Indy Eleven vs Rowdies - 01.02

- Opponent: Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Location: Indianapolis
- Attendance: 10,421
- Final Score: 1-1
- Starting XI: Nicht (Captain), Frias, Norales, Estridge, Hyland, Ring, Kleberson, Corrado, Moore, Ramirez, Ambersley

- Substitutions: Mendes (Corrado), Mares (Moore), Smart (Ramirez)
- Goals: Norales (81')
- Bookings: No XI cards







While attendance dipped slightly, it should be noted that the Indianapolis Indians had a home game and the Indiana Pacers had the first game of their playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, all starting within 30 minutes of each other.  More than 10,000 people with all of that going on is a good showing for the 2nd game of the season and I think helps show that the city is behind this team.

My single paragraph recap of the game could be very similar to that of the first week's game.  Great fight in the team, especially after getting behind a goal, but still some missed opportunities because of the players still learning what to expect from each other.  That can only get better with time.  

There was also some back bad luck with the woodwork working against the team too.  Kleberson hit the crossbar once and the side post once.  The one on the crossbar should be shown whenever possible:

Source

Reminds me of this shot from the NWSL Championship game this past season:

The only difference, besides Tobin Heath's finding the back of the net, is that the Tampa Bay goalkeeper was rooted to his spot thinking that there was no way that it was going to be even close.  Kleberson found the woodwork another time in the game and seems to be just inches off from scoring every time he puts the ball on frame.

So two games in and two ties.  Technically undefeated, but that's not how you win the spring season.  The team would definitely like to see their name with a W behind it to reward them for the fight they have shown the past two weeks.  Maybe that comes in their first road game of the season against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

That's the on-field stuff.  As far as the off-field stuff, I didn't have a single major complaint.  The team took all of the feedback from people seriously and made changes to address them.  Quickly and efficiently.  Concessions seemed to move better, parking went better, and all of my complaints were addressed.  So I sent a follow-up email telling the team as much.  Within an hour, I had a response from Peter Wilt thanking me for my time to provide the feedback.  Keep in mind this is the President/General Manager of the team and he is responding directly to fans.  Again, to me that says a lot about what this team is striving to achieve, both on and off the field.

I can't wait until the next home game, but we have two road games before that happens.

UPDATE: Once again, for their effort, Indy Eleven players were placed on the league's Team of the Week: Nicht and Norales.  That makes back-to-back weeks for Norales.