipovic), Ring 79'
- Bookings: Zayed 62' (Yellow), Busch 73' (Yellow), Ring 83' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: Two

After Ring picked up his 1st goal of the season (I believe he's contractually required to get one each year) in the 79th minute, I started writing this recap in my head about how the Eleven broke into the win column by stealing one on the road in San Francisco. If we're honest, the Eleven didn't deserve to win and the fact that they were even in the position to get the win as late as the 80th minute was surprising. The Deltas could have had a 3-nil lead going into halftime if it hadn't been for some spectacular saves by Busch and an inexplicable miss from inside the 6-yard box. The Deltas held the advantage in every single statistic in the first half. They finished the game holding the advantage in every single statistic except for the score. Probably only because they ran out of time.

As it was, the final 30 minutes of the game was packed. Four goals, five substitutions, and seven yellow cards. Maybe most disturbing for Indy Eleven fans is that the dreaded "adage" goal(s) returned in full force and heart-breaking fashion with the Deltas goals coming in the 85th minute and deep into stoppage time with the first goal being an Olimpico as Portillo scored directly from one of San Francisco's eight corner kicks.

The Deltas has 26 shots to Indy's 7.
The Deltas held a 70% to 30% possession advantage.
More than a third of the Eleven's passes were considered long, but were only 60% accurate on their passes and that figure dropped to 47% accurate in the Deltas half of the field.

Dylan Mares scored tonight for Miami, assisted by Blake Smith. Zach Steinberger played the month of May like a league MVP. Ben Spencer recently got his first start (and assist) for MLS's Toronto FC. The Eleven have had talent throughout the years, but just couldn't put it together. This year's team is composed of a great deal of last year's roster and have struggled to put games together and have absolutely failed to get in the win column. For whatever reason, this team can't put it together much like the team's in the early days of this club. The difference for fans, and likely the players, is that this squad has achieved success, making this year's results harder to accept.

On the surface, seven draws in ten games seems like reasonably positive results until you look at the league standings and see the Eleven in 7th place out of 8 and kept out of the bottom only because of goal differential while league leading Miami sits 21 points. At this point, the Spring Season cannot be won by the Eleven, but if they don't string together a long series of wins in the near future, they may not have anything to play for with most of the Fall Season remaining. It will be hard to get walk-up traffic to games in the fall if they're already mathematically eliminated from contention.

Am I getting too far on the pessimistic train? Maybe, but the fact that the team gave up a two-goal lead late and barely looked competitive tonight is no longer worrisome. It's troubling how much this team is underachieving this year, regardless of the injuries that don't seem to stop.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This week it is easy to give the Game Beckons Game Ball. Jon Busch kept this game close for as long as possible before San Francisco's constant pressure overwhelmed his amazing effort. He'll probably tell you that he should have saved the Olimpico goal, but it took 85 minutes for him to make his first real mistake.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Eddies - 04.09

- Opponent: FC Edmonton
- Location: Edmonton
- Attendance: 4,096
- Final Score: 2-1 L
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Watson-Siriboe, Vukovic, Keller, Ring, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Torrado, Braun
- Substitutions: Goldsmith 67' (Ring), Plumhoff 74' (Keller), Manning 89' (Franco)
- Unused: Cardona, Thompson, Poltronieri
- Goals: Plumhoff 80' (assist Braun)
- Bookings: Falvey 9' (Yellow), Torrado 25' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: One

Losing to Miami in back-to-back weeks is understandable. Unfortunate, but understandable. Losing to the Michigan Bucks in the middle of the week between those two games is also unfortunate, but in my opinion, inexcusable. A week after all of that frustration, the Indy Eleven traveled to Edmonton on Saturday to play a team that has, perhaps, struggled even more than the Indy Eleven this season to get positive results. The two teams played against each other in one of last year's semifinal matchups and this year find themselves competing against each other to not be at the bottom of the table. Both teams have the benefit that Puerto Rico holds down that spot for the time being. A team, like the Eleven, who have yet to win a game this season and who have already fired their head coach.

Going into the game, Edmonton had only managed to score 3 goals all season, two of which came in one game against Puerto Rico. The Eleven needed to go to Canada and find the back of the net against a team that looked like they would have had a hard time scoring multiple goals to overcome any deficit. They scored twice on the Eleven.

This is the face of someone who has kicked the turf and
not one of someone who has been tripped.
Photo credit: NASL/FC Edmonton

I think we can all agree that the first goal by Edmonton off the Corea penalty kick was the result of a horrible sequence of events that exemplifies everybody's frustrations with NASL referees. Corea kicks the ground and trips himself in the penalty box, but because he has three Eleven players near him, a penalty kick is awarded. A penalty kick that even the Edmonton announcers questioned. Torrado's own frustration bubbled over as he used the opportunity to get a drink from Busch's water bottle after the ball had been placed for the kick, then walked straight to Corea taking the kick, touched him on the arm, and provided Corea with some choice words. At which point, he was shown his third yellow in as many games. Personally, I'm starting to think he's just trying to get to his 5th yellow of the spring season so he can take a game off. He's clearly frustrated with the way things are going, but that was not a smart card to receive. The ref, while bad, had no other option but to give him the card. After that, Corea stutter-stepped his way to blasting the penalty kick off the right side of the crossbar even though Busch went to the left. But wait, the call that's never called gets called as the Eleven were charged with encroachment. Corea gets to make amends of his poor first attempt, goes the opposite direction, which Busch did as well, and the Eddies found themselves up a goal in the 27th minute.

For what it's worth, Torrado's yellow card had to be given, but Falvey's yellow confuses me. Falvey's leg never came any higher than his hip and Ledgerwood jumped into the ball and kick. How that goes as a foul, much less a yellow card is beyond me. Did you know that the Eleven have conceded 113 fouls on the season and that their opponents have conceded 114 fouls? Did you know that the Eleven have been shown 18 yellow cards (highest in the league), while their opponents have been shown a total of 7. I've watched every Eleven game and the Eleven isn't that substantially more physical than their opponents. Unfairly targeted? Maybe.

All that being said, Edmonton's second goal off a set-piece was a result of poor man marking. Three different Eddies could have had a chance at the ball that Straith put in the back of the net in stoppage time of the first half. For a team that has been struggling offensively, two goals in the first half must have felt like the flood gates opened. For the Eleven, a two-goal deficit was never going to be an easy task this year. Braun has scored 4 of the team's 9 goals (and now assisted on 3 more) so as I've been saying for weeks now, the Eleven's offense goes as Braun goes. With a two goal lead, at home, and the struggles they've had this year, Edmonton could have parked the bus and defend what has become a fairly inept offense as of late.

The question that we're all asking is what happened to last year's team? Who left and who took their place?

• Gordon
• Janicki
• Lacroix
• Larrea
• Mares
• Paterson
• Reinoso
• Shaffer
• Wojcik
• Youla

Some of those seem like underwhelming or under-performing players, right? Yet, that list accounts for 21 goals last year. If you total the goals scored by all the returning players not named Zayed? 15. With 8 of those being from Braun. Ubi and Torrado didn't score a single goal in the regular season last year so it's not surprising they haven't done so this year. Goldsmith, Speas, and Thompson have shown promise and have found the woodwork on a few occasions, but two of those are rookies and Eleven rookies have historically struggled to significantly impact the team. I don't think a healthy Smart or Zayed immediately turn this team's fortunes around, but Zayed's ability to poach goals and Smart's crosses are two components that are sorely missed right now. Zayed's presence should also take some of the pressure off of Braun and he's drawing A LOT of attention these days. 

Neither of those guys are due back soon so this could get worse before it gets better. After a string of six draws to start the season, the Eleven have fallen off the cliff the past three games (four if you count the Open Cup game against the Michigan Bucks). A win against another struggling team in Edmonton would have been a helpful boost to the morale. As it was, Brad Ring's assault of the unassuming Gatorade bottle when he was subbed off in the 67th minute was the perfect display of the frustration he feels with the results. 

Can the Eleven climb back out of the canyon? They get a chance next week in San Francisco next week before coming home to the Mike to face Jacksonville. A win in San Fran looks to be an absolute necessity, not only for affect on the standings, but also for the morale of the team.

Highlights: