Soccer in the United States - A Fan's Perspective (Post 2026 World Cup Exit)

What's wrong with the USMNT.

I say that not with a question mark but with a period because I know. I know what's wrong with the USMNT.

The problem is...

You know what? Before I tell you what's wrong, let's back up a little.

As I'm writing this, it's been just a few days since the United States Men's National Team exited the stage that is the FIFA World Cup with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle. I would say that it's because I didn't want to write my immediate emotions, but I was atypically calm about the entire game. I do like to do some research though and the past few days have provided that chance. 

The USMNT won their group stage after just their second game, winning both of their first two group stage games against Paraguay (a 4-1 victory in Los Angeles) and Australia (a 2-nil victory in Seattle) before losing to Turkiye (a 3-2 loss back in L.A.) while resting most of their starters. The US then played Bosnia and Herzogovina, getting a 2-nil victory in the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. 

In that game against Bosnia and Herzogovina, USMNT player Folarin Balogun was issued a red card based on a VAR review of a moment between Balogun and Muharemović which determined that Balogun's inadvertent stepping on Muharemović's ankle was a reckless challenge. The USMNT played the final 26' + 11' of stoppage time down a man, but extended their lead from 1-nil before Balogun's ejection to 2-nil on a magical free kick by Tillman from just outside the penalty area. 

In the ensuing days, people discussed whether it was or wasn't a red card, could the USMNT appeal the card or not, and generally is VAR helping or hindering the sport these days. There seemed to be a general consensus from the broadcast personnel and their "Soccer Rules Analysts" that VAR likely broke protocol by showing Brazilian official Raphael Claus the still images of the exchange between Balogun and Muharemović before showing the full speed exchange. So Belgium and USMNT players prepared for their game without Balogun. Until Sunday, when it was announced that his red card would be suspended for the game with a 1-year probation period to follow. Rumors and reports followed consisting of the President of the United States making a call to FIFA President Infantino to look into the red card. Suddenly, and surprisingly, the USMNT's top scorer was back in play.

Belgium then went out and bossed the USMNT all over the field, getting their first goal just 9 minutes into the first half. The USMNT would claw one back in the 31st minute, again from a Tillman free kick, only to concede minutes later to go back down. Mauricio Pochettino had tried to change the momentum by making a substitution at halftime, but to only moderate and temporary success. Belgium would add a third goal in the second half on a spectacular mistake from USMNT GK Freese, and would then tack on a fourth in stoppage time from second half substitute Lukaku just for good measure, emphatically putting an exclamation point on the domination of the game. Christian Pulisic left the game minutes after Belgium's third goal with a leg injury (now reported as a bone bruise and microfracture).

Which is where we find ourselves today. Talking about a USMNT that, once again, made it to the Round of 16 but no further. 

So what's wrong with the USMNT?

If you've listened to the talking heads (including many former players) and the internet, everything. I've heard:

• Pulisic didn't step up. As "Captain America," people expected more from him. He needed to play injured.
• Pochettino didn't select or play the right players and/or didn't make the right tactical decisions, including his decision to not play the starters in the third group stage game.
• Balogun's red card was a distraction.
• The President of the United States messed with the soccer gods and karma struck back immediately.
• This "golden generation" of soccer players for the USMNT just don't have the fight, the mentality to compete against the top teams in the world.
• The US wasn't sufficiently tested in the lead-up to the World Cup because they were automatic qualifiers.
• The United States' youth development program is a shambles and worthless.
• The United States doesn't have its best athletes playing soccer, they're playing other sports like football, basketball, baseball...
• We call it soccer instead of football.
• We don't have promotion/relegation in the country.
• Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

The answer to what's wrong with the USMNT. It's really easy. 

NOBODY REALLY F**KING KNOWS!

Why would I know the answer? I'm just a guy who writes about his local club for the past baker's dozen years, but has played the game, refereed the game, coached the game (albeit to little kids), watched the game, and discussed the game for nearly the entirety of my life. So I do have some thoughts.

Maybe it's a little bit of all those things in that list. Maybe not, and in some cases, probably or definitely not. It takes some legit mental gymnastics to buy into the "best athletes are playing other sports" thing when arguably one of the greatest to ever play the game is 5'-7" and 150 lbs. Messi doesn't fit the "best athletes" physique those folks have in mind, but there's no denying his ability, skill, and instinct around the goal. The karma thing could be real though. As we like to say in America for other sports, "ball don't lie." Getting politicians involved messed with the karma. I have sports superstitions so I can buy into that one.

Maybe it's as simple as the United States played a bad game against a good team at the wrong time and they were beaten. Having lost to Belgium earlier this year, albeit with some slightly different players, lends credit to the fact that maybe the USMNT just didn't match up well against this Belgium team.

Maybe Belgium took the momentum from their late comeback win against Senegal and the anger/frustration about the Balogun reinstatement and used it all as fuel to play the kind of soccer a Top 10 ranked team can play despite having some struggles in the group stage.

Maybe, and I'm just spit balling here, maybe it's really difficult to win in world soccer. 

Maybe, just maybe, the top teams in the world are the top teams in the world for a reason. Maybe they've just been able to pull all the right strings together to get the right resources with the right players at the right time with the right culture to consistently win games. Maybe that's not easy to duplicate even with some number of any of those factors aligning for other countries.

The World Cup has been played 22 times before this iteration. Eight (8) countries have won it. Eight. 

• Brazil (5 - 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
• Germany (4 - 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
• Italy (4 - 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)
• Argentina (3 - 1978, 1986, 2022)
• France (2 - 1998, 2018)
• Uruguay (2 - 1930, 1950)
• England (1 - 1966)
• Spain (1 - 2010)
• And only 5 other countries have ever made the final game (Netherlands runners-up 3 times, Hungary 2 times, Czechoslovakia 2 times, and Sweden and Croatia 1 time each)

Let's look at this another way. Looking at the official FIFA rankings from June 11th, right before the start of the World Cup, 30 of the top 34 teams in the world made it into the expanded field of 48, with only Italy (ranked 12th), Denmark (21st), Nigeria (26th), and Ukraine (32nd) not making it into the tournament. There were 6 additional teams inside the top 50 of the rankings, with the final 12 teams consisting of teams at a ranking of 50 or higher (Uzbekistan at 50 up to New Zealand at 85). For refence, the United States came into the tournament ranked at 17th.

Digressing slightly, Italy is a four-time winner and didn't even make it into the field. Since they won in 2006, they've exited the tournament twice in the group stage, and haven't qualified the past 3 tournaments. Germany is also a four-time winner and after winning it in 2014 didn't make it out of the group stage in 2018 or 2022 and lost in the Round of 32 this year. And US fans were upset about missing the 2018 tournament...

Back to my larger point, in the Round of 32, there were four teams that were ranked in the Top 32 that didn't advance: Uruguay (16th), Iran (20th), Turkiye (22nd), and South Korea (25th). So those four plus the four that didn't even make the tournament, otherwise 24 of the 32 positions were filled by countries that were ranked in those positions pre-tournament. The other 8 positions in the Round of 32 were rounded out by teams ranging from the Ivory Coast (33rd) to Ghana (73rd). 

Favorites vs Underdogs Results

The Round of 16 was filled by 10 teams that were ranked in the Top 16. The United States (17th), Switzerland (19th), Egypt (29th), Canada (30th), Norway (31st), and Paraguay (41st) made it into the Round of 16 from outside the Top 16 rankings. 

Of the Round of 32 games, only Paraguay's win over Germany (9th) was from a team with a lower ranking. From the Round of 16 games, only Norway's (31st) win over Brazil (6th) and Switzerland's (19th) win over Columbia (13th) were games with wins by the lower ranked team. 15 of the 16 Round of 32 games were won by the higher ranked team, and 6 of the 8 Round of 16 games were won by the higher ranked team. The above image was created before the France/Morocco game, but that one also was won by the higher ranked team, France.

As we like to say here in Indiana during the NCAA March Madness tournament, this World Cup is "going chalk." The higher seeded teams are generally winning when they need to win. Sure, there have been some amazing games. Argentina has been pushed to the brink twice by significant "underdogs." England v Mexico is probably still my favorite game of the tournament so far. But the higher seed has prevailed most of the time.

The United States (17th) played to chalk too. They beat a Paraguay (41st) team 24 spots behind them. Chalk. 

They beat an Australian (27th) team ten spots behind them. Chalk. 

They lost to a Turkiye (22nd) team five spots behind them in the rankings after conceding a 90'+8' goal. So they nearly got a draw from that game with a highly rotated squad. Almost Chalk. 

They beat Bosnia and Herzegovina (64th) despite being a man down for a significant portion of the second half and stoppage time. Chalk. 

The lost to Belgium (9th). Chalk.

Like most USMNT fans, I was disappointed and frustrated at the loss on Monday night to Belgium. "It's the hope that kills you," right? I let myself get excited for the "why not US" propaganda that FOX has been feeding us because of how well the US was playing in the early games of the group stage and that they overcame the struggle of the red card to still advance. Like most soccer fans in this country, I wanted to see them get over the Round of 16 hump, but it just didn't happen. However, I didn't feel like the sky was falling Monday night and I still don't think the sky is falling today. I think the USMNT got outplayed by a better team, which has been a theme for much of this tournament. Cape Verde gave Argentina as much as they could handle, and Egypt did the same until Argentina's class finally kicked in in the 79th minute, but with only a couple of exceptions, the world class teams have come through each time in this World Cup.

So where does that put us as it relates to the USMNT?

Last year, I wrote an article about my local club, Indy Eleven, where I discussed Expectations versus Reality. With very little effort, what I wrote about Indy Eleven can apply to the USMNT, so I'll reiterate it here with the appropriate edits:

I have had versions of this conversation over the years with various people, but the following quote has been the most eloquent way I have heard to say it: "Conflict arises when expectations exceed reality."

There's an expectation that Indy the USMNT is one of the top clubs teams in the league world. As a result, there is an expectation that Indy the USMNT should be consistently at the top of the standings and winning most of their games. When that doesn't happen, people want to blame the coaches or the players or any number of reasons for them not meeting the expectation. The reality is that Indy (not counting the USL W league team or the Academy teams)  the USMNT has only had a modicum of success, spread out over just a few seasons in the twelve-year history of the team tournaments. Indy The USMNT have a history of expectations exceeding reality. While this year's team is underperforming based on last year's results, t The reality is that they're right where history has told us this team will be: 

With the exception of the 2018 World Cup that the US didn't qualify to play in, the team has only not made it out of the group stage once since their quarterfinal run in 2002 (exited in the group stage in 2006), and have been a consistent fixture in the Round of 16 (4 out of 4 times they've been in the tournament). The expectation was that they should be progressing further than their predecessors because they're the "golden generation," the best the United States has ever fielded. The reality is that while this team improved, they're not the only ones. It's not a stagnant finish line that they're chasing. The other countries in the world have a say in this too.

So where does the USMNT go from here? Tuesday was officially Day 1 of the next World Cup cycle. 

Will Pochettino be around? His contract with the USMNT has expired but the US Soccer Federation has offered him an extension through the 2030 World Cup. Whether he takes it or moves on is still to be determined.  

What players from this team continue to be part of it? The average age of the team was 26-years old so there are clearly some players who will be age eligible to continue their time on the team. At 38 years old now, Tim Ream is, likely, not one of those players, but nobody thought he would be there this time. Cristian Roldan will be 35 years old so maybe he's not in the mix either. Matt Turner will be 36, but goalkeepers age differently in this sport so he might be a possibility, but he wasn't even the starter for this World Cup. After that though, every other single player on this roster will be in their late 20s or early 30s. 

I can hear some of you now, get rid of all of them. Why would we keep trying to use players that can't get it done? "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Because until some players step up and displace them, they were determined by Pochettino to be the best (or healthiest at the selection time) available. As I argued in my earlier Expectations vs Reality article for Indy Eleven, the USMNT have talented players. Saying they don't is foolish and you're basing your opinion on the last result, which for 47 of the 48 teams in this tournament will not be as World Cup winners. When healthy, Pulisic is still a dynamic player. In the first two games, Weston McKennie was the engine that drove the team. Tyler Adams covers a lot of mistakes that others make. Freeman, Tillman, Balogun. All of those players deserve to make a case for themselves, and I think they will all continue to be part of the team for the foreseeable future. Whether that extends to 2030 will be dependent on who steps in, steps up, and takes their positions from them.

I don't think he was fully healthy, but I think there's going to be a place on the team for a guy like Diego Luna. He's fearless, which can be enough to unsettle opposing defenders. Much like Emma Hayes has done for the USWNT, the early stages of this new World Cup cycle should be met with bringing in a lot of players from wherever they can find them. At one point last year, Hayes had given 32 players their first cap. The old guard is starting to give way to the new guard, and I know there are players around the country (or playing in other countries) that deserve the chance. I just assume that the men's team's old guard aren't quite ready to concede their positions yet. 

Though given the vitriol I've seen towards some of them lately, I don't know why they would want to continue to put themselves through this shit. It's a lot of fans' prerogative, but if you're an American wanting them to fail, then you and I are on different wavelengths on what we think is good for the sport. 

Which gets me to my final point.

Go support soccer. Call it soccer if you want. Call it football if you want. Find a team, preferably local because there are plenty of them at all levels of the US Soccer pyramid, and go to games. Watch games on television or the internet. Find a foreign club if that works for you (I support Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership).

Some of you may have found soccer for the first time in any real way with this World Cup. Welcome. Welcome to the madness. Try to not let some of the gatekeepers hold you back. If you have questions about the game, there's somebody, not a gatekeeper, who is more than willing to share their knowledge with you about the game. To talk about the game. To laugh and cry about the game. 

I've explained it a few times on this site over the years about how I arrived at the name of my site, the Game Beckons, but I'll summarize it again here.

I had reread Finding the Game: Three Years, Twenty-five Countries, and the Search for Pickup Soccer, by Gwendolyn Oxenham and watched the companion documentary Pelada, when I was thinking about names for my site. I remembered a quote from Luke when they were in Marseille, France, when Gwendolyn writes the exchange in the book (the same exchange occurs in the film):

"Five or six games stretch across the park. We stand there watching, weighing, still wondering whether or not the jersey once belonged to Drogba. A ball skips towards us. Luke takes off after it and volleys it back. He's quiet for a second. Then he says, "When the ball comes toward me, I consider the game beckoning me - the game wants me."

There's another point in the book where Gwendolyn writes about an exchange while they were in Italy talking to a writer, Cristiano, who reads from his own book and then helps them understand his meaning (emphasis mine):

"He pours us grappa and translates the meaning, hands gesturing, "It is a story about an old man who imagines what he'll say to his grandson...that there is a god for the soccer fields, a kind of magic. Not the big ones - the small ones in the provinces." Head cocked to the side, he smiles, shyly like he's telling us something personal, emotional: "Soccer will give you much more than you can give it."

Soccer in the United States is going to be fine. It might not be the meteoric rise that some would like of it, but the USMNT will get better. I believe they will eventually make it beyond the Round of 16 again. They might also not qualify again. Germany and Italy have proven how hard qualifying and performing in the World Cup can be. 

I, personally, believe that the USMNT will get better. But I plan to be here either way.   

If the World Cup beckoned to you, enjoy it. As somebody who has continues to have the game beckon to me for the past 50 years, I agree with Luke and Cristiano. The game will beckons you and it will give you more than you give it. That I can promise you is true.

Indy Eleven vs Charleston Battery - 13.12

Summary

- Opponent: Charleston Battery
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,143
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Dick, Quinn (C), Barry, Rasheed, Neidlinger, Lindley, O'Brien, J., Blake, Omar, Rendon, Okello

- Substitution: Sharp 65' (Omar); Mesanvi 81' (Okello)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Kizza, Lowden, Mitrano, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
IND - O'Brien, J. 82' (assist Rasheed)
IND - Rendon 90'+4' (assist Blake)

- Bookings:

CHS - Kelly 18' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 35' (Yellow)
IND - Blake 36' (Yellow)
CHS - Smith 68' (RED)
CHS - Kissiedou 90'+2' (Yellow)

- Referee: Matt Thompson

- Adage goals: None
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy Eleven have played two other times on the Fourth of July. The first time was in 2017, a 1-1 draw at the New York Cosmos. The second time was in 2018, when the Ottawa Fury came into a sweltering Lucas Oil Stadium and beat Indy 0-1 due to an Own Goal by Mitchell. The night concluded with an open north window at LOS and fans able to hang out in the stadium and watch the downtown fireworks. The goalkeeper that night for Ottawa was Crepeau, who saw his World Cup run with Canada come to an end today against Morocco an hour before Indy's start time tonigh. Today, Indy instead decided to do The Fourth at Four, with game time bumped up three hours from the normal 7:00 start to 4:00, presumably to allow fans to get to any Fourth of July fireworks festivities with their families, but it also meant that fans and players were in an absolutely brutal afternoon heat of 90-degrees F and 50% humidity giving a feels like temperature of 98-degrees. The fans that braved the heat, and there weren't that many of them (regardless of what the announced attendance indicated), were treated to a 2-nil victory against one of the best teams in the league.

The game felt to me a lot like the friendly against Pachuca in June of 2016. That day, temperatures were in the low 90s, with a start time of 1:30. That day, I had measured the temperature of the turf with a baking thermometer, which pegged at 137-degrees. Water bottles were spread out around the field, but I remember watching as many players spray their boots with the water as they did actually drink the water. The turf has been changed since then, but I doubt that the new version is any cooler than it was that day. Following the World Cup's lead, midway through both halves, both teams walked over to the benches for a hydration break to replenish the fluids that the heat was taking out of everybody.

The first half progressed much like you might expect from a Charleston team in form and an Indy team who has been forced to rotate their backline as injuries continue to be an issue for the team. Charleston dominated possession (70/30 ratio), and dominated it in reasonably dangerous locations, getting 10 shots, but just 1 shot on target that was straight at Dick. Indy's restructured backline generally stayed home with rare overlapping runs from Neidlinger or Quinn because of the need to keep Charleston in front of them and not over-exert themselves due to the heat. Indy's forays into the Charleston half weren't overly frequent, but did manage to have some potential options, including a goal pulled back due to an offside, something that both teams had in the half. The two teams sniffed at getting the scoring started, but instead went into the halftime locker room with a nil-nil score line.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the game crept toward the 60th minute, Charleston's attack began to show itself with two close calls. For chunks of the game, it looked like the game was going to finish with either a nil-nil result or possibly just a one-goal differential. Charleston's flurry of shots in that portion of the game made it look like it was likely to be Charleston that got that break-through goal and not Indy. The 68th minute red card to Charleston's Smith, after he pulled down second-half substitute Sharp who had been sent through the lines by Neidlinger, changed that feeling with 22 minutes with a man-advantage for Indy. Neidlinger has been thrust into his role due to the back line injuries, and he's still a young player growing into his skills. Today, though, he had some nervy moments on the right side as he lost his man or overran them. He'll eventually get better, but a team of Charleston's talent had moments against him that could have gone poorly for Indy. Yet it was his ball that put the team in a position to get points out of the game against one of the best teams in the league, and one of the most in form teams.

Charleston came into the game against Indy in spectacular form. They were undefeated in 5 games, and with their 4-1 victory against Loudoun United last week, equaled a record for most goals in a 3-game span with 14 goals. They tied the record with...themselves. The 2024 squad also scored 14 goals in a 3-game span, starting from a 4-2 victory against...Indy. Colton Swan has scored 7 goals in the league and 10 across all competitions. Maalique Foster had scored in 4 consecutive games coming into tonight's game, his longest scoring streak in the USL Championship. Indy managed to keep them scoreless tonight.

Indy has had some rough results against Charleston in the past with a 4W-7L-2D record against the Battery, and hadn't beaten Charleston since 2023. Cards change games, and Smith's deserved red card in the 68th minute did exactly that. There aren't a lot of the game stats that point to an Indy victory, other than Indy's ability to get their shots on target at a higher rate than the Battery. Indy didn't have as many chances, but they did a better job of converting their chances. The red card also allowed Indy to hold onto the ball more and stifle the attack that Charleston had going for them before the ejection.

Indy continues to have games in hands on all the teams above them and don't have another game until the 15th. Indy has a definite back-loaded schedule so it's good they can get results like tonight despite the heat. Indy return to action in a week and a half on the road against Miami who play tomorrow and then next week in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, which Indy no longer has to deal with due to completing their group stage games and not advancing in the tournament. How Indy survives the back-loaded schedule with the continued string of injuries is going to go a long way to determining whether this team exceeds the preseason expectations of them being a fringe playoff team.

Game Beckons Game Ball

This afternoon's GBGB goes to a player whose stats don't exactly pop off the page; just 2 of 5 duels won and 1 of 4 aerial duels won. However, Barry was averaging less than 16 minutes per game and always late in the game. Due to the injury to Paco Craig, tonight was Barry's first start and he had to go the full 90 minutes. Against a team with as much offensive power as Charleston, and with as few minutes as he's played this year, Barry did as well as a job as possible. It might not always be the best factor in who gets the GBGB, but I think it's as valid a reason as any tonight. As each injury has occurred this season, it's been the "next man up" mentality and this afternoon's next man up was Barry.

Indy Eleven vs Toledo Villa FC - 05.09

Summary

- Opponent: Toledo Villa FC
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-1 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Lee, Kruer, Mill, Brecht, Dardano, Guthrie, Johnson, Jodoin, Sochacki, DeMartino

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Joyce 61' (Johnson); Jennings 61' (DeMartino); Chatterton 77' (Lee); Adam 77' (Kruer); Satterfield 86' (Brecht)

- Unused: Phillips, Cueto, May

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Kruer 14' (Sochacki)
IND - Own Goal 35'
TOL - Clark 45'+2'
IND - Johnson 47' (unassisted)

- Bookings: 

IND - DeMartino 31' (Yellow)
IND - Hodsden 80' (Yellow)

- Referee: Rachel Glago

Thoughts and Opinions

Indy began this year's USL W League season a bit slow, scoring just 4 goals through the first 4 games, including being shutout in two of those games. Once they found their scoring boots or held some kind of bad voodoo cleanse, the goals have come in bunches and the results have been drastically different. In the last 4 games, Indy has averaged 5.5 goals/game, scoring 6 goals twice, 7 goals once, and a paltry 3 goals once against Racing Louisville. Tonight's opponent, Toledo Villa FC, came into the game having scored just 3 goals total all season while conceding 24 times in route to a 0W-0D-7L record. Tonight they rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with just 2 substitutes. Let me repeat that a different way. As Norman Dale said in Hoosiers, "my team is on the floor," which wasn't far from being Toledo's mentality. It also goes back to what I've said before. Indy's depth can wear out some of the teams in this division. Even if they weren't overmatched from the start, with just two subs, Toledo didn't stand much chance if they somehow managed to keep it close late. As it turned out, Indy got on the board early, added to it, and overcame a rare mistake that lead to a Toledo goal , and finished with a 3-1 to do their part of trying to make the playoffs.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Indy got themselves on the board early in the half when Mac Kruer's height came through on a Sochacki corner kick. Indy was dominating the beginning stages of the game, but were struggling to find their moment on goal. Indy had a half dozen crosses that went through untouched showing that they were dominant in possession, but just a step behind with each other. Indy looked rushed in the final third taking crosses before there was somebody in a position or taking rushed shots AT goal, not ON goal. The goal took some of the pressure off as it related to the need to get the win, but Toledo showed much more pressure on the ball tonight than they did in the previous game.

As the first half was about to conclude, Edwards made one of her rare mistakes and misplayed a ball when Toledo's Clark pressured her and the ball got stuck under Edwards' feet. Clark pounced on the ball and calmly passed it into the goal to pull the visitors back within a goal going into the halftime locker. 

Indy came out of the half determined to restore the multi-goal advantage. Johnson latched onto a ball near the 18-yard box, beat one defender, and put a ball across the goal and out of the reach of Sluss to get the goal differential back to 2 within 2 minutes of the restart. From there, Indy's gas pedal remained firmly planted to the floor to try and further increase that lead and wear down the short-staffed Toledo. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

While the shots continued to get added to the score sheet, Johnson's early second half goal was the last of the scoring for the game. Toledo finished with just 3 shots, none of them on target, while Indy finished with 24 shots, 13 of them on target forcing Sluss into 10 saves, but Indy couldn't find another goal. 

While all this was going on in Indy, the fans, staff, and players were keeping an eye on the other game taking place tonight in Dayton as the Dutch Lions faced off against Racing Louisville. With Louisville's final game of the season against the winless Toledo team, Dayton looked to be Indy's best chance to slide into the playoffs if Dayton could get anything out of the game. Even just a draw would have been sufficient for Indy's strong finish to the season and their +23 goal differential to be enough to move on into the playoffs. Both teams scored within the first 11 minutes; Racing first in the 1st minute and then Dayton twice in the 6th and 11th minutes. Both teams then added one more goal apiece before halftime to give the home team Dayton a 3-2 lead at the break. A 58th minute goal from Racing brought the game back level and the nervousness set in. Racing added to their total with an 87th minute goal, likely ending Indy's chances of continuing their season. While no team from the Valley Division has officially clinched, it seems doubtful that Toledo will be able to go to the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center and come away with another but another loss.

Indy's early season lack of finishing that lead to an opening game draw against Louisville and back-to-back shutout losses to Dayton and Louisville means that Indy is going to not be a part of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Indy is arguably the best team in the Division, but in a sprint 9-game season, every single game and every single point matters. The team did everything they could don in the back half of the short season, but the two losses and draw took the control of their fate out of their hands. It looked like Dayton was going to do Indy a solid and get a draw against Racing, but they couldn't hold on at the end. 

Indy have to wait until it's official on Saturday when Racing Louisville and Toledo wrap up the Division's last game, but the players, coaches, and staff looked dejected after tonight's game after the news of the other game's result became clear. Despite the 3-1 win and the 25 to 2 goal differential over the last 5 games, another season likely came to an end tonight. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

Three players stuck out to me tonight. Given that it's likely the last game of the 2026 season, I'm going to give the GBGB to each of them. Jodoin continued to be dynamic in the attack, fearing no defender, and being willing to take shots from anywhere and everywhere. Johnson did her best to try and control the midfield while still getting into the attack. And the puzzle piece that keeps all of the attack going is the defensive effort and leadership of Kruer. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Lexington SC Stadium
- Attendance: 5,127
- Final Score: 0-0 D AET (7-6 Indy in Shootout)

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Barry, Craig (C), Rasheed, Neidlinger, Omar, O'Brien, J., Okello, Rendon, Williams, K., Sing

- Substitution: Mesanvi 45 (Rendon); Blake 61' (Williams, K.); Sharp 61' (Sing); Mitrano 82' (Barry)

- Unused: Dick, Kizza

- Scoring Summary:
NONE

- Shootout Summary:
IND - Blake (Saved)
LEX - Molloy (Scored) - 0-1
IND - O'Brien (Scored) 1-1
LEX - Midence (Scored) 1-2
IND - Omar (Scored) 2-2
LEX - Ordonez (Scored) 2-3
IND - Mitrano (Scored) 3-3
LEX - Epps (Scored) 3-4
IND - Sharp (Scored) 4-4
LEX - Hafferty (Saved) 4-4
IND - Craig (Scored) 5-4
LEX - Firmino (Scored) 5-5
IND - Neidlinger (Scored) 6-5
LEX - Greene (Scored) 6-6
IND - Rasheed (Scored) 7-6
LEX - Blessing (Saved) 7-6
Indy win 7-6

- Bookings:

IND - Neidlinger 18' (Yellow)
LEX - Bench 69' (Yellow)
LEX - Firmino 70' (Yellow)
LEX - Zengue 78' (Yellow)
IND - Rasheed 88' (Yellow)

- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

- Adage goals: None.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

I thought that I was going to be discussing Indy's 3 games in 8 days stretch and how it might affect this game against Lexington. However, thunderstorms came through Indy on Wednesday forcing, I think, Indy's first-ever home cancellation. So Indy made the trip to Lexington with one less game on their legs than anticipated. The roster still looked different though with guys that are injured, on international duty, or somewhere else. Indy somehow managed to get a nil-nil draw and bump themselves, likely temporarily, up to 2nd in the Group 4 USL Cup standings thanks to the 7-6 penalty shootout victory.

As many people may tell you, mathematics are hard. Indy's math to get out of the group stage of the Prinx Tires USL Cup is even harder, but a win was almost vital to even come close to giving themselves a chance. With tonight's game, Indy is the only team to have played all four games of the group stage and their fate is now completely out of their hands. And yet... they haven't been mathematically eliminated from contention. IF Forward Madison beats Union Omaha AND Louisville beats Lexington AND Fort Wayne beats Detroit City, then Indy would miraculously finish 2nd in the Group. The odds would still be against them in the tiebreakers to get one of the wild card slots, but they haven't been officially eliminated from the knockout rounds. Maybe that's grasping at straws, but getting a draw and the shootout win shows Indy's continued fight despite the issues they continue to have with player availability.

Indy next return to Carroll Stadium for a July 4th contest against Charleston after a bye week. Thanks to the postponement of the Brooklyn game and Indy's USL Cup games, the game against the Battery will be just their 2nd league game since the Rhode Island game from May 30th. Despite the infrequent league games, Indy has still clung to a spot above the playoff line, which is miracle number two in this article. 

I don't know how the season is going to end for Indy, whether that's a spot in the playoffs or not, but I have to appreciate the fight that this team continues to show game after game. Nobody would really say that it's the prettiest of soccer, but they do seem to find a way to get good results (and put themselves in a position to get better results) more often than not. Tonight was no different; Charles-Cook came up big and players gutted out a draw and shootout victory. 

Game Beckons Game Ball

He doesn't get a lot of minutes playing behind Eric Dick, but Reice Charles-Cook made 7 saves in regulation and two vital saves in the penalty kick shootout to help get the team into the shootout and then to get the extra point from the shootout win, respectively. The team still doesn't have much chance to make it out of the group stage as a Wild Card, but it's good to see Reice get some good minutes and play well in them. So he gets tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.08

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 7-1 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Lee, Adam, Smith, Dardano, Guthrie, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Hodsden 45' (Jodoin); May 67' (Sochacki); Johnson 67' (Dardano); Gillespie 78' (Smith); Chatterton 84' (Lee)

- Unused: Phillips, Hamm, Kikuchi, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 16' (assist Jodoin)
IND - Lee 38' (assist Brecht)
DAY - McKinney 43' (assist Kerins)
IND - Guthrie 54' (Hodsden)
IND - Own Goal 65'
IND - Kruer 70' (assist Guthrie)
IND - Johnson 83' (Penalty Kick)
IND - Guthrie 87'

- Bookings:

DAY - Powell 58' (Yellow)
DAY - McKinney 78' (Yellow)
IND - Lee 80' (Yellow)
DAY - Brunetti 83' (Yellow)

- Referee: Jordan Hindes

Thoughts and Opinions

It's been 7 days since Dayton was here on Sunday, but in the week between the games, the visitors from Ohio weren't able to locate any other players and continued to just travel with a very limited roster, having just 4 substitutes available, while Indy had their full compliment. As with the game on Sunday, the ability to have fresh legs late looked to be a potential advantage for Indy if the game was in doubt. The game wasn't fully in doubt late, but things did get out of hand as Indy scored two goals in the first half and another 5 in the second half to secure a 7-1 win. 

Guthrie put a shot off the crossbar from the kickoff to signify that Indy was going to be on the attack. Dayton to their credit were much more engaged early to get the first official shot on target in the game. The ball went straight to Edwards, but it was clear that Dayton was looking to not leave Indy conceding 6 goals again. They once against put themselves into a bad spot though when Jodoin split two defenders near the right corner and then found a wide open Sochacki at the penalty spot who made no mistake with her shot passed Brandon. As with the game on Sunday, Dayton increased their intensity again after the first goal. The visitors were going to refuse to go down easily for a second time in a week.

The Lions nearly equalized in the 25th minute when a rare mistake in Indy's defense nearly came back to hurt them. Edwards was forced to come off her line and the ball was pushed around her. The centering cross rolled within feet of the goal line, but managed to go across the entire face of goal without a player from either team. Indy dodged the bullet, but Dayton had a really good opportunity to bring the game back to level.

As has been the trend this week, Indy dominated all the offensive stats going into the halftime locker room, including a second crossbar hit, the second one coming from Sochacki. However, Dayton made good on an opportunity as the half was winding down. McKinney received the ball from Kerins around 25 yards away from goal and immediately turned and went straight at goal. Before any of the Indy defenders could step close enough to her, she took a shot from outside the box that Edwards appeared to think it was going to go over the crossbar, but it suddenly dipped down and slide just under the bar to get the visitors on the board. As the teams went into the break, Indy could have, and probably should have, scored a couple more goals, but Indy's rushed shots and Dayton's defense kept the Lions within range.

Dayton came out of the locker room looking to make an immediate impact and change the tenor of the game with two really good opportunities on goal. Indy's defense and Edwards made a mistake and Dayton was nearly in on goal uncontested. The Indy defense managed to recover just enough to get the ball to trickle just wide of Edwards' post. The gauntlet was thrown down though that Dayton was not going to go quietly. 

After the early threats at the Indy goal, Indy decided that they were still going to play and found a third goal after second half substitute Hodsden got the ball away from her defender and did what she does; she went at goal. Instead of continuing to goal, she put in a cross that Guthrie redirected into the goal with her stomach to restore Indy's 2-goal lead.

The 3rd goal wasn't the game winner, nor was it the last of the scoring, but it was the precursor of things to come. Indy scored four more times after Guthrie's goal, including a second from Guthrie, an Own Goal, and a penalty kick from Johnson, fresh from her return playing with the USWNT U20s in Spain. 

A week ago, Indy sat behind Dayton and Louisville, needing to get wins to put themselves in contention to make the playoffs as the Valley Division winners. 7 days and 3 games later, Indy have done everything they needed to give themselves a chance. Three victories and 22 goals to put them on top of the division is all you can ask from a group of women who have only played 8 games together. Now Indy have to sit and wait to determine how important the Toledo game will be. If Dayton doesn't take points off of Louisville in one of their upcoming two games, it's still feasible that Indy's recent dominance of the Valley Division could be for naught.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Sitting a few seats away from Greg Rakestraw during the game, I could hear him reference me in the telecast and who he thought I might choose for tonight's GBGB winner. His guess was that I might select Brecht, who I admit had a legitimate argument to get the GBGB. Much of the first half went through her on the right side and she routinely blasted up field and caused issues for the Dayton defense. However... I have to give the GBGB to Guthrie. Sometimes the selected GBGB player comes down to a feeling about who sticks out for me. Sometimes it's that plus who fills up the stat sheet. Guthrie kept showing up for me as someone who was going non-stop to get to the balls or win them back. She also scored a brace, had an assist, had 9 of Indy's 22 shots, committed 5 fouls, and had the audacity to try and chip the Dayton keeper on the opening kickoff. Rakestraw is correct that Brecht is deserving, but tonight's GBGB goes to Guthrie.

Photo - Don Thompson Photograpy

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 13.11

Summary

- Opponent: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
- Location: Stadium
- Attendance: 5,977
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Dick, Mitrano, Rasheed, Craig, Neidlinger, Blake, Lindley (C), O'Brien, J., Mesanvi, Kizza, Rendon

- Substitution: Okello 72' (Kizza); Barry 72' (Craig); Omar 82' (Mitrano)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Sharp, Sing, Williams, K.

- Scoring Summary:
PIT- Kelp 90'+2' (assist Barnes)

- Bookings:

PIT - Barnes 10' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 21' (Yellow) 
IND - Craig 56' (Yellow)
PIT - Mikoy 62' (Yellow)
IND - Neidlinger 90'+5' (Yellow)
PIT - Dikwa 90'+6' (Yellow)

- Referee: Nabil Bensalah

- Adage goals: One.
- Points Lost from Winning Position (Year To Date): 8

Thoughts and Opinions

Full Time Heat Map

I was at the Indy Eleven women's game, but watched the replay of the game, while also watching World Cup games and the replay of the Women's NCAA Track & Field pole vault championships (I had a lot of screens going tonight...). What I saw from the Indy men was about what we've come to expect from an Indy vs Pittsburgh game over the years. A low-scoring, defense-heavy affair with a lot of the game played in the middle half of the field. Nothing all that surprising.

What is surprising is how many times Indy continues to late games slip late. Even more surprising is how Dick lets a ball go through his legs in the 90'+2' to take Indy's point on the road and throw it in the Monongahela River. Dick has frequently spilled balls this year and frequently at inopportune times. Tonight was another example.

With the result, Indy's stay at 2nd in the table comes tumbling down as they settle back down to 6th place with the other results tonight. Indy does have at least one (and up to 3) game in hand on the teams ahead of them. Such is the nature of the East this year when Louisville had a four-game losing streak and had to get a late equalizer against Brooklyn to not start another losing streak, and Tampa finally showed they're mortal by losing to Hartford. 

Indy's roster is all kinds of decimated with Coach McAuley doing what he can to make something work with what he has left. Rumor is that there will be a new player announced soon to help with the lack of bodies. Indy return to action next Wednesday against the same Brooklyn team that beat them in the opening game and nearly beat Louisville tonight. Then they'll travel to Lexington next Saturday to complete a long week with their final group game in the Prinx Tires USL Cup.

Indy Eleven vs Racing Louisville - 05.07

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Grand Park Event Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 3-0 W

- Starting XI: Edwards (C), Brecht, Mills, Kruer, Lee, Smith, Dardano, Guthrie, DeMartino, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Jennings 45' (Jodoin); Codd 45' (Dardano); Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Chatterton 64' (Lee); Adam 64' (Kruer); Chong 77' (Smith); Hamm 83' (Guthrie)

- Unused: Phillips, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Sochacki 4' (assist Mills)
IND - Guthrie 36' (assist Smith)
IND - Jennings 62' (assist Codd)

- Bookings:

LOU - Snyder 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Dana Hackney

Thoughts and Opinions

Three games in 7 days is a lot on the legs, particularly when the games may realistically determine whether you make it into the playoffs. Even more so when the two teams you are playing in those games are the most likely other alternatives to get that playoff spot, and they don't have any other games in the same period. Additionally, unlike Sunday's game where Dayton brought 3 substitutes, Racing Louisville rolled into the Grand Park Event Center with 19 players so Indy's ability to outwork and tire their opponent late was not going to be an option. Fortunately for Indy Eleven fans, Indy got on the board early, added to it twice more, and kept Louisville off the scoreboard to stay in the race for the Divisional lead with the season winding down. A lot left to play for in the final two games, and hope Louisville drop points in one of their final games, but Indy had 3 things on the To Do list this week - well, technically, it was one thing, but do it 3 times... win - and they have checked off two of those boxes.

Indy got off to a quick start when Mills put a ball through the Louisville lines. It didn't look like it was originally intended to be for Sochacki, but that's who latched onto the ball as it rolled into the box. Reece collected it nicely and put the ball over Lee and off the underside of the crossbar before the ball bounced beyond the line for the opening, and game-winning, goal.

After the goal, possession skewed towards Louisville, but they weren't able to get many good shooting opportunities from it. Much of that ineffectiveness in the final third was due to the defensive prowess of Mills, Kruer, Brecht, and Lee who seemed to be perpetually in the right places to stifle the attacks. Racing do a good job of playing spaces and working their way through the midfield, but Indy's tenacious defending constantly put them in positions to take the ball away or eventually force Racing into locations where they couldn't do anything with the ball.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

As the half began to wind down, it could be easily argued that despite being down a goal, Racing was the better team...other than in their final third. Indy had 8 shots to Racing's 2 as the half closed. In the 36th minute, against the run of play, Indy found a second goal through a moment of brilliance from Guthrie. She found herself in open space 35-yards from goal and audaciously put a shot over the goalkeeper and tucked under the bar in the far corner to double Indy's lead that stunned everybody in attendance and completely surprised Lee. "Take me home momma and put me to bed. I have seen enough to know I have seen too much." When you have to get a win, putting your opponent down by two going into the halftime locker room creates a different momentum feeling than if they're only down by one.

The second half started with four consecutive corners for Indy, but after that the early part of the half had the same feel as the first half with Racing holding a significant portion of the possession in their defensive half of the field, but couldn't get much accomplished in the final third. That lack of attacking results were not Indy's problem as the shots continued to pile up until Jennings added a third goal in the 62nd minute. Indy finished the game with a 22 to 4 shot advantage, with 11 of those 22 shots being on target. Edwards, conversely, was credited with just 2 saves, neither of which I would consider to be overly threatening.

At this point, everything was finished but the whistle. Indy had some decent chances, while Louisville's offense continued to fizzle out in the final third. When the final whistle sounded, Indy took another step closer to potentially making the playoffs again, while Louisville knew their fates were now also on a razor thin edge. Everybody except Toledo still have a chance and everything to play for in the final two weeks of games.

Indy returns to the Grand Park Event Center on Saturday to play Dayton Dutch Lions for the second time in 7 days. Indy can't win the Division on Saturday, but they can lose it. It's still win out or definitely stay home. Any dropped points now will put them out of contention for the Valley Division's playoff spot.

 

Game Beckons Game Ball

It's a bit unfair that I haven't done this yet this season, but Indy's defense has been stout all season, never conceding more than 1 goal in any of the games and collecting three straight clean sheets. Indy's offense has finally started to connect on the shots they were missing early in the season and winning results have followed. However, a constant through all the results has been the play of defender Mac Kruer. The center back has been solid and constantly settled the Louisville attack that often made it through Indy's midfield far too easily. I'm going to throw in her CB-pairing of Mills, and the combined pair get tonight's GBGB for their constant effort against a very dangerous Racing Louisville attack. 

Photos: Don Thompson Photography