Indy Eleven vs Sporting KC II - 07.03

Summary

- Opponent: Sporting KC II

- Location: Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium

- Attendance: 4,931 (the infamous distributed tickets value...)

- Final Score: 2-1 W

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Carleton, Pasher, Moon

- Substitutions: Antley 11' (Ayoze - injury), Lindley 63' (Carleton), Ilic 64' (Conner), Walker 89' (Pasher), Osmond 90' (Gibson)

- Unused: Farr, King

- Scoring Summary:

IND - Pasher 39’

SKCII - Harris 53'

IND - Barrett 67' (assist Ilic)

- Bookings:

SKCII - Cuic 26' (Yellow)

SKCII - Rad 35' (Yellow)

SKCII - Riley 40' (Yellow)

IND - Haworth 44' (Yellow)

IND - Ilic 71' (Yellow)

SKCII - Barbir 82' (Yellow)

IND - Antley 90'+9' (Yellow)

- Referee: Eric Tattersall

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

If the Indy Eleven's time in the NASL has taught us anything, it's how to be effective in a "sprint" of a season and not a "marathon" of a season. Win quickly to put teams behind you so that the pressure is on them to catch you, win at home, win against the teams that you are supposed to beat, and then hope for some other results to go your way.

• Win quickly - 3 games, 3 wins - CHECK
• Win at home - 2 home games, 2 wins - CHECK
• Beat teams you're supposed to beat - Wins against Saint Louis and Sporting KC II - CHECK
• Other results to go your way - Saint Louis beats Louisville tonight - CHECK

Then have some guys who can put the ball in the goal and aren't afraid to do it. I'm looking at you Paddy Barrett. You thought I was talking about Pasher. Everybody knows about Pasher at this point. 

"And they just can't stop him." - Brad Hauter. Pasher is now tied for 3rd in club history for Points Scored with Dylan Mares (Dylan is also now tied with Ouimette for Games Started and was overtaken by Ouimette for Minutes Played) and is making it look like he might score in every single game this season unless he is physically double-teamed through the entirety of the game.

Paddy Barrett though, who Coach Rennie once answered one of my questions about Barrett, by saying that the team often jokes that Barrett is a striker in a defender's body. He had 3 chances created, 1 shot that slide just wide of the goal, and he scored the game winner with a soft little bending shot around the keeper. All that after forcing Saint Louis' keeper into an outstretched save last week. 

He's the center back.

The team is getting goals from defenders and it's just a matter of time before guys like Moon, Carleton, and Lindley find the back of the goal too. Indy had 11 shots on goal; not 11 shots, shots on goal. They had 23 shots. Of the 11 shots, Moon, Carleton, and Lindley accounted for 4 of them, with Tyler Pasher accounting for 4 more. 

Throw in the defending that Ouimette, Barrett, and Hackshaw routinely perform and the group defending from Gibson, Conner, Ayoze, and Haworth, and this team looks formidable. The USL Match Center for the game lists SKCII as having 14 total shots and my recollection of the game wouldn't have put it that high. The 2 shots on goal seems accurate, but even one of those shots is the goal were Harris got in on Newton 1v1 and slide it past him. Otherwise, Newton was forced to make 1 save. 

SKCII is a very young team. The starting goalkeeper is a kid from Indiana who is only 18 years old and made 9 saves tonight. So you can see the talent on their squad and they are going to take points from the top teams in the group, probably even Indy because it's difficult to win against a team every time when you play them 4 times in the season. SKCII were fast, full of energy, and pressed well. In fact, when I saw the sign raised for 8 minutes of stoppage time, I truly wondered if they were going to be able to steal a point out of the game. Yet, Indy's group defending and some moments where the ref kept the whistle out of his mouth in dangerous (PK) locations saw the game finish with Coach Rennie using his allotted 5 subs this week. While Walker and Osmond are only going to be officially credited with 1 minute of game time, their fresh legs and effort were evident. Indy's depth, and the youth at that depth, is going to be valuable, even in this shortened season.

Indy travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, both riding wins and sitting atop their groups as Pittsburgh put a 6-spot on Philadelphia Union II tonight. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Game winner from a defender. There were a lot of good moments from the game, but a goal from Barrett a few days before his birthday? Yeah, that's enough to get you the GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Saint Louis FC - 07.02

Summary

- Opponent: Saint Louis FC

- Location: Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium

- Attendance: 4,761 (the infamous distributed tickets value...)

- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Newton, Hackshaw, Barrett (C), Ouimette, Conner, Gibson, Ayoze, Haworth, Carleton, Pasher, Moon

- Substitutions: Watson 69' (Carleton), Ilic 80' (Moon), Osmond 84' (Barrett)

- Unused: Farr, Antley, King, Walker

- Scoring Summary:

IND – Pasher (assist Carleton) 52’

IND - Hackshaw (assist Ayoze) 79'

- Bookings:

NONE

- Referee: Calin Radosav

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

I'm going to start this by saying that I wasn't at the game and that I question the playing of games entirely. I appreciate the fact that people's livelihoods are on the line here. I understand people's desires to try and get back to some kind of normal. I'm just not convinced we're there yet and we're potentially setting ourselves up for an extended "social distancing" life because people aren't taking it seriously enough. I saw people in the stands without masks on. I don't get that. I miss being at games. We all do. Yet I couldn't get beyond my personal opinion of how I've witnessed people behaving for me to attend the game in person. Maybe at some point, but I'm not there yet.

I was glad to see the players standing up for Black Lives Matter. This is an important moment in the history of the country and I hope that we're finally moving in a direction that addresses the issues we've had for too long in this country. They're small steps at this point, but they're small steps that have needed to be taken for far too long.

No, onto the game itself...

With tonight's win, the Indy Eleven haven't lost in Lucas Oil Stadium in over 2 years. In a shortened 16 game season (one pre-shutdown and 15 post-shutdown), that's a useful stat to have in your back pocket with 10 of the 15 games taking place at home. Add in the ability to have 5 substitutes with Indy's depth in every position, and it will be unfortunate if the Eleven don't make it into the post-season. To do that, I've mentioned before that I thought Indy needed to take as many points as they can from Saint Louis and Sporting KC II and then hope to split the season with Louisville to clinch their spot. Indy took the first step in that tonight by not only getting a win against Saint Louis, but also keeping the clean sheet to help with the goal differential, which could come into play at the end of the year.

If you look at the heat map from this game, it would appear that this game was played predominantly in the midfield, but Indy won in all of the major statistical categories. They nearly doubled Saint Louis in shots and shots on goal, won the possession and aerial duels battle, and completed more than 80% of their passes. Most people will argue that it isn't just possession, but where you have that possession and what you do with that possession. Indy took their possession and methodically moved it up the field to put themselves in dangerous situations, with just enough of the long passes to Pasher, Moon, and Carleton to keep reminding Saint Louis that Indy has one of (the?) fastest players in the league with Pasher. I enjoy a distribution map that looks as green as what Indy was able to create tonight.

Indy's distribution and attack led to 13 shots and 8 shots on goal in the first half alone and 19 and 9 for the game.  Indy's attack came from multiple sources as even Barrett had a 40 yard shot that forced a good save from Morton in just the 9th minute of action, signifying the extent to which Indy was going to try and break down Saint Louis' compact defense. 

Yet, for all of the distribution and passes from Indy, their goals came from a long pass or a set piece cross. The first goal was a 40-yard pass from Carleton to Pasher, who the performed his normal magic trick of making a defender think he's going to his right, only to get it back to his left and put it under the keeper. The second goal was a 30-yard set piece cross from Ayoze that was perfectly placed in a spot over the defense, but that kept Morton planted on his line. 

As we saw last season, teams can know the scouting report and still can't stop it. 

• Pasher wants to go to his left. Force him to his right. He might still beat you, but you're giving yourself a chance. In the moment though, when he's going at a defender with more speed than a player is used to seeing, the ball fakes seem to work.
• Ayoze is dangerous on free kicks. Okay, teams can't prepare for his placement. I'll give them that one.
• Indy is going to stay organized defensively and if you're going to attack it, you need to do it in numbers. Saint Louis did that a few times, but just couldn't do it consistently enough to overcome a goal, and then two goal, deficit.  

What teams don't have in the scouting report is the effort and ability of Carleton and Moon have added to this team and the pressure that Haworth on the right side is going to take off of Pasher on the left side. They saw a glimpse of what the new additions are going to bring to this year's squad and it should concern opposing teams. Indy was good last year and they have additional pieces that are going to make them even harder to beat, particularly given their home form.

Sporting KC II comes to Indy next weekend and Indy needs to continue taking points from the teams not named Louisville City FC to put themselves in the best position at the end of this sprint season.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

It has to be Pasher, right? 85% pass right, 5 shots, 3 shots on goal, and his goal turned the game from "promising" to a nearly certain win. Hackshaw's goal put the game out of reach for Saint Louis, but it was Pasher's goal that showed that teams can game plan around him, but he can still beat them and Indy has found weapons around him to take off some of the pressure.

The Soccer Life - Katherine Reed

Sometimes I need to try and figure out how to fill in some blanks for people after they fill out this series of questions. Katherine's response is not like that. So instead of me rambling on, I'll let Katherine do all the talking about The Soccer Life for her:

1. Name:
- Katherine Reed

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
- Soccer Mom (a pretty cool one, according to Elliott), Brickyard Battalion Vice President, proud member of Slaughterhouse-19, and in a previous life: coach, ref, player.

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- Kat (because sometimes Katherine has too many syllables).
Valdy/Valderrama (My bestie and I usually played center-mid together. We both have brown, poofy, curly hair. In the 80s, I'd sometimes use a crimper...brilliant.)

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- I've been surrounded by soccer since birth. If you know my Dad, you know that's true. I've been interested in soccer forever. I didn't agree to start actually playing, though, until I was....9? 10? And I did so because the persuading coach promised that the team had lots of parties. 

5. First recollection of the game:
- The years and years I spent watching my older brother play, before I started playing. The hours spent in the back of my parents' car, sharing a walkman while listening to English Beat, to and from games.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- High School; decided not to pursue college after an injury.

7. Honors/Awards
- Some typical Athlete/Academics awards in High School. Mom of the Year award, by Elliott.

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Do practices with Elliott count?

9. Position:
- Center-mid, sometimes right-mid

10. Jersey number:
- 10

11. Coaching experience:
- Coached some local youth teams while I was a college student.
Rec Coached Elliott and Annabelle. Stopped when my dramatic daughter would hide behind my legs during a game if she didn't get the ball.

12. Refereeing experience:
- Way back in the day.... when I was a middle school student, I worked youth games. Best part was telling loud parents to HUSH.

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Most memorable moments as a player? Soccer camps were the best...loved going away to camp. NC State was my favorite - their fields were like carpet. Camps pushed you physically and emotionally. I loved the bonds that were strengthened when you were on your own with your teammates.

As the Mom of Elliott: legit, every game he plays.

As a Supporter? Too many to count or rank. Some highlights:
-The first pre-season game at The Mike with my Dad. Just me and him went from the family because it was so darn cold outside. It was special - knowing that we now had a team to support together in Indy.
-The Miracle at The Mike. Duh.
-The first big away day for Elliott in Nashville. Uncle Peter taught him how to properly fly a flag. His happiness from the away day carried over to the next home game when he *finally* agreed to stand in the BYB (he'd been a bit intimidated for years). Follow this up with last year's playoff games when Elliott then persuaded his two red-headed brothers-from-another-Momma to stand in the BYB for the first time. Watching him now mentor his younger besties in the same way that Uncle Peter had mentored him..... melted my heart. (Psss.... we love you Dunmores!).

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- For a couple years I helped start the VArmy, the first official supporters group of the Columbus Crew. This was way back in the day of Coach Andrulis. Things had started to go downhill and all supporters wanted to see him sacked. When the atmosphere had reached the bottom, I brought dozens and dozens of brown paper grocery bags to a game and people cut eye-holes out of the bags and wrote SACK ANDRULIS on the backside of the bags. Supporters then wore the bags in the stadium during his introduction and at various times during the game.
It's a little bit cheesy.

The moment I wish I could forget in USMNT history  - the '02 US/Germany game. Specifically the 50th minute or so. Cheaters.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- I measure my life in World Cups. I remember during Italia '90 when games were interrupted and goals missed due to commercials. There's a lot wrong in this world...but at least we now have uninterrupted soccer on tv.

I was living in Chicago during the '94 World Cup. That entire summer was magic. My team walked in the opening parade - the whole weekend was an insane, international party.  The German National Team was headquartered not too far from my house; my family was invited to join the team for dinners on non-game days - that was incredible. I was taller than Voller. I was awe-struck by Klinsmann (who knew that he'd become so frustrating to an American supporter years later). Watching all the games at Soldier Field. Traveling to the Silverdome to watch Wynalda score that goal.

Last summer on 7/7/19, "Finals Day." We had a massive party in the parking lot of Union Jack (love you, Jay + Chelsey). We started the day off watching the USWNT with 700+ of our best friends. Sharing in that moment with friends and my kids was unforgettable.

16. Favorite team(s)
- Indy Eleven, USWNT, USMNT, France, Manchester United, Dortmund

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Ryan Giggs. While all my friends had posters of Boy George and Robert Smith hanging on their walls, I used posters of Ryan Giggs as wallpaper. Nothing against Smith. Love him.
But GIGGS. Giggs will tear you apart.

Carin "Crazy Legs" Jennings. Really, pick a player from the USWNT in the 90s, and I loved them. Akers Stahl? Incredible. But Jennings..... she was spectacular with the ball at her feet. I wanted to be her. And thanks to some dear friends, I have some irreplaceable souvenirs from her world cup collection that I will cherish as reminders of how amazed I was watching these women, as a young girl.

18. Favorite Current Player
- Elliott.
Oh. You meant like a professional?
Hmmm....
Indy: the combination of Ayoze, Ironman Gibson, and Drew "Tuck it In" Conner.
ManU: Rashford.
USWNT: toss up between Rapinoe and Heath.
USMNT: anyone who will take shots on net....and better yet, score a damn goal.

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- I'm pretty strong at Looping Louie. Gotta work on my soccer tennis game now that Elliott is older.

22. Other Comments:
- It's always been more than a game.
If you haven't watched a game from behind the goal in the Brickyard Battalion - please do. We want you with us.

23. Other Information:
- Get involved at brickyardbattalion.com
Follow us at @the_byb
Follow me at @kchreed
Buy tickets at bybtix.com

The Soccer Life - Peter Evans

Photo credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/Indy Eleven
Photo credit 2: SocTakes article

With somebody as ubiquitous to the history of the Indy Eleven as Peter Evans, it feels a little weird providing any kind of introduction of him that hasn't already been said before. Peter is one of the founders of Slaughterhouse-19 and the former head of game day operations for the Brickyard Battalion.

As he conveyed to the American Pyramid in June 2017, "I spoke to the BYB board and basically offered to head up our tifo, capo, and other game day-related things. No one else really wanted to take on the role, so I was given it by default." As a reward for his long-standing dedication to the team and his constant presence in the capo stand, Peter was the club's inaugural recipient of the XI Century Award, presented to Indy Eleven fans who have attended 100 games (Peter currently stands at 103 home games and 125 total games). 

For someone so involved in all of our experiences with Indy Eleven games, it surprises me that it took me so long to get his input in The Soccer Life:

1. Name:
- Peter Evans

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

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

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 5

5. First recollection of the game:
- 1994 World Cup

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- Rec Soccer

7. Honors/Awards
- BYB Supporter of the Year

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- About a year ago.

9. Position:
- Keeper

10. Jersey number:
- 39, 0

11. Coaching experience:
- None

12. Refereeing experience:
- None

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- 4-1
Editor's note: For the uninformed, that's the score of the Indy Eleven vs Carolina Railhawks game on June 11, 2016 to secure the NASL Spring Championship.

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- I do not recall it.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Lighting off smoke in Union Jack during the 2014 World Cup

16. Favorite team(s)
- Indy Eleven

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Cobi Jones

18. Favorite Current Player
- Kyle Beckerman

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Indoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- Hockey (house and rec), golf (competitive until high school, now mainly just focus on my handicap), basketball (rec)

22. Other Comments:
-

The Soccer Life - Michael Carney

You may know Mike from his back-and-forth Twitter exchanges with Jon Busch about hockey. Or his discussions about Varmint Trace Farms and his chickens. Or his experiences as a head soccer coach for Bishop Chatard High School.

Or you might know him as one of the contributors of the grassroots media site Lady Victory & Her Quest for Glory. In his words, "His motivation for the blog was simple; for every Indy Eleven home game during their inaugural season, Carney created his own scouting reports and took notes during the games. He now shares these scouting reports prior to each game in Lady Victory and Her Quest for Glory." Mike used to write and contribute to Total NASL, as well.

And now he's a contributor to this site as he provided his responses to my questions about The Soccer Life:

1. Name:
- Michael Carney

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

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
-

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 14

5. First recollection of the game:
-

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- High school

7. Honors/Awards
-

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
-

9. Position:
- Outside mid

10. Jersey number:
- 11

11. Coaching experience:
- High school head coach for 3 years.

Editor's note: Mike is the head coach of the Bishop Chatard High School boys team for the past three years and spent time before that as a coach at Cardinal Ritter HS, Martinsville HS, and Guerin Catholic High School.

12. Refereeing experience:
-

13. Most memorable moment(s):
-

14. Least memorable moment(s):
-

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
-

16. Favorite team(s)
- HI HO SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

17. Favorite Historical player:
- RYAN GIGGS

18. Favorite Current Player
-

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- Baseball (high school) and track (high school)

22. Other Comments:
- USSF National D License

The Soccer Life - Jon Busch

There's been one player in the history of the team that I have related to the most. It's not because I ever played soccer professionally, nor even because I played goalkeeper (short of one season in my youth, which was nerve-wrecking for my mother). No, it's because he was born in the same year as me and we married our wives in the same year (if Wikipedia is to be believed). 

He was an "old" guy.

Of the 121 players that the Indy Eleven have signed in their history, Jon Busch is the oldest player to have ever been signed. When Jon was announced by the team in January 2016, John was 39 years, 5 months, and 4 days old. For reference, the only other players to be signed to the team after their 35th birthday were Gerrado Torrado (37 years, 1 month, 9 days) and Kim Do-Heon (36 years, 7 months, 19 days).

Yet, Jon was a leader and still not past his playing days even when his playing days ended. I believe (I know) Jon had at least one more season in him. However, Jon has continued to train young goalkeepers and pass along the lessons he has learned over the years. As a consultant, Jon routinely trains goalkeepers at all levels, including the Indy Eleven players, as Jon and Nikki have decided to make Indianapolis their home now, even after his role with Indy Eleven has ended. 

Jon also routinely helps me in understanding the business side of the sport, goalkeeper tactics, and general soccer discussions. He and I regularly engage in conversations about the state of Indy Eleven, the USL/MLS, and what he is doing to help grow the goalkeeper union. So I was glad he was finally convinced to answer my questions about The Soccer Life. 

Without further ado, here is The Soccer Life of Jon Bush.

1. Name:
- Jon Busch

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

That's an understatement.

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- Buschy (wife started calling me that many years ago)

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- 6 - 7 years old

5. First recollection of the game:
- Playing youth ball with my dad and brother coaching me.

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- MLS and US National Team

Jon was originally brought into the league and played for the Columbus Crew in 2002 before signing with the Chicago Fire in 2007. Jon was with the San Jose Earthquakes from 2010 to 2014, but finishing his MLS career with a season with the Chicago Fire in 2015.. 
- Jon won Supporter's Shield in 2004 during his time with Columbus, and finished as 2nd all-time in Columbus for shutouts. 

- He is currently 3rd all-time in Chicago for nearly all GK stats, but first in save percentage and 2nd in goals against average.

- With San Jose, Busch recorded a league best and franchise record 138 saves during the 2014 season, finishing as 2nd all-time in shutouts.

"Busch finishes fourth all-time in MLS history in regular-season appearances (309); fourth in minutes (27,725); third in shots faced (1,577); fourth in saves (1,151); fifth in wins (113); and fourth in shutouts (83)." - from the MLS announcement of his one-day contract with Columbus Crew where Jon officially retired from soccer on May 12, 2018 as the Crew took on one of his other former clubs, the Chicago Fire.

Jon played in the FIFA U-17 World Championships in Japan in 1993, starting all four games the team played (3 group stage + quarterfinal game), where the team finished with a 1W - 1D - 2L record. More on his full national team experience below...

7. Honors/Awards
- MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and Best 11

Both of these awards happened for Jon during the 2008 season with the Chicago Fire.

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- 2017

Jon's last competitive match (not counting the above mentioned "retirement" match) was a 2 - 2 draw with the Indy Eleven against North Carolina FC.

9. Position:
- Goalkeeper

10. Jersey number:
- 18 or 1

11. Coaching experience:
- US Youth National Teams, IUPUI Men's and Women's, and Indy Fire Juniors

In the past year, Jon has been asked to help the USMNT U-20 with Tab Ramos and the USMNT U-23 with Jason Kreis. Jon also routinely helps out with the national team youth team camps (think U-14, U-17, etc.). 

12. Refereeing experience:
- Zero

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Winning the Open Cup in Columbus.  First MLS start.  First US National Team start.

- Winning the Open Cup in Columbus - Jon won the 2002 U.S. Open Cup in a 1 - 0 win against the L.A. Galaxy.

- First MLS start - April 27, 2002, a 1 - 0 win against D.C. United. Jon came on in the 59th minute in the previous game on April 20, 2002, in a 0 - 2 loss against New England. Jon split time with Tom Presthus throughout the season. However, according to the Columbus Crew's website for the 2002 season, here are the team's results during Jon's starts:
June 12 - 2 - 1 WIN vs New England
July 13 - 3 - 1 WIN vs D.C. United
July 20 - 1 - 1 DRAW vs Colorado Rapids
July 24 - 1 - 0 WIN vs D.C. United
July 27 - 2 - 1 WIN vs L.A. Galaxy
July 31 - 3 - 2 WIN vs Metro Stars
Aug 14 - 3 - 2 WIN vs L.A. Galaxy
Aug 18 - 4 - 0 WIN vs Kansas City Wizards
Aug 31 - 0 - 0 DRAW vs New England
Sept  7 - 3 - 4 LOSS vs San Jose
Sept 14 - 2 - 0 WIN vs Chicago Fire
Sept 22 - 1 - 2 LOSS vs Chicago Fire

That's a 9 W - 2 D - 2 L record if you weren't keeping track. Then the Crew won the Open Cup game against L.A. and that's how you become the starter going into the 2003 season.

- First USMNT start - Busch's first USMNT start also took place during his only cap for the United States, when the men's nationtal team, lead by Bruce Arena, defeated Colombia 3 -0 in a friendly on March 9, 2005. 

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- Tearing my ACL twice.

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Simply watching good goalkeeping at the highest level.

16. Favorite team(s)
- Liverpool ( trained there while in college)

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Peter Shilton or Shay Given

18. Favorite Current Player
- Ben Foster or Hugo Lloris

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

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

22. Other Comments:
-

The Soccer Life - Owain Fôn Williams

I don't remember how many times I was in the press room with Owain, but there was at least once where a couple of questions were asked, one by me and one by Rebecca Townsend, where he was very detailed in his thought process for an on-field exchange and became very philosophical in his responses to us. Given his passion for art, it was one of those moments where I saw a glimpse of how he approaches life and the role that soccer plays in it. So before we get to Owain's responses to The Soccer Life, I thought I would pass along his entire answers to those press conference questions after a 1-1 draw to Bethlehem late in the 2018 season: 

"Being a goalkeeper in that situation, you've got to put yourself as much in the attackers mind as possible. Because at the end of the day, I don't know whether you've ever stood in goal, but it's pretty big behind you. You've got to fill the goal as much as you can. In that scenario, you've got to realize, what's the percentage. Is he going to take the shot early? In that case, you got to hold back. Or is he going to take his touch. In that moment, you got a decision to make on whether you can go close him down and go for the percentage ball with your body spread or whether you hang back and maybe make a reaction save. You hold your ground and make the save that way. Goalkeeping is all about position decision making and it's all a learning curve. So yeah. You win some, you lose some.

You know, soccer, things don't happen overnight and when something goes wrong, it's easy to change. We had a plan in place at the start of the season before all of this happened and we've tried to stick with that. Things aren't going to be perfect all the time. In any walks to life. Whether it's a game of soccer or whether it's your family or whatever it is. Things are going to happen. But if you believe in what you do and keep doing it, hopefully you'll come out the better end, rather than the worst of it. It's just, keep believing, keep working hard, stick together and we need as many people buying into this sport here in Indiana and Indianapolis. If we can get more people, get more people cheering us on, then that would be fantastic. But the gang we have here of support has been phenomenal, but if we can get more and galvanize everything, then it will be fantastic. It will be even better. And with that, as loud as they can be, if they can get louder, then that can only get better on the pitch itself. So that would be fantastic." 

Now for Owain's responses to The Soccer Life:

1. Name:
- Owain Fôn Williams

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

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):
- The Fonz, Fonners because people couldn’t pronounce my 1st name!!

4. Age became interested in soccer:
- Since walking!

5. First recollection of the game:
- My dad’s under 7 team

6. Highest level of play achieved:
- International

Owain has also played for clubs in the English Football League, as well as the Scottish Premier League, including Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who loaned him to Indy Eleven in 2018. He currently plays for Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Championship.

7. Honors/Awards
- Semifinal of UEFA Euro 2016

8. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play
- Today

As has happened a few time with these surveys, by the time I post them, the person has likely played at least one more game. In this case, since Owain is still playing professionally for Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, he's played a few games, the last being a 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle. If seasons hadn't been postponed/suspended due to COVID-19, he would have played several with just four games remaining in the season. If only...

9. Position:
- Goalkeeper

10. Jersey number:
- 1

11. Coaching experience:
- Some

12. Refereeing experience:
- None

13. Most memorable moment(s):
- Earning my first international cap

Owain's first international cap came in November 2015 in a friendly against the Netherlands. 

14. Least memorable moment(s):
- Relegated

15. Favorite World Cup moment(s):
- Too many to choose


16. Favorite team(s)
- I don’t have one!

17. Favorite Historical player:
- Peter Schmeichel

18. Favorite Current Player
- Gigi Buffon

19. Indoor vs Outdoor:
- Outdoor

20. Grass vs Turf:
- Grass

21. Other sports played (and to what level):
- No

22. Other Comments:
- Hope you’re well brother

Thanks Owain! You too.