Indy Eleven vs Birmingham Legion - 2025 Jagermeister Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Birmingham Legion 
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,028
- Final Score: 1-1 D (Indy 7-6 in penalty kicks)

- Starting XI: Sulte, Bryneus, Musa, O'Brien, J., White, Rendon, Murphy, Lindley, Quinn (C), Foster, Amoh

- Substitution: McRobb 67' (Bryneus); Collier 82' (Foster); Williams, R. 82' (Amoh); Blake 88' (Murphy)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Hogan, Kizza

Scoring Summary:
IND - O'Brien, J. 28' (assist Bryneus)
BHM - Tabort Etaka 90'+4' (unassisted)

Penalty Kicks:
IND - Williams, R. (FAIL) X-0
BHM - Pasher (Goal) X-1
IND - Blake (Goal) 1-1
BHM - Laszo (Goal) 1-2
IND - Lindley (Goal) 2-2
BHM - Hernandez-Foster (Goal) 2-3 
IND - Quinn (Goal) 3-3
BHM - Tabort Etaka (Goal) 3-4 
IND - McRobb (Goal) 4-4
BHM - Damus (FAIL) 4-4
IND - Rendon (Goal) 5-4
BHM - Suarez (Goal) 5-5
IND - Collier (Goal) 6-5
BHM - McIllhatton (Goal) 6-6
IND - O'Brien, J. (Goal) 7-6
BHM - Centeno (FAIL) 7-6

- Bookings:

IND - O'Brien, J. 50' (Yellow)
IND - Musa 69' (Yellow)
IND - Murphy 88' (Yellow)
BHM - Pasher 90'+6' (Yellow)

- Referee: Brad Jensen

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

I wasn't at the game, and in all transparency, I decided to not watch the game. I only watched the highlights and looked at the stats. Somehow, I have a sneaking suspicion on how the game went based on just those two things. Indy scored early, and whether they began to bunker immediately or later, the defensive bunker did happen. I'm sure of it. There have been enough games this season where it has happened that I feel confident, even having not seen the game, to know that it started happening. After the 60th minute, Indy didn't have a single shot, while Birmingham had 7 in that same amount of time. Indy has struggled to close out games from winning positions. cross all competitions, Indy has held scored the opening goal 12 times. Counting last night's game against Birmingham, they have conceded a late goal or stoppage goal in 4 of those 12 games; 33% of the time, Indy has been unable to hold onto their lead. The same thing happened last night, and it took Sulte making a save in the 8th round of the penalty kicks to gain the slightest advantage over Birmingham in the Jagermeister Cup Group 3 standings. Indy could have solidified their spot in the Cup's knockout round, but instead find themselves still in a position where they have to get a win against FC Tulsa to make sure they move on out of the group. Tulsa is currently sitting 3rd in the Western Conference table, so a win is by no means a guarantee. The game last night was a much better opportunity against a fellow struggling Eastern Conference opponent and Indy squandered that chance.

Indy return to league action this coming Saturday when a different Western Conference opponent comes to town. Monterey Bay, sitting 6th place in the Conference, have had good results in their other games against Eastern Conference teams, so Indy's going to need to have a good game to get a result. Indy are closing in on the midpoint of the season and have officially reached the point where they can't keep giving away points and wins.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Again, I wasn't at the game, but from the highlights and looking at the stats, is there anybody else besides Sulte that can be given the GBGB? Between the 6 saves in regulation that kept the game in Indy's favor, and the final save in the penalty kick portion of the Cup game, Sulte seems to be an obvious choice. 

 

Photos: Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 04.10

Summary

- Opponent: Dayton Dutch Lions
- Location: Grand Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 6-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Satterfield, Kruer, Beasley, Foulk, Smith, Yamazaki, Pinto, Joyce, Sochacki, Jennings

- Substitution: Wyatt 45' (Edwards); Komori 64' (Yamazaki); May 64' (Jennings); Pittman 69' (Pinto); Touhey 69' (Smith)

- Unused: Phillips

Scoring Summary:
IND - Pinto 15' (unassisted)
IND - Kruer 19' (assist Sochacki)
IND - Jennings 22' (assist Joyce)
IND - Yamazaki 28' (assist Sochacki)
IND - Jennings 63' (unassisted)
IND - May 78'  (assist Sochaki)

- Bookings:

None

- Referee: Rachel Glago

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

After the Racing game, I wondered aloud how Coach Kim might handle tonight's roster. Would the more experienced players like Osswald and Bulger play, or would he roll with the youth in the final game to keep building their experiences. As the roster came out, it was a dramatic emphasis on the youth. Not only were Osswald, Bulger, Chester, or Chatterton not on the starting lineup, they weren't even on the game day roster. In a league that is intended to be an avenue for players to grow - a pathway to the pros - or for some old pros to scratch a competitive itch, tonight's roster was heavy on the pathway to the pros variety. With the chance for the playoffs done and dusted, against the bottom team in the league, getting the youth some experience completely makes sense. 

Dayton arrived with 12 players. No, that isn't a typo. They had 12 players. Total. For those that are bad at math, that means they had just 1 substitute available. Indy had 6 subs, 2 of which were goalkeepers, so they had just 4 field players available. The number of fans were on par with the number of subs, as the stands were the emptiest I have ever seen them. It seemed like everybody was ready to just get through the game and move onto their high school or college seasons. 

Maddy Williams in just three games played finished the season as the team's leading goal scorer with her three goals. In many ways, that might have been part of the problem this season. The past three seasons, the team has never scored less than 30 goals and had only been shutout once. This year, they were shutout 3 times and only scored a total of 22 goals. Indy has some talented forwards, but seemed to struggle at times this year getting shots on target and passed the opposing goalkeepers. Dayton was prone to leaking goals with a -59 goal differential coming into the game (2 GF vs 61 GA). Indy had a couple of 3-nil results against Dayton until tonight's 6-nil result, but never looked as dangerous as they looked tonight. Indy could have doubled the score with just a little bit better finishing.

Dayton has had a rough introduction to the Valley Division this year and tonight was no different. Indy dominated this game from start-to-finish. Very few minutes of the game ever crossed into the Indy defensive half of the field. Emily Edwards spent the majority of the 1st half of the game 35-yards from her own goal and only fielded one long range shot on goal. When she made way for Wyatt, her teammate wasn't required to make a single save. Indy, contrarily, took 32 shots forcing Dayton's goalkeeper Shirley into 16 saves, meaning had 22 shots on target (or 68.75% of their shots found their way towards the goal).

A summary of tonight's goals:

Photo: Robbie Mehling

• Pinto in the 15th minute from a free kick that Sochacki put on frame. Shirley spilled the ball and Pinto put the ball into the goal from within the 6-yard box.
• Kruer in the 19th minute with a forceful header from a corner kick from Sochacki. 
• Jennings in the 22nd minute from a long ball sent from the Indy defensive half by Joyce that Jennings tracked down, pushed around Shirley and calmly passed into the goal from within the 6-yard box.
• Yamazaki in the 28th minute from a free kick by Sochacki. Sochacki put a perfect ball into the box near the penalty spot that Yamazaki headed passed Shirley.
• Jennings in the 63rd minute after Sochacki put a shot on target that Shirley spilled. Jennings had followed up the shot and slammed it into the goal. 
• May in the 78th minute from a cheeky chip over the defenders by Sochacki.

The Valley Division has become a very competitive division, but Dayton was way over their heads this season. This game was never in doubt, mostly from the opening whistle. Indy managed to finish the season with a good performance and Dayton continued their struggles. There's not much else that can be said about this game. Indy's talent was higher, and they played with more intensity. When those things combine, 6-nil results that could have been much much worse are what happen. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

I've said it before this year, but the midfield duo of Pinto and Yamazaki often caught my eye. Tonight was no different. They were all over the place. Distributing the ball and defending when necessary.  Jennings was going to get the edge for the GBGB because the Dayton defense had no answer for her pace and crosses from the right side of the field. She didn't give up on balls, scored a goal herself, and could have had a couple more goals or assists. Clearly, I could talk about the spectacular service and play from Sochacki that had her involved in 5 of the 6 goals. She's shown moments all season, but she was in complete control tonight. Sochacki's delivery from set pieces and corner kicks was perfect, and her distribution was spot on. In a night where the GBGB could have been up for grabs, sometimes I just have to go with the player(s) that I keep noticing as doing positive things. Pinto and Yamazaki have been rocks in the midfield all season, so Jennings and Sochacki have to share the GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Tampa Bay Rowdies - 12.13

Summary

- Opponent: Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Location: Al Lang Stadium
- Attendance: 3,692
- Final Score: 3-1 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, Bryneus, McRobb, Ofeimu, O'Brien, J., Rendon, Quinn (C), Blake, Soumaoro, Kizza, Foster

- Substitution: Murphy 29' (Soumaoro - injury); Hogan 32' (Ofeimu - injury); White 70' (Rendon); Amoh 70' (Kizza); Lindley 70' (Bryneus)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Collier

Scoring Summary:
IND - Foster 45'+1' (assist Blake)
TBR - Bodily 60' (unassisted)
TBR - Moon 69' (assist Alvarez)
TBR - Wyke 90'+3' (assist Bassett)

- Bookings:

IND - Kizza 43' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 45'+4' (Yellow)
TBR - Guillen 55' (Yellow)
IND - Foster 66' (Yellow)
IND - Hogan 68' (Yellow)
TBR - Arteaga 73' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 82' (Yellow)
TBR - Pacius 90'+5' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jeremy Scheer

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

Nothing like weather delay to force me to watch part of a Loudoun/Louisville game while I wait out the delay. Loudoun had a player get a red card in the 45'+1' and then their coach was shown an early exit in the 58th minute. Want to guess how that one finished? I think this was the 14th time these two teams played each other this year (technically just the 4th... 2 league games +1 Jagermeister game + 1 USOC game), so at least they tried to keep it interesting with all the ejections and all the goals Louisville scored being up a player.

One hour and 54 minutes. That was the length of the weather delay. A delay that had the ESPN2 feed showing episodes of a documentary called Greenland ("A documentary series about the most unexpected and exotic soccer fields on the planet, impressive for their contrasts, but where playing soccer is not impossible."). The floating field in Thailand looked interesting...and sketchy. Then NFL Live. The other football. Solved a Rubik's Cube. Checked in on the World Series of Poker events. Checked on the Cubs score. I also managed to do a little website housekeeping... In a week where Indy Eleven (the club...men + women) have 6 games in 9 days, a 2-hour weather delay was not what I wanted to see tonight.  

Finally, Indy and Tampa Bay kicked off at 9:02 in the PM.

Indy's schedule of Las Vegas last Saturday night, Tampa Bay tonight, and at home against Birmingham in the Jagermeister Cup meant that Coach McAuley had some squad rotation tonight. The rotation might help the overall energy levels of the players (the weather delay is going to mess with that though), but there were some guys playing together at the start that haven't been playing together for such a long duration. As a result, Indy looked discombobulated early as they tried to get their legs under them and used to the way the soggy field was playing. Tampa Bay managed a couple of shots in those early minutes, including one off the woodwork, but Indy began to find some rhythm as the settled down. Then the injuries starting piling up with Coach McAuley having to burn two of his substitution windows within a 3-minute stretch as both Soumaoro and Ofeimu had to be replaced because of injuries. Whatever rotation McAuley planned, 30-minutes into the game, that plan was upended. 

Indy began to tilt the field in their favor as the half wore down until Foster received a ball 25-yards away from goal, took a touch to his left, and sent an absolute rocket into the upper 90 well out of reach of Bandre. A 1-nil lead on the road going into the locker room, having already burned two substitutes, history indicated that a McAuley bunker looked imminent once the teams returned to the field in the second half. A penalty kick awarded to Tampa Bay minutes into the half looked like the game was going to take yet another turn. It turned out to be a strange turn, when Artega stepped up to the ball and proceeded to blast the ball well over the crossbar into the humid St. Petersburg night allowing Indy to maintain their lead. 

Within 7 minutes of the miss, TBR countered through Bodily where he outran the entire Indy midfield. Much like the other night against Las Vegas, Bodily got the ball to Arteaga and when the ball was deflected off of Arteaga, back to Bodily who had been left completely alone. One touch and his shot was passed back across the goal and tucked nicely inside the post. One goal became two when Indy's former player, Nick Moon, did what he saw him do here. He picked up the ball and attacked the Indy goal. When he found just enough of a window for a shot, he took it. The shot took a deflection on its way through towards goal and a flailing trailing leg from Sulte couldn't make contact with the ball and the Rowdies had clawed their way back for the lead. 

Indy immediately made a few substitutions for fresh legs, but it wasn't enough as Tampa Bay held onto the lead for the final 21'+6'. A soggy, weather delayed slugfest was solidified in nearly Las Vegas fashion on a counter when Indy didn't track all the attackers and an unmarked Wyke pushed the ball easily passed Sulte for the 3-1 win. 

Mike Watts commented that Indy fans will comment that the Eleven lost to the what was the last place team in the conference, but that "would be reductive." Maybe. Indy has scored the opening goal in 9 of their 13 league games. In those 9 games, Indy has 3 wins and 4 draws. So positive results in 7 of the 9. However, in 3 of those draws, Indy conceded late or in stoppage time to lose 2 points per game. If Indy had those 6 extra points as wins instead of draws, Indy would be sitting at 20 points, tied for the 5th spot. If Indy wants to prove they belong up there, and I'm nearly reaching the point when I'm not sure they do, then they have to beat the teams that are struggling even more than they are, and that was a Tampa Bay team. Reductive or not, Indy should have been able to win this game. Much like the women last night, they didn't match the intensity of their opponent for the full ninety and the opposition had a better half than Indy's better half.

Indy return to The Mike on Saturday to face Birmingham as part of the Jagermeister Cup. A win likely clinches the group and puts Indy into the knockout round of the tournament. Indy already beat Birmingham once this season when Lindley scored a 4th minute goal and then basically bunkered for the next 86 minutes. McAuley values Cup competitions, but I'm losing faith in this group getting wins. Guess we'll find out on Saturday.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This is my fourth game writeup since last Friday. In that time, I have watched and discussed four Indy Eleven club losses. The Women lost to Lexington 4-nil on Friday. The Men lost to Las Vegas 1-nil on Saturday. The Women lost to Louisville 2-1 yesterday. The Men lost to Tampa Bay 3-1 tonight. Let's go with I'm tired and I don't have it in me to really give this award. If pushed, I would give it to Foster purely for the likely Goal of the Week nominee for his 1st half stoppage time goal. Yeah, let's go with that.

Indy Eleven vs Racing Louisville - 04.09

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville SC
- Location: Grand Park
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-1 L

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Chatterton, Adam, Kruer, Albert, Smith, Yamazaki, Pinto, Komori, Sochacki, Chester

- Substitution: Satterfield 45' (Albert); Jennings 45' (Komori); Sochacki 45' (May); Joyce 60' (Chester); Beasley 68' (Pinto); Malin 68' (Chatterton)

- Unused: Phillips, Bahr

Scoring Summary:
LOU - Smith 21' (unassisted)
LOU - Smith 33' (penalty kick)
IND - Joyce 85' (assist Yamazaki)

- Bookings:

LOU - Lund 54' (Yellow)

- Referee: Sao Kamara

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

I've said before that when Indy Eleven decide to start honoring players that have had a significant affect on the club, Brad Ring should be the first. I'm going to adjust that statement slightly. Brad Ring should be the first from the men's team. The first woman to be honored should be Grace Bahr. There will be others that can and should be mentioned in the conversation, but Bahr should be the first. Part-time coach, part-time player, full-time captain. She has given everything in the service of the club, including now two ACLs. She has been the rock in the defensive line, and the leadership voice across all the lines across four seasons and age groups. Bahr is the team's all-time leader in Appearances (40), Starts (38), Minutes (3,416), Top 3 in Assists (6), and Top 4 in Game Winners (3), proving that the defensive captain impacted the game everywhere and every time she stepped onto the field. All the stats aside, Bahr is likely your favorite player's favorite player. When Indy clinched the league title in 2023, most of the players ran to her first to celebrate as she sat in a knee brace with the first ACL injury sustained in that game. After her most recent ACL injury a few games ago against Kings Hammer, Grace has decided to hang up her boots and move to Ohio for the next stage of her life working at the club where she first got her start playing. Brad Ring may have been the first to be dubbed as the Legend by Indy fans, but those of us who have had the privilege of watching Bahr give everything to this club know that not having the official club nickname doesn't mean that you aren't one. Grace Bahr is a legend and I wish her nothing but the best moving forward. The respect she deserves extends beyond just the Indy Eleven fans and players, which is why both teams tonight agreed to allow Grace to start tonight's game and receive the accolades she deserves from her teammates and competitors. Good luck Grace in your next phase of life (and, more imminently, in your upcoming surgery and rehab), but you'll always be #IndyForever. 

After Grace received her accolades, she stepped off the field and Chatterton stepped in to play the remaining 89 minutes. The early moments of the game looked very much like two teams that have played each other before and were trying to figure out the best way through their opponent. Indy had just the slightest of edge in control of the tempo and possession, but couldn't do much with it. As time passed, Louisville began to tilt the field in their favor.

A couple minutes after the 20-minute mark, a recycled ball found Louisville's Smith about 25-yards from goal. A touch to her right to get the ball in a more central location and she put a shot over Edwards to get the scoring started. The goal further energized the Louisville squad and the field firmly tilted entirely towards Edwards in goal. The continued pressure eventually forced a lunging defensive effort from the typically stalwart Chatterton where she missed the ball and caught the Louisville player. Unfortunately, that foul occurred within the Indy 18-yard box and the referee quickly and correctly pointed to the spot. Smith stepped up again, firing her attempt low and to her right. Edwards guessed correctly, but couldn't get down quickly enough and the ball slide under her outstretched arm, giving the visitors a 2-nil lead. Indy found a bit more possession and opportunities after the second goal, but were unable to be too dangerous in the final third of the field and the teams went to the halftime locker rooms with the two-goal differential. 

It's been a reoccurring thought for me this season, but Indy's opponents have just seemed more physical in their approach to 50/50 balls and tackles. I'm not sure why or if I'm accurate in that assessment, but it has just felt like Indy has been afraid to get a foul called against them and never adapted over the course of the season to the continued lack of whistles from the referees. The other teams have seemed to learn that they can get away with physical play and routinely muscled the Indy players off the ball. Or maybe it's a function of the youth of this team and not knowing they can, or maybe it's that they aren't yet capable of physically doing so against some older, more experienced players. Tonight, and in general in the losses this season, it often felt like Indy was missing a player that would try to throw the team on their back and will a victory. Bahr often tried, but she can't do all the scoring from the back. Seeing that timidity tonight made me nostalgic for a player like Hershfelt. Somebody who wasn't (and seemingly still isn't) afraid to get in on a tackle, yellow card be damned. I never thought Hal was dirty, but she made sure you knew she was in the midfield with her. The talent level is obvious for most of this current version of Indy Eleven players, so maybe it's just an experience and growth that will help their confidence to remove some of the timidity and decision-making. 

The second half was more evenly matched, with Indy getting a few more of the dangerous chances than Louisville was able to muster, but Indy couldn't find the goal early enough that would have given them a light and make Louisville nervous. Indy did find the net in the 85th minute from a feed from Yamazaki that Joyce looped over Teague to prevent the shutout. Indy turned up the pressure some more in the dying minutes of the game, including nearly drawing their own penalty kick (which was correctly determined to be outside the box), but couldn't find the equalizing goal.

With the loss tonight and Indy's 5 total losses on the season, the best Indy can finish this season is .500 depending on the result Friday against Dayton. Indy could also finish 4th out of the 5 team division depending on Indy's result and the two games between Lexington and Kings Hammer. Now that Kings Hammer have clinched the Valley Division and Indy are out of the running, I have to root against Coach Dolinsky and Lexington when I was rooting for them just a couple of games ago (KHFC won tonight vs LEX 4-2). Indy finish off the season on Friday against Dayton, who have struggled to even get goals much less wins, so hopefully Indy can finish on a strong note. It will be interesting to see if, or how much, the more experienced players like Osswald and Bulger play, or if Coach Kim rolls with the youth in the final game to keep building their experiences.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Despite the losing result, there were some good performances from players. Kruer played well in the back. Pinto had a decent game. Yamazaki continues to impress me. Tonight, though, the player that I kept noticing doing good things time and again was Olivia Smith. She seemed to be everywhere for Indy. She was good on the ball, good on defense, and seemed to be doing whatever she could to get the team a win. Tonight, she might have been the closest one to being the player I mentioned earlier about trying to put the team on her back. She looked like a player that is going into her Senior season at IU. Tonight's effort didn't get the team a win, but it does get her the GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Las Vegas Lights - 12.12

Summary

- Opponent: Las Vegas Lights 
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,132
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Sulte, McRobb, Musa, Hogan, Ofeimu, Quinn (C), Murphy, Rendon, Blake, Lindley, Amoh

- Substitution: Collier 67' (Quinn); Foster 67' (Blake); White 67' (Rendon); Kizza 68' (Amoh); O'Brien, J. 80' (McRobb)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Soumaoro

Scoring Summary:
LV - Pickering 90' (assist Stojanovic)

- Bookings:

LV - Nigro 2' (Yellow)

- Referee: JC Griggs

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

Las Vegas Lights came to town and were greeted by some Las Vegas-like temperatures, with a game time temperature hovering around 90-degrees, but the humidity hovering around 60% made it feel like 100-degrees. Being "used to the heat" is different than being "used to the oppressing feeling that the humidity weighs on you," and I'm not sure anybody ever really gets used to that feeling. Keeping in mind the temperature and the heat index, there seemed to be little chance that this was going to be a high tempo, defensive pressing type of game for the full game. This had all the initial expectations of a "grind-it-out, wait for a mistake from your opponent and capitalize on it" type of game. It took until the 90th minute for that mistake to happen, but when it did happen, it allowed Las Vegas to leave Indianapolis with a 1-nil victory. Las Vegas also managed to do something no other team had been able to do all season and that was keep Indy scoreless. 

Indy came out early with a defensive press, likely looking to get an early goal to force Las Vegas to get an early deflated feeling about their time in Indy, and in essence end the game early. Las Vegas, contrarily, looked disinclined to press at all, or even counterattack in any kind of numbers. However, once the clock crossed over about the 15-minute mark, Indy's press took a noticeable reduction in its intensity. The less intense press by Indy allowed Las Vegas to get a better hold in the game, but they still didn't look inclined to stretch themselves too much out of their defensive shape and only went forward in numbers a couple of times. As the game approached the halftime whistle, Las Vegas began to push the momentum in their favor, but still weren't that effective in getting much out of their increased effort. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

After the break, Blake and Quinn switched sides of the field in a tactical adjustment by Coach McAuley, but the game mostly looked the same as it had in the second half. Neither team looked overly dangerous in their offensive third of the field, and the pace remained very measured trying to leave something in the legs in the heat for any kind of late game push. 

Coach McAuley made a line change substitution in the 67th minute, when he put fresh legs up top with Collier, Foster, and Kizza all coming in. Based on the substitutions, it seemed like Coach McAuley was conveying his intent to get a win out of this game. McAuley has regularly stated that the team need to get better results at home to reward the fans for their continued support and voice during the games. Post-game, he even stated that he was always going to go for a win at home. On the road, with the same kind of weather and late game draw scoreline, he might do something different. At home though, the team was going to do for a win.

The 4-3-3 lineup Indy played at the end eventually had a breakdown defensively, and a couple of Las Vegas' substitutes put the visitors ahead 1-nil in the 90th minute. Once the goal was scored, it was just a matter of getting across the finish line. With the weather and the heat, the game always felt like a single goal would be the winner. When the goal happens in the 90th minute, there just isn't much time to try and get something back out of the game. 

The loss brings Indy's home league record to 1W-3D-3L. After a game that was fairly even from a stat perspective, and even from the eyeball test, the result remains the same; Indy close to getting full points only to watch it dissipate to a draw or loss. The up-and-down emotions of the games and their results are leading to an up-and-down trajectory of this team. After two 1-nil victories, there were some signs that maybe Indy was turning the corner and figuring out some of their defensive issues with a more collective defensive effort. Tonight, though, Indy couldn't find their own goal and then conceded late, proving that this team still seems to be a work in progress when it comes to playing a full 90 minutes. Indy's run of having games-in-hand continues to make the table look deceiving, but the loss pushed Indy back below the playoff line. With Indy's inconsistent form this year, it feels like the discussion of the playoff line is more relevant much earlier in the season than in the past. At times, they feel and look like they could go on a run of wins. At times, they look like a team that is struggling. 

Indy head to Tampa Bay for a midweek fixture against another struggling team before returning back to The Mike next weekend to play Birmingham as part of the Jagermeister Cup. Both games seem winnable, but I really no longer know how to guess what kind of result this team is going to get from game to game.  

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Coach McAuley has said it was partly out of necessity because of minor injuries to other players, but the insurgence of Cam Lindley into the starting lineup has helped. His effort can't be disputed. His ability to hit a 50-yard change of field pass is impressive. Where I think it helps the team most is that it has allowed Quinn to move further up the field to pull the strings, while also providing defensive cover in front of the defenders. What I kept noticing tonight, though, was that it felt like (because the distribution chalkboard from the match center doesn't necessarily agree with my eyeball) Lindley's first preferred thought was to push forward with the ball whereas his holding midfielder counterpart, Murphy, seemed to think about going backwards first before thinking to go forward. In a game like tonight where chances were going to be spread out and difficult to get, thinking of going forward was going to maximize those chances. Particularly when Coach McAuley singled his intent with the three forward substitutions. As I state over and over, many times the GBGB goes to the player who I keep noticing, and noticing doing good things. Tonight, that was Lindley.  

Photos: Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 04.08

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Athletic Complex
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 4-0 L

- Starting XI: Phillips, Adam, Pinto (C), Kruer, Albert, Joyce, Yamazaki, Smith, Komori, Sochacki, May

- Substitution: Beasley 45' (Joyce); Satterfield 45' (Albert); Malin 60' (Kruer); Jennings 60' (Sochacki); Budish 70' (May); Pittman 70' (Smith) 

- Unused: Wyatt

Scoring Summary:
LEX - Mitchell 3' (assist ??)
LEX - Mitchell 35' (assist Snyder)
LEX - Mitchell 56' (assist ??)
LEX - Mitchell 68' (assist ??)

- Bookings:

None

- Referee: ??

- Adage goals: One.

Thoughts and Opinions

It's hard to beat a team three times in a season. It's harder to beat a team three times when the coach is a former member of your club. It's even more difficult when you're without some of your main cogs of leadership due to injury (or other life obstacles). That challenge gets even further exacerbated when the third game of the three games is on their home field, and you absolutely positively have to beat them. Indy's up or down season continued, and a 4-nil loss brought their playoff hopes to a definite and depressing end. For the first time in the history of the USL W League, Indy Eleven will not be a part of the playoff portion of the schedule. Putting the final FINISHED stamp on Indy's playoff hopes were some of the former players that followed Coach Dolinsky to Lexington. Natalie Mitchell scored a hat trick +1, with at least one of those being assisted by Hadley Snyder. 

With Edwards' callup to the US Soccer Talent ID camp, Kate Phillips picked up her first start of the 2025 season. However, that meant that the team was now without three of the main parts of the defensive spine of the team, with Edwards, Bahr, and Molloy all not making the trip to Lexington. Bahr's and Molloy's absences required some more shuffling of the starters by Coach Kim, with Pinto dropping back in the defense next to Kruer. 

At least I assume that was how they lined up. The camera feed for the game continued to show an empty field. Shortly after I questioned the empty field on X, the livestream stopped and Indy's Ian Gilmour responded back to me indicating:

"Sounds like they moved from normal field with the men’s game on ESPN2, assuming the broadcast was still routed to that camera. Hearing they are actively trying to fix it though."

From everything I didn't see, it looked like they didn't manage to get it fixed. The stream on sportsengine never restarted, and Lexington's X channel was silent throughout the entirety of the game. So the other teams in the division still lag way behind Indy when it comes to its telecast of the games. Even if they had been pointing the camera at the correct field, you could see from stream that it was just one of those cameras on a telescoping pole that tracks the action. Or no action in this case, and no commentary. 

Indy still have two games remaining, both at home, so fans still have a chance to root for the team to do well against Racing Louisville and Dayton Dutch Lions next Tuesday and Friday, respectively. The playoffs may be out of reach, but I'm sure I won't be the only one in Grand Park wishing the players well as they try to finish the season with a couple of high notes.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Given the lack of a stream, it's impossible for me to personally give out the GBGB. 

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 04.07

Summary

- Opponent: Dayton Dutch Lions
- Location: DOC Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards, Satterfield, Molloy (C), Beasley, Albert, Joyce, Yamazaki, Smith, Sochacki, Komori, May

- Substitution: Chatterton 45' (Satterfield); Touhey 61' (Molloy); Pittman 61' (Komori); Jennings 70' (May); Foulk 75' (Albert); Guthrie 75' (Sochacki)

- Unused: Phillips, Wyatt

Scoring Summary:
IND – Komori 24' (unassisted)
IND - Own Goal 26' (Grant)
IND - Own Goal 70' (??)

- Bookings:

DAY - McKinney 46' (Yellow)

- Referee: ??

- Adage goals: None.

Thoughts and Opinions

Tonight's starters looked drastically different than the previous game against Kings Hammer. Most notably was the absence of the stalwart in the back, and the team captain, Grace Bahr. I can only assume that the injury she sustained just before halftime against KHFC was as bad as it looked. I haven't been able to get a confirmation, but it certainly appeared to resemble her ACL injury in the 2023 Championship game. The starters were without Pinto, who has started every game before this one. There weren't any of Indy's veterans, with no Chester, Bulger, or Osswald making the trip. Joyce and Beasley both picked up their first starts; with Beasley having played a total of just 11 minutes all season before this game. With the nature of the W League, it's difficult to say if the changes were injury, day job related, or a function of Indy's inability to make the playoffs leading Coach Kim to make the decision to play the youth. Given the opponent's record and massive goal differential (-49 coming into the game), it could be felt that Coach Kim was playing down to the opponent, but I don't think that was the case. 

Regardless, the squad that Coach Kim fielded was the dominant side in the game. Possession, shots, and overall skill level was definitely skewed towards Indy. With the exception of a 19th minute shot against the run of play from Dayton's Morse that drifted just wide, the early part of the game was played nearly entirely in the Dayton defensive half of the field. Within five minutes of Dayton's first chance of the game, Indy was able to finally make good on their dominance when Komori put a shot past Shirley to open the scoring. Two minutes later, Joyce took on three defenders and managed to get her cross into the 6-yard box where Dayton's Grant inadvertently pushed it passed her own keeper to double the advantage for Indy. The two goals in two minutes were the difference when the two teams separated for the halftime break.

Seriously Dayton, you can't put the camera on top of the press box or in the last row before the box or almost literally anywhere else? I've seen photos of the stadium, you can get on top of the press box. Because streaming the game from within the press box, through the windows, creates a very poor, pixelated video stream with reflections from the window. I appreciate the effort, including have a play-by-play, but take an extra half step and put the camera (phone? tablet?) in a better spot. 

Just as I was typing the above paragraph, the livestream lost its signal. Which took 15-minutes for the team to acknowledge on X that they were having technical difficulties. As a result of the livestream being down, I have no idea how the team looked in the final 35-minutes of the game. I know there was a second own goal by Dayton, but not what led up to it nor who redirected the ball into their own goal. 

I know the final score was 3-nil, so Indy won. Guess that's the important part as far as Indy fans are concerned.

There's still a scenario where Indy could overcome Kings Hammer for the top spot, but the long and short if I did my math correctly is that Indy has to win out (at Lexington, at Racing, & home vs Dayton) and KHFC has to lose at least two of their remaining four (at Racing, home vs Dayton, at Lexington x 2). Lexington's draw against Kings Hammer yesterday opened the door again for Indy. Racing has played them close on the road, so with the final of their three-game series in Louisville, it might be possible. Similarly, Lexington drew KHFC in Cincinnati, so with the final two games both being in Lexington, getting a win out of one of them might be possible. At this point, Indy can only control the things they can control and that's to keep winning. Indy return to action on Friday when they face Lexington for the third time this season, this time in Lexington. The result there will go a long way in determining Indy's post-season fate.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

This game was never really in doubt. Indy was the better team. I think I should give Yamazaki the GBGB purely because she looked like the best player on the better team. She controlled the midfield, and routinely danced around the Dayton defenders to get the ball to her teammates. Without her typical midfield partner of Pinto on the field, Yamazaki was still able to show her class.