Summary
- Opponent: Loudoun United
- Location: Segra Field
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 4-1 L
- Starting XI: Farr, Buckmaster, Ouimette, Cochran, Hackshaw, Sissoko, Gutjahr, Ayoze (C), Law, Wild, Arteaga
- Substitutions: Moon (Buckmaster 59'); Koffie (Sissoko 59'); Hamilton 72' (Arteaga); Vassell 72' (Sissoko); Seagrist 80' (Ayoze)
- Unused: Dick, Malic
- Scoring Summary:
LDN - Sergi 43' (assist Dambrot)
LDN - Sergi 45'+1'
LDN - Pas 73'
LDN - Ku-Dipietro 76' (assist Paz)
IND - Ouimette 80' (assist Wild)
- Bookings:
IND - Cochran 33' (Yellow)
IND - Ouimette 34' (Yellow)
LDN - Dambrot 47' (Yellow)
IND - Moon 63' (Yellow)
LDN - Saravia 85' (Yellow)
- Referee: Matthew Franz
- Adage goals: Three
Thoughts and Opinions
This game started a three-game stretch where Indy play the team that currently sits at the bottom of their respective divisions. Given Loudoun's record this year coming into the game (2W-1D-14L), this was a game that Indy had to win; to help their position in the Central Division standings, and to provide confidence to themselves that they can beat the teams that they should beat.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Interim Coach Rogers went with the exact same lineup that he used this past Saturday against OKC. The only tweaks were that Koffie and Moon returned to the bench in place of Liu and USL Academy signing Revolorio.
Indy started the game holding possession and pressing Loudoun into bad mistakes in their own end. Around the 15 minute mark Indy held a 60/40 possession and had the only two shots in the game. Then the energy level seemed to change. As a result, the last 30 minutes of the first half looked completely different than the first 15 minutes as Indy stopped controlling the ball and looked for more long passes as Loudoun grew into the game. The two team's ended the half with a 50/50 split in possession and that possession by the home squad lead to a goal by Loudoun right before halftime. A goal where Sergi ran onto a ball as the entire backline watched the cross run lazily behind all of them and into the goal with a simple redirect. Indy, the victim of another adage goal.
But wait, there's more.
Instead of going into the halftime locker room down a goal, Indy gave up another goal. A poor play on the ball by Farr that should have been an infield fly rule bounced off his hands, off the crossbar, and right to the feet of Sergi. Again, as the defense stood around and watched.
Ball-watching defense, "Wild is offside yet again," and Indy not finishing their own chances sent the Eleven into the locker room with a deep hole to climb out of on the road. As anybody will tell you, if you want to get out of the hole, you have to stop digging.
Yet, Indy leaned into their digging and let Loudoun continue to dominate them on both sides of the ball. Loudoun would eventually make them pay in rapid succession, scoring in the 73rd and 76th minutes before a Ouimette header off of a Wild corner kick prevented the Loudoun clean sheet. That's about the only solace that Indy can take from this game, losing to the (by record) worst team in the league. If Indy players and coaches were embarrassed by the Atlanta loss, this one should sting worse. Loudoun came into the game having scored 15 goals all season. They put more than 25% of that on the board tonight.
I don't know how an unbiased person can look at the way Indy is playing and think that a spot in the playoffs is a viable option. I honestly can't look at the schedule and think that any of the games are going to be wins and that includes the upcoming ones against the aforementioned bottom of their divisions Sporting KC II and Real Monarchs SLC. There are still a lot of games to play in the season, but this is the kind of result and effort that makes you think the season will be over long before they play their last game.
Sunday at Sporting KC II.
The Game Beckons Game Ball
Nope.
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