Indy Eleven vs FC Edmonton - 04.17

- Opponent: FC Edmonton
- Location: Edmonton
- Attendance: 3,285
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Palmer, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Torrado, Zayed, Goldsmith
- Substitutions: Henderson 67' (Speas), Torrado 75' (Ubiparipovic), Thompson 79' (Goldsmith)
- Unused: Cardona, Lomeli, Ables
- Goals: Goldsmith 7', Zayed 41' (assist Speas)
- Bookings: Torrado 66' (Yellow), Smart 77' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

The thing about a Sunday afternoon game in Edmonton is that it makes it difficult for me to watch the game live. Thanks to ESPN3 and the ability to watch replays of games, I was able to sit through Edmonton's horrible tv feed to watch the Eleven continue their unbeaten streak that they started in the final stages of the Spring Season. While I wasn't able to watch the game live, the @IndyElevenLive twitter feed immediately set me down a path of concern. A starting lineup that does not include Justin Braun has shown some difficulties in the Spring Season of generating goals. A starting lineup that does not include Falvey as the anchor in the backline is a bit disconcerting. A starting lineup that does not include both of them? That had the potential to be a disaster.

The team has shown they have talent and momentum, but Falvey and Braun have been the lynch-pins of the offense and defense. "Luckily," and maybe hopefully, the Eleven's string of injuries in the Spring Season have paid off by giving guys the playing time necessary that allowed yet another centerback pairing to succeed and another forward to find the back of the net.

Palmer and Keller have rotated in and out of the centerback pairing all season and have been on the field together, but never together as the anchors of the defense. In a game where Edmonton is credited with 40 crosses, FORTY, their partnership seems to have been effective.

Goldsmith has been seeing time towards the ends of games, but picked up a start with Braun's absence. Then proceeded to score a goal in the 7th minute by doing much of what both Braun and Zayed do. Hang around the goal and don't stop on a play. Smart took the ball deep towards the endline before trying to send it back across goal, but the pace he put on the ball was too much to handle for Farago and it bounced nicely inside the 6-yard box for Goldsmith to finish.

This was a game of thirds. I would love to see a statistical breakdown of the game split into the first 60 minutes and the final 30 minutes. It was around the 60th minute where it felt like the game switched. The Eleven did a good job of controlling the ball and the tempo in the first 60, but the Eddies become a much more attacking force in the final 30. Prior to my watch of the game, I had already looked at the stats and knew that Edmonton had 40 crosses and well into the 2nd half, I couldn't imagine how they reached that number. I'm still not sure if it was accurate, but they were clearly the team pressing and putting the Eleven back on their heels.

Around the time that the game seemed to change was with the introduction by Edmonton of McKendry in the 58th minute. In the 60th minute, McKendry fouled Torrado with an elbow to the face, which Vukovic pleaded to the ref deserved more than just the whistle. Once Torrado was taken off the field, the ref restarted play with a drop ball. A drop ball that McKendry contested against Zayed and then hacked away at Zayed's leg after Zayed won the ball and tried to distribute. The two fouls in quick succession led to McKendry receiving a yellow card. After that, I had the general impression that Edmonton increased their level of effort and began pressing and attacking the Eleven more. The last 30 minutes were definitely in the favor of Edmonton, forcing the Eleven to hold onto their 2-1 halftime lead.

Zayed picked up the Eleven's second goal of the game in the 41st minute to give them the lead going into halftime after Edmonton's Ameobi put his head to Fisk's cross to tie the game in the 33rd minute. Historically, Zayed roughly averages a goal every two games, but well off his pace this year, scoring just 3 goals in 14 matches. Zayed needed to see the ball go in the goal. He's been so close on multiple occasions this year so to get a good touch on the ball to put it around the keeper and watch it go off the post and in instead of bouncing back out could be huge for him moving forward. Sometimes a guy that is paid to score needs to see the ball go in to jumpstart a dry patch. Hopefully, this goal was that for him.

The Eleven come home on Saturday to play Edmonton again and will be looking to duplicate the winning result and keep their momentum before heading to Miami the following week. Getting wins against Edmonton is a much different task than going to Miami and getting a result there, but hopefully the team isn't looking that far ahead, even if I am.

The Game Beckons Game Ball:

I want to give the Game Ball every week to Keller for the job he is doing this year after being thrown into his Swiss Army Knife role, but instead I'm going to split the Game Beckons Game Ball this week to both forwards. Zayed because he needed to see the ball go in and Goldsmith because he was able to translate his goal scoring in training to the game. Other guys scoring goals besides Braun is only going to help this team moving forward in the Fall Season.

Highlights:

The Soccer Life - James Cormack

Much like Wednesday's Soccer Life entry, Brandon Cockrum, today's participant is also part the Indy Eleven blogging community. However, James is not just a writer in the Bloody Shambles stable, but the founder of the group after spending some time contributing to other blogging and podcasting groups. James has also been a periodic contributor to your gameday poster collection, having provided the design for the RailHawks game in the Fall Season of 2014, the Open Cup game against Louisville FC in 2015, and the Jacksonville game in the Fall Season of 2015. Oh, and that tat on the left is believed to be the first of its kind, inked shortly after the team announced their official name and crest? That's Cormack's.

Those are some of the details I knew of him beforehand. Now let James give you his responses to my general Soccer Life questions. Thanks for participating James!

Photo: Doug McSchooler/ The Star

1. Name:
- James Cormack

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Football blogger/podcast

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- None.

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 5

5. First recollection of the game:
- Listening to BBC Scotland on Saturday afternoons to get updates from all the games as none were broadcast live back then.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- County Level League and Highland Amateur Cup, Scotland

7. Honors/Awards
- Got my name in national newspapers after my team got beat 15-1.

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Fall 2016 CIASA Over 45 league.

9. Position:
- Right back

10. Jersey number:
- #3

11. Coaching experience:
- Player/Coach Men's Team, County Divisions Scotland. Scottish Football Association First lvl coaching certificate. (mentor Ross Jack)

12. Refereeing experience:
- If I ever become a referee, I will probably be the most hated.

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- May 5 1998, Celtic defeating St Johnstone 2-0 and stopping Rangers FC from winning ten straight league championships.

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- 2003 Celtic defeat in the UEFA Cup Final against Porto in Seville.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- 1978 World Cup Final, and the whole competition itself, it was my first one and it pretty much changed the rest of my life. The final and the atmosphere was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen.

16. Favorite team(s)
- Celtic FC, Indy Eleven

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Henrik Larsson

18. Favorite Current Player
- Scott Sinclair

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- Rugby, High School

22. Other Comments:
- If you have ever worried that football may have taken over your life, it probably already has.

The Soccer Life - Brandon Cockrum

It's time, once again, to ask some folks the basic questions about their Soccer Life and this week's responses come from some of my fellow Indy Eleven bloggers from Bloody Shambles. First up is Brandon Cockrum, also known as the former writer of Brew Wallace. Like some of the other Soccer Life participants (I'm looking at you Brad Hauter), soccer isn't the only thing in Brandon's life that is interesting. Turns out that Brandon helped generate the Bringin' Home the Bacon scratch-off ticket for the Indiana Lottery, which "was chosen as a nominee for the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries' 2015 Scratch-Off Game of the Year." It never ceases to amaze me on the things that people do when they're not watching or playing soccer.

Thanks for participating Brandon!

1. Name:
- Brandon Cockrum

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Player, Parent, Coach, Spectator

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- Cock. First part of last name. One of my coaches called me that because it gave him an excuse to yell an obscenity.

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 6

5. First recollection of the game:
- Playing in neighborhood with friends

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- High School

7. Honors/Awards
- IU Soccer Camp All-Star (x2). Lol

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Indy City Futbol Canal Derby on May 24, 2017
Editor's note: in what has become a bad trend for me, it has taken me two months to post Brandon's responses. I'm sure he's played a game since May...

9. Position:
- Right Mid or anywhere needed

10. Jersey number:
- #8

11. Coaching experience:
- High school and U6

12. Refereeing experience:
- 1 season, terrible

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Run to IHSAA state finals; Scoring 2 goals in final 5 minutes of club tournament game to get win; Scoring 4 goals in a soggy club tournament game

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- Skying first ever PK shootout attempt; quitting competitive soccer in teens

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Watching Spain vs Bolivia at Soldier Field, US late goals in 2012, Germany stomping Brazil 7-0

16. Favorite team(s)
- USMNT, Indy Eleven

17. Favorite Historical player:
- David Weir

18. Favorite Current Player
- Don Smart

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Indoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
-

22. Other Comments:
-

Indy Eleven vs Armada - 04.16

- Opponent: Jacksonville Armada
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 8,735
- Final Score: 2-0 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Torrado, Braun, Zayed
- Substitutions: Henderson 63' (Torrado), Goldsmith 81' (Zayed), Palmer 88' (Smart)
- Unused: Cardona, Thompson, Ables, Watson-Siriboe
- Goals: Vukovic 48' (assist Ring), Henderson 68' (assist Zayed)
- Bookings: Zayed 59' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

After this week's 2-nil win at home against the Armada, the Eleven are an 86th minute Ledesma flop from finishing the Spring Season on a five game win streak, rather than just a five game undefeated streak. An undefeated streak that started in the game that followed a 4-1 loss, at home, to this same Armada team. To say that the team's results have taken a dramatic upswing in the final third of the Spring Season is a bit of an understatement. The team has come together despite the external questions of their performance and are finally getting, and remaining, healthy. Only Plumhoff and Miller were unavailable for selection due to health issues. Ubiparipovic wasn't around due to the fact he was getting married. So for the first time in five games, the Eleven had a new starting lineup that wasn't forced on them because of injury. Torrado was healthy again and Ubi was getting hitched.

NASL/Opta Stats - Indy Average Position

Whether by who's available or by who he trusts, Coach Hankinson has settled into a starting lineup, as well as a substitution pattern. The backline has solidified with Franco, Vukovic, Falvey, and as I've been saying, the second centerback spot next to Falvey is, and should be, Keller's until he proves incapable. Speas and Smart are going to be on the wings. Ring is going to be the defensive mid. Ubi (or Torrado) are going to either play in front of Ring or somewhat beside him. Braun and Zayed up top. Ubi (or Torrado) are going to play around 60 to 65 minutes and be replaced by Henderson. Zayed is going to get 80 minutes and be replaced by Goldsmith. Palmer will come on at some point late in the game for someone depending on how Coach is trying to close out the game and player's energy levels. Much like last year, the team has settled in and it's not a surprise at what they are going to do, but they're getting it done anyway.

After missing the previous six games, it was obvious that Torrado wasn't going to play the entire game, but he also looked rusty and not up to his normal performance. He only won a third of his tackles, a quarter of his duels, conceded 4 fouls and won zero, and only completed about 75% of his passes. Not Torrado standards, but it's good to see him healthy again as it gives the team options for lineups and matchups against other teams.

Zayed needs a goal in the worst way. For a guy who has historically averaged a goal every two games throughout his career, a goal every six games must feel like he can't get the ball in the goal at all. Last season, the only time Zayed went more than three games in a row without scoring was the stretch were Braun was injured. This season, Zayed went seven goalless games before scoring his second and is currently on a five game goalless stretch. He was credited with the assist on Henderson's 68th minute goal, but Zayed seems like he's unsure of himself right now. I can think of at least two times off the top of my head where Zayed of the past would have attempted a one-touch shot on goal, but chose rather to try and settle the ball for a better attempt only to have the defense close on him and prevent that attempt. So instead of getting a half chance on goal, it turned into no chance on goal. I don't know how he's looking in practice, but he just looks like he's indecisive on how to best strike the ball to be able to watch it go in the goal. A goal (or two) could fix that.

The good news for the Eleven is that despite Zayed's struggles right now, other guys are finding their own way to score goals. Vuko's goal in the 48th minute was a thing of beauty. From my seat in the standards, I was perfectly place to watch how much the ball curved from his shooting location into the goal. He resembled so many of his set piece attempts, but it happened in the run of play. A run of play that occurred because of a perfectly weighted, field switching cross from Ring. Surprisingly, that is Ring's first assist as a member of the Eleven. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the team's recent string of success comes as Henderson, Vuko, Smart, & Speas have scored goals. Teams had been able to focus on Braun as the team's primary goalscorer. Now that other guys are finding success, this will only help everybody.

Speaking of Braun. There is a Justin Braun that plays in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks. NHL Justin would be proud of the physical stamina of NASL Braun. He is absolutely taking a beating by teams at this point. Every single touch of the ball is met with a physical challenge by opposing defenses. I'm not sure how he maintains his level of effort while taking a beating, particularly given that he has recently been dropping back further into the defense to get the ball.

Statistically, this doesn't look like a win from the Eleven, but they seemed to be the one in control of the game through the majority of the game. Jacksonville had some chances, but the defense or Busch always stepped up and made the play. Vuko hustling back in the 39th minute to thwart what looked like a sure goal when Banks made a well timed run to break the offside trap. Busch's stoppage time save in the 2nd half that kept Jacksonville off the board and maintained the clean sheet, again thwarting Banks' header from just outside the 6-yard box. It's these kinds of plays that have helped propel the Eleven to their current undefeated streak and what has pushed them into the 2nd tier of the league. As I've mentioned last year and this year, the league seems to separate into three distinct tiers of teams. The favorites, the underdogs, and a cluttered middle. Miami have started to create a top tier of 1 and the Eleven looked like they were going to reside in that bottom tier of teams waiting until next year, but their recent run of form have made them the only team to move between tiers. Only time, and a Fall Season, will show whether they can maintain their momentum and turn it into an appearance into the Championship.

The Game Beckons Game Ball:

I think a few guys could get the Game Beckons Game Ball, but I think Henderson deserves it for coming in an making an immediate impact.

Photos:

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Cosmos - 04.15

- Opponent: New York Cosmos
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 8,748
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Braun, Zayed
- Substitutions: Goldsmith 78' (Smart), Palmer 85' (Speas), Henderson 90' (Ubiparipovic)
- Unused: Cardona, Lomeli, Thompson, Ables
- Goals: Smart 17' (PK), Braun 75' (assist Vukovic)
- Bookings: None
- Adage goals: None

For only the 2nd time in the history of the Eleven, I was not in attendance for a home game. I will also likely not be able to watch the game before next week's Spring Season finale against Jacksonville. So instead of trying to write something that pretends like I know how the game truly went, I'm going to point out a couple things that surprised me while looking at the statistics without having any preconceived notion of what the statistics would/could tell me.

The Eleven reduced their number of offside calls, which is something I've been critical about lately. Fewer offside calls means more opportunities.

The Eleven are being credited with 117 passes, which jumped off the screen at me. That is way beyond their normal average of just over 300 passes per game. Having not seen the game, I had to wonder about the accuracy of the stat or if they really did have that few passes.

Similarly, for a guy that has made 20 saves over the preceding three games, Busch wasn't credited with a single save. Given that I can see in the game highlights that he parried away a free kick, it further makes me question the NASL/Opta Stats.

Lastly, the stats show the Eleven had 3 tackles and the Cosmos had 1 tackle. Not buying it... not in this series.

So I'm not sure that I can trust any stats from this game except for the score. Given that the Eleven need wins to get some momentum going into the Fall Season, that's really the only one that matters right now.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs Cosmos - 04.14

- Opponent: New York Cosmos
- Location: Brooklyn, New York
- Attendance: 6,734
- Final Score: 1-1 D
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Braun, Zayed
- Substitutions: Henderson 67' (Ubiparipovic), Goldsmith 73' (Zayed), Palmer 84' (Franco)
- Unused: Cardona, Thompson, Ables
- Goals: Speas 33' (assist Franco)
- Bookings: Goldsmith 72' (Yellow), Palmer 83' (Yellow), Falvey 90' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: One

A draw ripped from the jaws of victory, the Eleven went into MCU Park, a stone's throw away from Coney Island where Joey Chestnut once again won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest earlier in the day, and led for 53 minutes before giving up a penalty kick in the dying minutes of the game. The good news is that the team went on the road, on a holiday, with a crowd 2,000 people larger than normal for NYC, and came away with a point thanks to a world-class cross from Franco that Speas pushed around Ochieng, forcing him to slip, and then 5-holed Maurer.

The bad news... Well, let's get into that a little. Speas' goal was a bit fortunate in that he was even in position to take the shot on goal because he had a poor first touch that Ochieng should have been able to clear if he hadn't slipped. The Eleven were out-shot 3 to 1, with the Cosmos having more shots on goal than the Eleven had in total. Busch had 9 saves. NINE. That gives him 22 saves in the past three games. There seems to be a definite bend but don't break mentality to the team at the moment, which is odd given that they finally have their offensive weapons back again and were able to field the same starting lineup for the third week in a row.

The Cosmos were short-handed. They have four players away, participating in the Gold Cup with their respective national teams. Andres Flores, Richard Menjivar, and Irvin Herrera are with El Salvador and Dejan Jakovic is with Canada. The Cosmos bench included seven players. One player, Danilo Radjen, doesn't even show up in the team's statistics, three of them still haven't played a single minute this season, one NOW has 10 minutes, another had 20 minutes coming into the game, and Starikov was averaging less than 45-minutes per game. Safe to say, the bench didn't include a lot of depth. It would be easy to say that the Eleven were playing the Cosmos' B squad, but that's overly simplistic. A more accurate assessment was that the Eleven were playing the Cosmos' A- squad.

NASL/New York Cosmos Individual Stats (Through 07/05/2017)

NASL/Opta Stats - Ring 2nd Half Heat Map

There were good moments from the Eleven. Speas' goal. Zayed's near-goal right before the end of the first half. Busch.

Yet, at some point early on, I realized that I couldn't remember the last time the ball went to Ubiparipovic or Ring. Ring finished the game with 24 touches; Ubi finished with 32 touches. For a couple guys who should be moving the offense forward, it seemed like they were non-existent for stretches of the game. Ring, as seen in his 2nd half heat map, touched the ball once outside of the defensive third. Ubi touched the ball 5 times in the second half. Yes, you read that correctly. Ubi, who has been dropping deeper into the defensive half of the field to get the ball in better positions to move the offense, touched the ball 5 times in the 22 minutes he was on the field in the 2nd half.

And now for the PK that shouldn't have been...

"It looks like Ledesma definitely exaggerates the contact there. Knows exactly what he's doing. Draws the ref in on this one..."

The penalty kick call was a bad one, but I think most of us can chalk that up to typical NASL refs and a flop that happens more often in soccer than we care to admit, particularly to our non-soccer sports fans who look at these kinds of things as their sole reason to not watch soccer. If you're reading this blog (hi Jeff and Aaron), you've chosen to look past the flopping and are interested in the finer aspects of the beautiful game.

Choosing to look past the ridiculous penalty call, a concerning thing happened during the penalty kick. This is the 5th penalty kick that opposing teams have taken against the Eleven in just 14 games. Three of those kicks have been scored directly off the kick. The other two were scored off the rebound because the ball fortuitously bounced back to the opposing team's player who was able to score over a sprawled Busch. It did not go unnoticed to the Cosmos that the Eleven have not been the quickest players to the rebound and they played the penalty kick accordingly. While Falvey didn't move at all, Smart and Keller ran towards goal to parry the ball away if Busch once again made the initial save. However, none of them would have reached the ball first because Richter and Calvillo took a running start to the kick and would have, once again, been in a position to score off the rebound in front of the Eleven. See the below video. If the Eleven are going to continue to give up penalty kick attempts, this is something that needs to be addressed.

So the Eleven had a positive result against a team not named NCFC, but they're still looking at a dramatic uphill battle to get themselves into a playoff position. A win at home against the very same Cosmos team on Saturday would go a long way toward shifting the team's momentum heading into the Fall Season.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Busch. 9 saves. Not all of them as spectacular as he's been called to do recently, but he consistently put himself in the right position for saves. Nine of them.

Highlights:

Indy Eleven vs North Carolina FC - 04.13

- Opponent: North Carolina FC
- Location: Cary, North Carolina
- Attendance: 3,494
- Final Score: 2-1 W
- Starting XI: Busch, Franco, Falvey, Keller, Vukovic, Ring, Smart, Speas, Ubiparipovic, Braun, Zayed
- Substitutions: Henderson 67' (Ubiparipovic), Goldsmith 77' (Zayed), Manning 85' (Keller - cramping)
- Unused: Cardona, Thompson, Plumhoff
- Goals: Braun 22' (assist Franco), Zayed 24' (assist Braun)
- Bookings: Smart 45'+7' (Yellow), Busch 88' (Yellow)
- Adage goals: None

Much like last week, I'm trying to not let my inherent pessimism overcome this recap, but the realistic side of me says that yes, the Indy Eleven are on a two-game win streak, but all they've really shown me is that they can beat North Carolina FC. Although, I can't dispute that they looked much better this week than last week. There were good stretches of possession, very few poor giveaways (that I can remember), good spacing, and good one-touch passes between players on a number of occasions, most notably the ones that led to Zayed's goal.

That first time passing move though... 👀@EamonZayed with the finishing touch! 👏 #NCFCvIND pic.twitter.com/NwoYprvpp1

— Indy Eleven (@IndyEleven) June 25, 2017

Statistically speaking, this was a very even game and one that I would agree the Eleven deserved to win. If Braun's shooting touch was a little better, he could have easily had a hat trick. North Carolina FC jumped out to an early lead in the 9th minute when the ball had a fluke deflection off the post straight to Shipalane, who was able to easily tap it in to the goal. Franco was a bit out of position on the play, but that's the kind of bounce off a post that you just have to chalk up to luck. The Eleven fought back and Franco redeemed himself with a perfectly weighted cross to the middle of the box that Braun made no doubt was going into the goal from his header.

A couple minutes later, the aforementioned goal by Zayed put the Eleven ahead in what looked like it could be a high scoring affair. Braun missed a shot wide from inside the six right before halftime that I'm sure he still wonders how he missed. After halftime, the frenetic pace of the first half continued for another 15 - 20 minutes. At that point, the game began to slow down as players' legs began to weigh from the heat and effort. Daniel "Swiss Army Knife" Keller eventually became the player that would succumb to the heat and would exit in the 85th minute with cramps. Clinging to a one goal lead on the road, Coach Hankinson didn't waste much time using his final sub on Keller, bringing in fresh legs in Manning, rather than trying to let Keller gut out the final minutes of the game.

NASL/OptaStat - Eleven Average Position

The OptaStats provide for some very interesting nuggets to the game as well. First, just like last week, the Average Position of the Eleven ended just like you would expect of the players that composed this 4-4-2 diamond. The centerback pairing of Falvey and Keller holding down the defense, while Franco and Vuko had the liberty to make runs forward. Brad "Defensive Mid from Hell" Ring tucked in ahead of Falvey and Keller providing cover, while Ubi orchestrated the offense moving forward. Smart and Speas tucked in slightly, helping facilitate the overlapping runs from Franco and Vuko, and Braun and Zayed up top. There's a lot of movement between the parts that gets lost in the Average Position chart, but it's not surprising to me to see how it all settles into what you would expect over the extent of 90 minutes.

NASL/Opta - Average Position - Falvey & Keller

Second, Falvey and Keller set a line and stuck to it. The Heat Map for those two guys looks like someone drew a straight line across the field and told them that they could deviate from a 15-yard range of that line only for defensive or offensive set pieces. I know I'm not the only one saying this, but until Keller shows me something otherwise, he's my preferred centerback pairing with Falvey. KWS and Manning are listed as defenders, whereas Keller is a listed midfielder, but his performances in that position gives me much more confidence that he is going to be in the correct position when needed. Busch has been quoted (and I'll paraphrase) that he knows what he is going to get with a Keller and Falvey combination and they have a good rapport. If Busch is comfortable having him in that spot, then so am I.

NASL/Opta - Average Position - Brad Ring

So that covers the overall team position and the centerback positioning. Let's move forward along the spine to Brad Ring. Much like Keller, I don't think that Ring was Coach Hankinson's starting defensive midfielder coming into the season. Also much like Keller, I don't think you can take the job away from him at this point. Torrado is Torrado and regardless of how much I love Ring, Torrado's overall vision of the field is far superior to Ring's. Torrado's age may be catching up to him a bit this season, but Ring has become a box-to-box defensive midfielder who doesn't shy away from contact or yellow cards and is going to give you 90-minutes of hustle on both ends of the field, but routinely provides cover for the centerbacks. Ring was 2 for 2 on tackles, he was 3 for 3 on duels, he had 4 interceptions, he was 41 of 44 in passes, and, oh yeah, he created 2 offensive chances including a shot on goal. I know it seems counter to keep a World Cup veteran in Torrado on the bench, but I think Ring is the better option right now.

NASL/Opta - Average Position - Justin "Steve" Braun

Moving up the pitch... In the morning interview with Coach Hankinson on Soccer Saturday with Greg Rakestraw, Coach implied that Ubi's performance on the field has been improved because the team is trying to play him in a deeper role, receiving the ball further in the defensive side so that he can pick better spots moving forward. However, what wasn't said is that this year's team's offensive leader, Justin "Steve" Braun is also coming back further to receive the ball and help distribute. Braun's work-rate and motor still puts his average position at the end of the game tucked just behind Zayed, but he was routinely coming back into the defensive half of the field to receive the ball and distribute. It could be argued that isn't where a team wants their target forward to play, but given that he touched the ball 60 times, completed 41 of 45 passes, while also creating 3 chances, 4 shots, 1 goal, and 1 assist, it's hard to argue with him coming back so far. With the exception of two shots that I think he would like to have back so that he could put both in the back of the goal, Braun played a pretty great game.

Two final thoughts. There are two team stats that jump off the screen for me. The first are the aerial duels. The Eleven are credited with winning 28.6% of their aerial duels. If that seems low to you, it is. Like 26 points below their average for aerial duels coming into the game. The Eleven were averaging close to 55% on their aerial duels and have routinely been higher than 70%. So it's odd to see that stat so drastically different than the norm and, by far, a season low for them. However, I don't know if it gets factored into the stats, but I recall during watching that I remember thinking that the Eleven were periodically backing off from the aerial duels and setting themselves up for the second ball. They were putting themselves in a better position, anticipating a poor first touch by the NCFC players. I don't know if this was a conscious effort based on film review, something they've been working on in practice, or something else, but it surprised me to see such a low number.

The other stat is the offside calls. Like last week, the Eleven were called offside seven times. I don't know if it was something different that NCFC was doing than other teams, but the Eleven clearly didn't learn anything from the film session to be able to limit the number of times they were called offside. I know they can do it. Braun had a perfect angled run in the 60th minute that allowed Zayed to give him a weighted ball through the defenders while also keeping Braun onside. Ultimately, Braun's shot was one of the ones I mentioned earlier that I'm sure he would like back, but it's proof that they know how to make the run to keep themselves onside if they would just do it more often.

Finally...
Just after Braun missed the goal high in the video above, NCFC unloaded a series of shots at the Eleven that Busch stopped, then Vuko stopped, then Busch again stopped. The effort needs to be watched over and over again. We'll look past the fact that NCFC players had much more space available to them than desired, but the end result was that the Eleven kept the ball out of the goal. There are times when I've convinced myself that Busch will not be returning next year (as a player), but the guy clearly still has the ability to play this game at a high level. I haven't watched the other games from the weekend, but don't be surprised if he makes the Team of the Week again this week.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

There are a lot of guys who could get the Game Ball this week. Busch's 6 saves were definitely worth. Falvey/Keller/Franco/Vuko? All worthy. Ring. Definitely worthy. Smart/Speas. Yep. Zayed. Sure. Yet, I have to give it to Braun this time around. See all of the above reasons. He impacted the game. Think I'm wrong?

The Eleven have 10 days off to stay/get healthy, rest, and prepare for a July 4th visit to New York City. If they play the Cosmos like they've played NCFC the past two weeks, I might let my optimistic start to creep back in. For now, though, I'm still going to temper my reaction and hope that a two-game win streak isn't an anomaly.

*videos edited from NASL telecasts

Highlights: