Indy Eleven vs Lexington SC - 03.08

Summary

- Opponent: Lexington SC
- Location: LSC Youth Complex
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 2-0 W

- Starting XI: Reason, Pelkowski, Bahr, Snyder, Chatterton, Cherry, Rogers (C), Unkraut, Dewey, S., Chester, Jacomen

- Substitution: Darey 66' (Pelkowski); Martin 66' (Cherry); Katembo 71' (Dewey, S.); Buels 71' (Jacomen); Smith 76' (Rogers)

- Unused: Phillips, Adam

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Dewey, S. 31' (unassisted)
IND - Rogers 52' (assist Chester)

- Bookings: 

LEX - Kiesling 88' (Yellow)

- Referee: -

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

I watched this game on my phone while sitting at my kid's pole vault practice. So between the small screen and the terrible angle of the Lexington stream, I can safely say that it was nearly impossible for me to distinguish certain aspects of the game. Not trying to do the women a disservice, but due to the factors of the game and my viewing of it, I think we're just going to hit the bit items tonight. It's been a bit, but I think it's bullet recap time.

• Seriously, could that camera angle been worse. I get there was a change in venues to one that's not really set up to stream games, but that wasn't great. I haven't said it lately, but Indy is definitely spoiled with our streams thanks to ISC Sports Network and Greg Rakestraw (& Brad or Angela or Ian). I will get credit to Lexington's play-by-play/color commentator Josh Braun, who I thought did a good job. He and I disagreed on some of the stat totals, but his commentary was good.
• Change of venue - The game was moved from the Georgetown College's stadium to the Lexington youth sports complex due to the heat of the stadium's turf being unplayable. How the hell hot was that turf?! I once measured the turf at Carroll Stadium to be 137-degrees F during a mid-afternoon game in June against Pachuca, where I watched players spray water on their boots instead of drink it.
• Lexington SC, which was founded in 2021 (just 3 years ago) as a USL League One team already have their own soccer specific stadium UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Not in design. Not being considered. Under. Construction. Admittedly, the scope of their stadium is significantly less than that of Eleven Park, but things don't have to take as long as it's taken for Indy. Lexington's men's team, USL W League team, and their USL Super League team will be playing in their own stadium before Indy ever figures out what is going to become of their, seemingly, never-to-be-constructed stadium plans. 
• What started as a normal game turned into "a three hour tour" (you know the tune...). A pop-up thunderstorm in the 22nd minute resulted in an approximate 40-minute delay.
• Indy's pressure on Lexington was something to behold tonight. Defense starts with the forwards was in full effect tonight. Lexington spent large chunks of this game trying to figure out how to get out of their own defensive third. The Indy players swarmed whenever possible, and limited much possession from Lexington. 
• By my count (which, again, differed from Josh's and was calculated from a poor video on my phone), Indy had 14 shots, 9 of which were on target. Lexington had 4 shots, none of them on target. Lexington had minimal chances and couldn't do much with the ones they did generate.
• I don't see many players announced yet for Lexington's USL Super League team, but don't be surprised if/when they sign one or all of Kailey Utley, Autumn Weeks, and Trinity Watson. All have high level experience and all are the best players on their USL W League team. There just wasn't, at this point tonight, enough talent around those three to compete with a team like Indy. 
• Indy get to 22 points for the season. Technically, Kings Hammer can reach that total as well, so Indy hasn't officially clinched their playoff spot. Guess who Indy plays on Friday night. Indy could make it official around 9:00 PM with either a win or a draw when Indy travels to the Cincinnati area to face the only team that has been able to get a point from Indy this season.
• With the win, the team extends their unbeaten streak to 15 games (in official games), tying the club record set by the 2016 men's team (who had a lot more draws than this team). One more positive result would tie the 2016 team's record across all competitions (including the aforementioned international friendly against Pachuca). The team has a chance to make the semantics irrelevant with positive results to close out the season.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

With my normal refrain of "how do you pick a player to give the GBGB when the entire team is so dominant" like tonight, I do think one player gets the slight edge for me tonight. Dewey was clearly in "take it to 'em" mode early in the game with a goal in the 5th minute by being in the right place and having quick reflexes on the corner kick goal, as well as another shot that just grazed the outside of the post. Dewey's lack of hesitation at attacking Lexington's goal helped set the tone for the way the team was going to play for the rest of the game. So Dewey gets tonight's GBGB for doing exactly what the team needed from one of its veteran players on a hot night on the road.