Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.06

Summary

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

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

- Substitution: Adam 43' (Yu - injury); Hodsden 45' (Sochacki); Chatterton 63' (Lee); Hamm 63' (Brecht); DeMartino 63' (Dardano); Chong 63' (Guthrie); May 72' (Jodoin)

- Unused: Phillips, Satterfield

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Jodoin 13' (unassisted)
IND - Dardano 45'+3' (unassisted)
IND - Hodsden 56' (assist Mills)
IND - Hodsden 76' (assist Mills)
IND - Hodsden 78' (unassisted)
IND - Chatterton 90'+2' (assist May)

- Bookings:

None

- Referee: Rachel Glago

Thoughts and Opinions

I stated it before, but in a Valley Division that includes just 4 teams and only the top team makes it to the league's playoffs, every game becomes a proverbial 6-point game. After you've lost two of your first five games, the importance of getting wins gets magnified. That's where Indy found themselves heading into tonight's game against the Division-leading Dayton Dutch Lions. After a 1-nil victory for Dayton two weeks ago in Dayton, Indy was able to flip the script and help themselves in the goal differential category with a 6-nil victory in the friendly confines of the Grand Park Event Center.

Dayton had just 3 available substitutes and were forced into an early sub due to injury, further reducing their bench. <sarcasm>Probably not related<sarcasm>, Dayton setup in a 4-4-1 in a bit of an immediate bunker, trying to to guard against Indy's anticipated waves of attacks as they looked to make amends for the first game's result and to keep Indy in front of them to keep their legs as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Within the first 15 minutes, Indy looked the better team, continually forcing Dayton further into that low block, forcing Dayton to question that bunker logic. After Indy scored in the 13th minute when Jodoin single-handedly took on multiple Dayton players and crushed a ball into the corner of the goal, Dayton had no choice but to open themselves up and the game became much more wide open after the opening goal. 

After the Yu substitute late in the first half forced Indy into their own unscheduled substitute, the Dayton Dutch Lions had to feel good about going into the half down just a goal given the discrepancy in all the stats. Indy dominated possession, shots, shots on target, crosses, etc. However, as stoppage time was winding down, the Lions' goalkeeper attempted to clear a ball, but Indy's Dardano put herself in the way and Spiller's clearance slammed against Dardano's shin and rebounded straight into the goal to give Indy a 2-nil lead going into the locker room. Drew Conner's goal that was blasted off his head came to mind as a similar, but less painful, scoring opportunity in Indy Eleven history. The goal completely changed the momentum going into halftime. Had the score remained 1-nil, Dayton could have come out of the locker room feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another half. The second goal meant they came out feeling tired, with limited substitutes, and staring at an uphill climb.

Coach Kim made a substitution coming out of the half, taking off Sochacki and bringing in Hodsden, who almost immediately made her coach look like a genius getting a shot very soon as coming in. The debut goal from Hodsden wouldn't take much longer as she found herself 1v1 with Spiller in the 56th minute after a long ball from Mills. Hodsden made no mistake and brought the game to 3-nil. Shortly after the goal, Kim used his ultimate weapon in this game, which was his bench. Kim made 4 substitutions in the 63rd minute, more than Dayton had available to start the game. 

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

The fresh legs increased the pace of play and the required defensive effort by Dayton worked into Indy's favor. I stated before the game that if Indy got the first goal, the game could get out of hand for Dayton late as they just didn't have the fresh bodies to throw into the game to complete a comeback or stem the tide. That was exactly what happened as the substitutes began to run the already ragged Dayton defenders into the ground. Hodsden made quick work at getting her second and then adding her name to Indy's lore by getting a third goal to secure her hat trick. In stoppage time, second-half substitute Chatterton, who is now 1 game away from tying Grace Bahr for most appearances, added one more to give a even half-dozen goals for the second consecutive game. 

Indy needed a win and got an emphatic one. Indy still has a chance. Toledo is out of the race. They're just trying to not get blown out at this point and maybe steal a win along the way. If Indy wins out, they would finish with a 6W-2D-1L record. If Dayton wins out (minus the loss to Indy), the two teams would be tied on record and Points Per Match, but Indy would win the tiebreaker and Racing would be out of the picture because Dayton would have beaten them twice to get to the tiebreaker point. If, however, Racing wins out (minus the loss to Indy), they would finish with a 6W-2D-1L record and would have one more point than Indy, securing the playoff berth for Racing. So Indy needs to take care of business and then hope Dayton and Racing split points somewhere in their two games against each other. 

Indy has to do their part and win against both those teams and they get two more chances to do that this week. Racing comes to town on Wednesday and Dayton returns on Saturday. Get wins this week and then wait to see how those two teams fare against each other in the following weeks.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

Many times it's not easy to pick a player from Indy as the GBGB winner because everyone plays well. In a 6-nil win, many people have played well, including the goalkeeper and defense. However, a hat trick is a rare feat. So Hodsden is an obvious choice for tonight's GBGB as she joins Williams (2), Soderstrom (1), and Dewey (1) for the 5th hat trick in team history. She had another goal called off, which would have tied her with Williams for most goals in a game (Maddy scored four goals in the 16-nil drubbing of St. Charles in the 2023 season). While Hodsden's hat trick took just 22 minutes, Williams still has her beat due to her 15-minute hat trick in a game against Flint City in the 2022 season. We're mentioning Hodsden's night (where she had 9 shots in 45 minutes of action) in comparison to the best goal-scorer in the team's short history so she's an obvious choice and I have to give it to her. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Forward Madison - 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Summary

- Opponent: Forward Madison
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,586
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Quinn (C), Rasheed, Craig, Neidlinger, Lindley, O'Brien, J., Blake, Okello, Rendon, Kizza

- Substitution: Mitrano 36' (Quinn - Injury); Omar 63' (Lindley); Sing 63' (Kizza); Barry 86' (Rendon); Lowden 86' (Williams, K.)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Mesanvi

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Craig 48' (assist Rendon)
IND - O'Brien, J. 54'

- Bookings:

MAD - Torres 12' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 21' (Yellow)
MAD - Shannon 47' (Yellow)
MAD - Kanyane 50' (Yellow)
MAD - Toure 58' (Yellow)
IND - O'Brien, J. 68' (Yellow)

- Referee: Muhammad Kaleia

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

Thoughts and Opinions

In the game against Rhode Island, I mentioned Indy's kickoff starts being much like a Hail Mary pass in the other type of football and that it resulted in a 17 second shot on target for Indy. Forward Madison had the exact same starting formation with nearly the same results. The only difference was that Madison's was 1 second quicker and not on target. However, the Hail Mary formation has been effective for the team starting the game that way in the past two men's game. In a modern game where position often reigns supreme, it's a stark difference in the way that Indy plays and how effective the long ball kickoff has been recently. 

Shots - Full Time

The League One side may have started the shots, but it was Indy that dominated that stat. The final totals were 24 shots for Indy to 8 shots for Forward Madison. More telling was the Shots on Target that were swayed drastically to Indy's favor to the tune of a 14 to 1 advantage. Had it not been for some great saves by Manske, this had the makings of a major drubbing. Some of Indy's 14 shots on target were right at Manske, but he was forced into some really good reaction saves, all from close range as Indy took 20 of their 24 shots from within the box. Madison's shots were scattered throughout the game, while Indy had a constant peppering of Manske's goal throughout the entirety of the game. The two-goal difference is good for Indy but could have been much worse for the visitors if it hadn't been for some of Manske's saves. 

Indy's injury struggles have been discussed frequently on this site this year, but Indy has mostly found a way to be successful, getting points out of 8 of their 10 home games across all competitions. Watching Quinn get subbed out in the 36th minute ultimately didn't affect this game, but does create some concern for the future depending on the type of injury he sustained. The backline has been a constant work effort in sending out a workable lineup as McAuley has dealt with season-long injuries and international duty. For multiple reason, hopefully, Quinn's injury isn't severe.

There's still a lot of season to be played, with injuries continuing to be something to keep in mind, but as of today - after the 10th league game, 3 USL Cup games, & 2 Open Cup games - the 2026 team is sitting at the second highest percentage rate in team history at points achieved behind only the 2016 team (who took points from a game 81% of the time) and just ahead of the 2019 team (at 72.5%), arguably the two high water marks for successful Indy Eleven seasons. For a team that I called a potential middle of the table League One team a month ago, they have continued to get results. Are they games against the highest echelon teams in the Eastern Conference? No. But you have to get wins or at least positive results from the teams that are struggling/not good, and Indy has done that really well the last month. Tonight's win was against a League One opponent and likely still isn't going to be enough to help Indy advance to the USL Cup knockout rounds, but Indy has also had poor results from other League One opponents this year. 

Getting a solid victory at home with a week to prepare for games against Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, and Lexington in a Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday stretch is a good way to start June.

Game Beckons Game Ball

I don't do it very often, but periodically I have to give credit where credit is due, even if that player is on the opposing team. Indy's constant attack resulted in constant shots and shots on target. Manske clearly kept this game within an arm's reach for Madison. Otherwise, the goal differential would have been far worse for the Flamingos. For Manske's 12 saves and 5 clearances, I have to give him tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Toledo Villa FC - 05.05

Summary

- Opponent: Toledo Villa FC
- Location: Paul Hotmer Field
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 6-0 W

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

- Substitution: Yu 61' (Mills); Chong 61' (Dardano); Adam 61' (Lee); Kikuchi 73' (Guthrie); Farrell 73' (Jodoin); Cueto 83' (Kruer)

- Unused: Phillips

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Jodoin 39' (unassisted)
IND - Hamm 42' (assist Jodoin)
IND - Guthrie 50' (assist Sochacki)
IND - Sochacki 60' (assist Kruer)
IND - Sochacki 74' (assist Farrell)
IND - Farrell 90'+1' (assist Chong)

- Bookings:

TVF - Bourbeau 66' (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

Thoughts and Opinions

Let's get the important part of the way immediately. Well done Toledo for a proper stream. Proper camera work (though a bit too tight at times) with replays and proper commentary. It's nice to see that Indy isn't the only one in the Division who puts any value in their W League team's streaming requirements. Toledo may be currently sitting at the bottom of the table, having scored just 3 goals, but Louisville and Dayton can take a lesson in what a proper stream looks like. 

Now, more specifically to the play on the field. I've noticed a couple things in Indy's time in the W League. 

One of the first things that has been consistent is that when Indy is the more technically gifted team, which has been a lot of times in the first few seasons, oftentimes the opponent counteracts that difference by being far more physical; a physicality that Indy teams haven't always been inclined to reciprocate (Hal Hershfelt not included). Particularly in the first half of this game, that trend continued. As the one-way traffic persisted through the majority of the half for Indy, they were frequently met by hard tackles from the Toledo defenders who often found themselves in bad positions. To the referee's credit, many of those fouls were called, and it didn't ultimately matter, but it has shown the wide range of talent in the W League and how teams try to deal with the talent gap.

The second thing was finishing. If Indy had kept their body over their shots and been a little more composed on those shots when they had time, this game would have been out of hand score-wise long before it was actually out of hand score-wise. Indy was dominant from the start and had the field tilted towards Toledo's goal the entire time. What came to my mind was the difference the past two years' teams have had, with younger squads, as compared to the first couple of seasons, when Indy had Williams and Soderstrom up top. Both of those players were older, had more experience, and were far more composed on the ball. The past couple of games have shown that despite the talent that is clearly evident with the Indy Eleven players, time and experiences are invaluable for slowing the game down in a player's mind. Williams and Soderstrom had the game slowed down in their mind and as a result were far more clinical around goal when the opportunities came to them. If you're only trying to win games, having some veteran players has proven to be invaluable. If you're trying to develop local talent, you're going to take some lumps along the way when the shots are going in despite dominating the possession and attempts like Indy did the previous two games.

This was a definite "get right" and "feel right" game for the women after a couple of difficult losses the previous two games against Dayton and Louisville to finish off Indy's ridiculously long road stand. Six goals from 5 different players and a very solid defensive effort that snuffed out nearly all of Toledo's promising attacks is a good way to head home to finish off the season. With two games remaining against Division-leading Dayton and a game against Louisville, finally all at home, Indy's playoff possibility could still be firmly in their own hands, but they're still on the knife's edge. A draw along the way probably doesn't get it done, particularly if that draw is to Dayton unless Dayton and Louisville take points from each other in their remaining two games against each other. 

Despite some lapses in defensive and passing judgements by Indy after they had their 3-goal lead that could have given Toledo some life, Indy had a well-deserved 6-goal win in a game they completely dominated. Indy return home for their second home game of the season to host Dayton and start making their push to erase the hole the month-long away stretch put them in.

Game Beckons Game Ball

Pretty much a team effort, with good play by a lot of players. For getting the brace and an assist, I'll give Sochacki the edge for tonight's GBGB.

Indy Eleven vs Rhode Island FC - 13.10

Summary

- Opponent: Rhode Island FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,188
- Final Score: 1-0 W

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

- Substitution: Barry 57' (Kizza); Sing 67' (Neidlinger); Omar 80' (Okello); Williams, K. 90'+3' (Blake); Mitrano 90'+4' (Rendon)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Lowden

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 55' (assist Quinn)

- Bookings:

RI - Thompson 8' (Yellow)
IND - Okello 15' (Yellow)
IND - Rendon 36' (Yellow)
RI - Holstad 56' (Yellow)

- Referee: Thomas Snyder

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Rhode Island, the franchise, has shown that a team can flip the switch and play really good soccer. Rhode Island, this year, has had a mixed bag of results, coming into the game with a 3W-3D-3L record while scoring 4 goals twice (vs Charleston and Brooklyn) and conceding at least 3 goals twice (vs Louisville and Birmingham). Indy's highest output this year has been a couple of 3-goal games (Monterey Bay and Lexington, but not counting the 3-nil result against Des Moines). So the potential existed for the game to be a high-scoring affair. Instead, what happened was a 1-nil win for Indy Eleven after getting a second half goal and then grinding out the result with good team defense at the end of the game.

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

The player landmarks continue to roll in for the Indy Eleven players. Lindley officially overtook Ayoze for the Games Started lead in team history, as well as the Minutes Played statistic, which also pushed him over the 15,000 minute mark for his USL Championship career. 

Not to be outdone, Aodhan Quinn achieved his 300th regular season appearance in USL Championship, while also becoming the first player to reach 25,000 minutes in the league. 

Congrats on the milestones, guys!

When Indy has the kickoff for the first or second half, the team lines up like the kind of football with the oblong ball. Multiple guys line up on the center stripe like a bunch of wide receivers and tight ends getting ready to make a run downfield for a Hail Mary pass. Once the referee blows the whistle, it doesn't look that much different from that other kind of football play as the ball gets blasted up the field in the hope that somebody latches onto the ball. Usually, it doesn't amount to much, but that type of start does set up the team to get an early shot if they get the first or second header. In this game, Indy's starting play resulted in Indy getting their first shot on target just 17 seconds into the game, but Okello's shot was right at Vegas for the first save of the game.

After that, though, the game turned into an up-and-down game as neither team seemed to care that much about holding possession and working slowly up the field from the back. Both teams looked to get the ball into their offensive half as quickly as possible. Watching the game, you can see how Rhode Island can score a bunch of goals, but can also concede a bunch of goals. The first half included some good shots and shots on target, including a shot by Rendon that just drifted wide of the post, but that was about the only shot that could be argued really tested the goalkeepers or had a legitimate shot in breaking the dead lock. As a result, the two teams finished the half nil-nil, with nearly identical statistics.

Post Indy Goal Shot Map

Indy got the scoring started in the 55th minute when Rendon connected on a corner kick ball put in by Quinn. The opportunity was created by some good interplay between Rendon and Neidlinger that was ushered across the endline by Rhode Island. Rendon's shot happened as he drifted away from the goal and put his shot in the left side netting in a place where Vegas couldn't get to it. Rendon admitted after the game that he wasn't completely sure how he managed to get the ball where it finished, but was glad that it did.

Just seconds after the restart, Rhode Island had their own opportunity when the communication by the Indy defenders looked like the were using Morse Code and Kwizera nearly snuck a shot around the defenders and Dick. Fortunately for the home fans, Kwizera pushed the shot wide. Indy's goal and Kwizera's effort ratcheted up the Rhode Island intensity and the play tilted drastically to Rhode Island's advantage. 

Despite the barrage of shots that Rhode Island sent towards the Indy goal in the final 30 minutes of the game, the late equalizer that Indy has frequently conceded never occurred and Indy Eleven extended their league home unbeaten streak to 9 games and getting Dick his first clean sheet of the season. Thanks to the other results around the league tonight, including losses by Detroit and Louisville (who dropped an unprecedented - for them - fourth straight loss), Indy vaulted up the table to 2nd place. With a third of their season complete, I'm not sure that was where I would have picked them to be given the youth of the roster and the injuries they have sustained. 

There's still a lot of season left to play out, but based on my records, the last time Indy was this high in the table was Week 18 of the 2024 season when they were ranked 3rd before finishing the season in 4th. The last time they were sitting higher than Louisville in the table was Week 5 of the 2021 season (Louisville finished that season top of the table while Indy missed the playoffs, so hopefully that doesn't repeat itself). 

Indy return to action next week to play League One side Forward Madison as part of the Prinx Tires USL Cup. Given Indy's recent struggles against their League One opponents, it's impossible to gauge how the team will fare despite the continued string of good results at home in league play. It seems highly unlikely that Indy will make it out of group play due to their other USL Cup results and the other teams' results, but Coach McAuley holds Cup competitions in high regard so I'm sure he will have the team fired up to make a good showing of themselves in the final group stage games.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Don Thompson Photography

When the season started, it was generally believed that Paco Craig was signed to provide depth at the defender position. Given the early injury to Pat Hogan, Craig became the starter. White has also sustained a season-long injury, meaning the back line has been in constant flux this year. With Herbert's temporary departure from the team while away on international duty as part of the friendlies ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Craig was once again thrust into playing alongside a different defender, while also trying to help contain Rhode Island's dangerous striker J.J. Williams. Time and again tonight, it seemed like Craig was in the right position to help his young defense partner, Rasheed, contain Williams. Looking at his stats for the game, Craig won every single one of his duels, every single one of his aerial duels, and accounted for 14 of the team's 42 clearances. On a night when Indy get a 1-nil victory and their first league clean sheet of the season, Craig was a big reason why. I could give the GBGB to Rendon for his goal or Dick for the clean sheet, but I think the 33 year old 5-time All-USL defender deserves the recognition tonight. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Racing Louisville - 05.04

Summary

- Opponent: Racing Louisville
- Location: Lynn Family Vision & Training Center
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Reason, Brecht, Mills, Adam, Lee, Smith (C), Johnson, Dardano, Boyd, Guthrie, Jodoin

- Substitution: Satterfield 45' (Lee); Hamm 58' (Boyd); Sochacki 62' (Guthrie); Chong 62' (Dardano); Kikuchi 80' (Johnson); Kruer 80' (Adam)

- Unused: Edwards

- Scoring Summary:
LOU - Stiefvater 61' (assist)

- Bookings:

LOU - Snyder 45' (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

Thoughts and Opinions

I was worried this season might go this way for me at times. Another game where I'm unable to provide much commentary as my family life takes precedence and more important things were happening. As a result, I watched a majority of this game from my phone. It wasn't until the very end that I was able to switch to my laptop screen. Yes, I could rewatch as my days settled down, but that hasn't really happened. Additionally, much like the Dayton stream from the last game, the Racing Louisville stream just barely qualifies as being a stream at all and I really don't want to watch it again. For an organization that seems to do so much well for the men's team and the women's NWSL team, they really seem to not care about how "professional" their preprofessional team social media and streaming looks. Just one of those high elevation cameras to provide wide angle shots and no commentary to help with players... As such, I'm sure you can imagine how ineffective it was to watch the game on a phone. As a result, and similar to the Dayton game, this isn't going to be my best discussion. Sorry, ladies.

Best I could tell from what I was able to watch and what I could see, Indy controlled significant portions of the game and had the better attacks. They just couldn't get the ball in the goal. As the Indy men's team has shown this year, possession statistics don't necessarily mean much, but rather where your possession occurs and what you do with it. Indy had enough possession in Racing's half of the field and in dangerous positions, but couldn't get a goal. Do that for long enough, and eventually the opponent is going to get their own chances, which Racing did and managed to find a goal to give them the lead and the eventual winner. 

Indy have now dropped two straight games, have been held scoreless in both, and really need a good result out of their upcoming game midweek against Toledo who sit at the bottom of the Valley Division, before finally coming back home to finish the season with a four-game homestand. I'm sure there had to be some kind of logic to their scheduling, but getting just one home game and four away games in the month of May may have put them behind the 8-ball without much chance to finishing strong enough to win the division. With so few teams in the division, every game now feels like a proverbial 6-pointer, but they definitely need to get a win against Toledo on Wednesday to springboard them into the final stretch.

Indy Eleven vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 05.03

Summary

- Opponent: Dayton Dutch Lions
- Location: West Carrollton High School
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 1-0 L

- Starting XI: Edwards, Satterfield, Kruer, Adam, Brecht, Smith, Joyce, Dardano, Boyd, Sochacki, Jodoin

- Substitution: Lee 62' (Satterfield); May 64' (Boyd); Hamm 64' (Sochacki); Farrell 72' (Jodoin); Kikuchi 72' (Joyce)

- Unused: Reason, Gillespie

- Scoring Summary:
DAY - Morse 29' (assist)

- Bookings:

DAY - Rogowski 82' (Yellow)

- Referee: ?

Thoughts and Opinions

Yeah, I'm sorry. Memorial Day weekend with the closest Indy 500 in history, with a Dayton stream that didn't start well, had very wide angle shots, and didn't have any commentary to help with players... Not going to be my best discussion. 

In what looked like unpleasant weather conditions in Dayton that only got worse as the game progressed, the Dayton Dutch Lions came away with a win that seemed like a reasonably fair result as best I could tell. Neither team seemed to generate a ton of good chances in the weather and DAY found a goal with a looping shot over Edwards. The first half goal was enough for the Dutch Lions to see out the win as the weather deteriorated and their defense remained sufficient.

The loss brings Indy's record to 1W-1D-1L as they head to Louisville to play Racing again thanks to the three-game round robin format of the Valley Division. Indy will be on the road again as they continue this stretch of away games. Luckily, the team's home games are back loaded at the end of the season when, hopefully, the girls have fully gelled, and, again hopefully, are still in contention to win the Division.

Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 13.09

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 8,745
- Final Score: 3-1 W

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

- Substitution: Barry 55' (Kizza); Sing 66' (Mesanvi); Mitrano 78' (Barry); Rasheed 79' (Neidlinger)

- Unused: Charles-Cook, Okello, Williams

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Rendon 13' (assist Kizza)
LEX - Molloy 51' (assist Ferri)
IND - O'Brien 71' (assist Blake)
IND - Sing 76' (assist Quinn)

- Bookings:

LEX - Brown 3' (RED)
IND - Rendon 4' (Yellow)
LEX - Zenque 32' (Yellow)
LEX - Goodrum 80' (Yellow)
IND - Quinn 90' (Yellow)

- Referee: Luis Diego Arroyo (& Braeden Frey)

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

Thoughts and Opinions

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

At some point, Indy Eleven may enact a Ring of Honor for the club. When that happens, I have some thoughts on who should be included in it. Brad Ring is at the top of the list for me. After that, Ayoze, Zayed, Busch, and Smart have legit arguments to be in that initial class. There are three players from the current team that may not be in the first Ring of Honor announcement (but probably should), but it would just be a matter of time for them to make their way to that honor as far as I'm concerned. Blake, Quinn, and Lindley have cemented themselves into that discussion. With his appearance tonight, Lindley became the official leader in Games Played for the team, and will become the leader in Games Started and Minutes Played if/when he plays against Rhode Island next week. I had some objections to the way McAuley utilized Lindley in the early part of last year, otherwise those records would have already been Cam's. As far as I'm concerned, he has as much of an argument to the first Ring of Honor group as those other guys. They have already, but by the time they finish their careers in Indy, Blake, Lindley, and Quinn will have fully cemented their places as the best players to have been a part of the Indy franchise and two of the three got assists on the night.

When you're struggling to get wins, like Lexington has struggled to do this season, the last thing you need to do is put yourself in a position to make that harder. Lexington did just that when Brown took offense to Rendon putting a ball into Brown's chest when he was on the ground, and Brown did his version of Manny Pacquiao and threw a left jab that firmly caught Rendon in the jaw. The red card was immediate and deserved and Lexington found themselves a man down in just the 3rd minute of the game. Rendon picked up his own yellow card for his involvement in the altercation, but 87-minutes with a man-advantage is a difficult ask. As a result, Lexington found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-1 loss with an Josh O'Brien 71st-minute winner.

Indy's first goal came from Herbert's ability to blast headers back from whence they game. Turns out his ability to win balls in the air can result to instant offense. In the 13th minute, he did that once again and his ball found Kizza in the middle of the field. Kizza immediately turned and went straight at the Lexington defense. A well-placed ball through the line to an on-rushing Rendon who put the ball over Semmle for the early Indy lead. Lexington is a team that possesses the ball really well, so the early goal from Indy gave them an ability to dictate the game more. While Indy still conceded some possession because Indy's going to Indy, but they're attacks were more effective with the man advantage.

For I think the first time in team history, just before the 40th minute of the game, referee Arroyo came up limping as he chased down an attack from Indy. As both teams sprinted towards the Lexington goal, you can see Arroyo do the universal "just pulled a hammy" stutter step and must have signaled in the earpiece that he was done for the game. Arroyo gingerly walked to the sideline where he and fourth official Braeden Frey swapped the required electrical gear as Frey became the lead official and Arroyo took over the fourth official duties. The referee stoppage and the red card dust-up resulted in 6 minutes of stoppage time, but Rendon's early goal was the extent of the scoring as the teams went into the halftime locker room with Indy's 1-goal lead. 

Lexington didn't have any official shots on target in the first half, but they did rattle the woodwork early in the game and, of course, held the possession advantage despite their man disadvantage. Indy, with the man advantage, did make more use of their possession with a 0.79 xG vs 0.15 for LEX. Indy was also to adjust their style of play enough that they were significantly less than their average for long passes. That they weren't up by more than the one goal was really the only downside to the first half for the home team.

Then Molloy came out of the locker room and found a 51st minute banger from long distance that had so much swerve on it that Dick went one way and the ball went the other way into the right side of the goal. Suddenly, Indy's obvious win because of their early goal and man advantage looked tenuous. Lexington's ability to hold possession while also knowing that they would also fully bunker late if they could keep the score tied to get a draw on the road with a man down meant that Indy's trend of losing points from winning positions was again in play.

Yet a 5-minute stretch gave Indy the cushion they needed to feel better about the performance and the result. In the 71st minute, a Blake cross missed Sing's head, but O'Brien latched onto the ball as it hit the ground and redirected it into the Lexington goal restoring Indy's lead. Five minutes later, Sing did get his head to a cross, this time from Quinn and Indy had their insurance goal to make the final 15-minutes nervy, but not as concerning as Indy's other games with just a one-goal lead. As Indy saw out the game with a 2-goal differential (and a 2.64 xG to 0.29 advantage) to make the result more closely match what you hope to get when a team has a man advantage for 87 minutes. 

With the win, Indy extend their league home undefeated league streak to 8 games and bumping the team up to 5th place in the table with game(s) in hand on the teams ahead of them. While people might not call their style of play "pretty," the team is getting results and would be even further up the table if they hadn't given up some late goals. Thinking about the season, it feels like the season has gone worse than what their timeline (in league games) shows. Two losses in 9 games is a very respectable start to the season, possession stats be damned. We're almost 1/3 of the way through the league season, but at this point, the team is getting positive results out of games at the 3rd highest rate in team history (69.23%) behind only the 2016 team (81.08%) and the 2019 season (72.50%), arguably the two most successful seasons in the team's history in two different leagues. 

Louisville lost tonight for their first 3 game losing streak in almost 3 years, Tampa Bay is undefeated, and the historically perennial doormat Miami is sitting in 4th place in the table. It's already been a weird season and there is a lot still to go where things can get even weirder, but Indy is finding ways to get positive results out of games even if they aren't the full points that they probably should have at this point. 

Indy look to keep their undefeated streak going next weekend when they face Rhode Island at Carroll Stadium in the second game of the current 3-game homestand. 

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Photo: Matt Schlotzhauer

Rendon has 7 goals through 12 games in all competitions. It's crazy to think that just a couple of seasons ago he was the League One Defender of the Year, and now he has ~1/3 of Indy's goals for the season and probably should have more. He's playing so well right now that it's almost expected to the point that despite being near the top of the league in goals scored and getting tonight's opening goal, he wasn't the player talking to Rakestraw and Ring after the game. Because I don't want to disregard the kind of heater he's on right now, Rendon gets tonight's GBGB.