Indy Eleven vs El Paso Locomotive - 11.27

Summary

- Opponent: El Paso Locomotive
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 10,132
- Final Score: 3-1 W

- Starting XI: Sulte, Stanley, Diz Pe, Ofeimu, White, Quinn (C), Soumaoro, Blake, Foster, Williams, R., Williams, A.

- Substitution: Wootton 61' (Soumaoro); Collier 74' (Blake); Martinez 74' (Foster); Lindley 79' (Quinn); Guenzatti 79' (Williams, R.)

- Unused: Oettl, O'Brien, J.

- Scoring Summary:
IND - Williams, R. 12' (assist Williams, A.)
IND - Foster 49' (assist Blake)
IND - Collier 77' (assist Martinez)
ELP - Zacarias 83' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

IND - White 58' (Yellow)
ELP - Alfaro 63' (Yellow)
ELP - Bench 76' (Yellow)
ELP - Lyons 86', 90'+4' (Yellow, Yellow, RED)
ELP - Coronado 86', 90'+3' (Yellow, Yellow, RED)

ELP - Dollenmayer 88' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 90'+6' (Yellow) - Has Cam ever had a yellow card that he didn't deserve? He's the king of the "professional foul" for Indy and is creeping up the club's leaderboard for yellow cards.

- Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

El Paso came into Carroll Stadium as the last place team in the Western Conference, as well as the last West Conference team to come to Indy for the season. From here on out, Indy face their Eastern Conference foes. Coming into the game, Indy absolutely needed a win tonight with just 8 points separating the teams in the playoff positions in the Eastern Conference not named Louisville City and Charleston Battery, who have already clinched playoff spots. The playoff teams from the Eastern Conference are going to come down to the wire and three points was vital to keep Indy in the hunt for one of the four opening home playoff games, but to also keep themselves from sliding backwards in the table. While not officially eliminated from contention in the Western Conference, El Paso was looking to maintain their recent run-of-form, having five positive results in the last six games that followed a string of 5 losses in a row, including three clean sheets in a row. 

It was Indy that got the game going quickly, getting their first shot on target in the first 30 seconds. The game settled down after Indy got out of the blocks quickly, but it was still Indy that put the first goal on the board in the 12th minute when Augi Williams slotted a ball across the middle of the box that Romario Williams one-timed passed Waite. The goal gave Williams his 60th goal in league history and prevented ELP from a fourth clean sheet in a row. ELP has also struggled this year when they concede first, with a 0W-12L-0D record under that scenario. On the season, Indy had an overall record of 10W-7D-9L coming into the game with a record of 5W-5D-8L against Playoff teams, a record of 5W-2D-1L against non-Playoff teams, and a record of 0W-2D-7L (-15 GD) against Top 4 teams. 

That poor trend from ELP and Indy's success against non-playoff teams continued with a 3-1 victory for the home side behind goals from Romario, Foster, and Collier. The win keeps Indy in the hunt for the fourth opening home playoff game as Detroit defeated New Mexico to stay just ahead of Indy, but Indy has games-in-hand over DCFC.

Somehow that free kick from Cavillo was saved by Sulte

The visitors nearly equalized in the 15th minute thanks to a free kick from just outside the box. With Hunter Sulte looking into the setting sunset, Calvillo perfectly put the ball around the Indy wall. From the west camera angle (see photo on the right), it was clear that the ball was destined for the upper 90. However, the 6'-7" frame of the Anchorage, Alaska native extended all of that frame and managed to parry the ball wide of the goal, keeping Indy's one-goal advantage intact. 

The game became a bit more tilted to Indy's offensive half of the field in the next 15 minutes as Indy continued to pepper Waite with shots on target. Augi put one just wide of the right post after a feed from Romario, while Blake continued to show that he has no fear of shooting from any distance, and mostly on target. The two teams tried to turn the game into a bit of a track meet for the next 15 minutes as ELP worked to claw their way back into the game and Indy looked to try to put the game out of reach before halftime. Neither team found another goal, and so the teams went into halftime locker room with Indy leading one goal to nil thanks to the 12th minute goal from Romario.

Indy came out of the halftime break just like they started the game with a Foster opportunity in the 48th minute that Waite managed to stop. The Indy fans began to wonder if this was going to be another one of those games where Indy couldn't make good on their chances, thereby letting a team hang around, and then things go badly for Indy late in the game. A minute later, however, Indy had another chance when Blake put a ball through the lines to an on-rushing Foster. Maalique put on the brakes sending his defender sliding well past him, brought the ball to his left foot, and pushed a composed shot around Waite to give Indy a two-goal lead.

With the goal, a collective sigh of relief spread around the Indy fanbase now that the team had a little breathing room with the two-goal lead. A late-game slip-up might not completely derail the victory. ELP, to their credit, refused to back down and continued to make their own in-roads into Indy's defensive half of the field. As they would get closer to the goal though, Indy's defense would come up big and prevent the most dangerous attacks from reaching Sulte, who finished with 4 saves. Waite, on the flipside, finished with 6 saves, but it seemed like he was the more active of the two keepers. If it had not been for his effort and a little bit more clinical finishing, this game might have been an embarrassing result for the Locomotive.

Some late game cards forced the game to finish with Indy up by 2 goals and 2 players as not one, but two different ELP players received their second yellow of the game late in stoppage time. Amazingly, both players didn't receive their first yellow card until the 86th minute, but still managed to find an early exit from the game due to multiple yellow cards. Indy defended well at the end, and finished with a 3-1 win.

Indy have three games remaining vs non-Playoff teams & three games against Top 4 teams. The next two weeks are games against some of those non-playoff teams in North Carolina and home against Miami (who are already eliminated from the playoffs). It's vital to get wins the next two weeks before Louisville City come to town.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

The attacking triumvirate of Williams, Williams, and Foster was the best we've seen all season. Augi and Maalique both had opportunities that should have been goals, but all three players found their way onto the scorecard tonight accounting for two goals and one assist. The law firm of Williams & Williams looked more connected tonight and are starting to figure out how to play with each other. Foster's pace gives teams one more thing to think about and his interplay between the Williams boys and his desire to help out defensively nearly forced me to give him the GBGB outright. The three together, though, were what really put ELP on their heels during Indy's 37% possession. Diz Pe gets one of my honorable mentions as he has learned to put a long diagonal ball over the top that bypasses the midfield, and that is an effective weapon when the defense pinches in while Foster maintains his width nearly to the touchline. A ball over the top to Foster who has the pace to outrun many defenders puts him in a position to make a play. Sometimes that play is taking it himself like he did for his goal, but it also allows him to pick out either Williams who were constantly making the runs into the box to receive potential crosses. Going with my eye test, I still have to give tonight's GBGB to all three players. 

Photos - Don Thompson Photography

Indy Eleven vs Hartford Athletic - 11.26

Summary

- Opponent: Hartford Athletic
- Location: Trinity Health Stadium
- Attendance: -
- Final Score: 0-0 D

- Starting XI: Sulte, White, Ofeimu, Diz Pe, Mines, Soumaoro, Blake, Quinn (C), Stanley, Williams, R., Foster

- Substitution: Collier 67' (Blake); Lindley 67' (Quinn); Guenzatti 83' (Williams, R.)

- Unused: Oettl, Musa, O'Brien, J., Wootton

- Scoring Summary:
NOPE

- Bookings:

IND - Blake 59' (Yellow)
IND - White 72' (Yellow)

- Referee: Thomas Snyder

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Regardless of how this season finishes, the one thing that won't be said was that Coach McAuley was afraid to try different lineups. Recent additions to the team Foster, White, and Soumaoro all found themselves in the starting lineup while stalwarts Lindley and Guenzatti started on the bench. When one of the frequent recent contributors in Neidlinger didn't even make the trip (though to be fair he could be with UIndy), it's clear that a good portion of the team Indy put on the field tonight weren't even on the roster when they made their run earlier in the season. A player early in the season, who will remain nameless, told me that because of the system that McAuley was trying to implement, in some ways there is an aspect of plug-and-play with players, and the system shouldn't be affected. However, the number of guys that have come and gone for this year's roster now puts it as the second highest number of players in a season. At some point, a plug-and-play system still needs some consistency.

With a nil-nil draw, Indy and Hartford had a fair result based on the way the game was played, but a result that I think only Hartford should be happy with given their injury situation. Indy, if we're honest, should do better, even on the road. 

Is Indy a playoff team? Maybe. Thanks, mostly, to an undefeated run that banked a ton of points. Will the team host a playoff game? Based on the recent form and on tonight's result, probably not. In the Eastern Conference, there are four teams that have negative goal differentials. Indy at -4 is the best of those teams. Miami is, well, the train wreck that is Miami this year with a -38 GD and already eliminated from the playoffs with 7 games remaining. The second worst was Hartford with a -17 GD. Hartford came in with injuries and a shuffled lineup, that was exacerbated by a 27th minute Ngalina injury that forced him out of the game early. With all that in mind, Indy managed just 2 shots on target, both in the first half, one from distance from Blake that went straight to Ribeiro and a Foster shot that Ribeiro stopped that likely would have been a goal by Romario Williams if Foster had just passed the ball across the frame. Indy only had 2 shots in the second half ,that didn't happen until the 87th and 89th minutes, neither of which were on frame! Coach McAuley has preached all season that you don't score goals if you don't shoot. Against a bunkered Pittsburgh team that was down a man is one thing. Pittsburgh is a good defensive team that limits the space available to shoot. Against a depleted Hartford team that frequently concedes goals is quite another, more concerning, issue.

"But [fill in player name] gives it right back" was a frequent refrain from the telecast crew as it related to both teams. This was just a sloppy game from both teams and a draw was a fair result. It's also the kind of result that isn't going to really help either team. It's slightly better for Indy than it was for Hartford, but the bunched Eastern Conference is going to necessitate victories, and victories soon. Indy's opponents in the month of September are not the world-beaters in the league. Indy have to find better performances and results than they did tonight, or that playoff position is going to find itself in the same position as Eleven Park; sitting idle while others in the league keep moving forward.

Indy return to The Mike next weekend to play El Paso, the only other team in the league that has struggled nearly as much as Miami. Indy is at the point in the season when draws aren't going to get it done. Indy have 1 win in their last 11 league games, and have been held scoreless 5 times in that stretch. McAuley routinely said that the team would put itself in position to score goals. That happened early, but the well has seemingly run dry despite having some of the league's perennial scorers. Stop me, Indy fans, if you've heard that story before.

A draw on the road isn't the worst of things, but things need to get better (and of the three point variety) soon.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

Uhhhh. There is literally not a single player on the field tonight that stood out for me as having a good game. No. There really wasn't. I normally reserve a non-awarded GBGB for the really bad losses, but as the telecast announcers kept repeating, "good luck finding the highlights" for this game. If they (and I) can't find any highlights, I don't think I'm going to work hard to find a GBGB winner. 

Henry Street Bridge and Eleven Park

Depending on your news source, you might have seen that the Henry Street Bridge project will begin construction of Phase 2 this week. Some of you might be asking, why I'm talking about an Indianapolis Department of Public Works project on a soccer-specific, and more specifically, generally an Indy Eleven-centric-specific site? That's because the Henry Street Bridge project is relevant to this site's content since it is located immediately south of the lot that was intended to be the future home of Eleven Park. In the aerial view of the proposed bridge, the lot with all the trees would be the "intended" location of Eleven Park. 

I say "was intended" because Mayor Hogsett's desired plan to kill the Eleven Park development made it through all the required hoops to move the Professional Sports Development Area  (PSDA) from the Eleven Park site to the PSDA #2 site, which has been indicated to be the existing heliport site. Though best I can tell, the State Budget Committee has not discussed the finances of the Mayor's proposed site, at least not in a public meeting. So Indianapolis residents and Indy Eleven fans still do not have any indication regarding the Mayor's mysterious MLS ownership group nor whether the State Budget Committee will continue to plow down the Mayor's path of officially submitting for a bid to join MLS. A bid that I continue to suspect will be rejected, particularly in the near-term.

In the three months since the Mayor dropped the MLS bombshell on Indy Eleven fans, all the hurdles to move the State funding from the Keystone property to the Mayor's preferred location have moved forward. What hasn't moved forward is any kind of progress at the Eleven Park site. I periodically drive by the site just to see if there is anything that looks different from my last drive-by. The night of the New Mexico United, the Indianapolis Colts also had a preseason game and the parking lot that once was the site of the stadium groundbreaking was being used for event parking for the Indianapolis Colts' game. This past weekend when I drove by on my way to Carroll Stadium before the Pittsburgh game, the construction trailer that had been sitting on the lot for the past year was no longer there. I can't recall if it was there the night of the Colts' game, but the trailer felt like a more recent departure. 

As Indy Eleven and Keystone remove things from the location or use a part of it for event parking, the Mayor and the Indianapolis DPW will be moving things into the area. The Phase 2 work (Phase 1 began on the west side of the White River in January) will take place within the White River. From the City's announcement, the contractor "is expected to begin removing the existing bridge piers in the White River north of Oliver Avenue. Bridge construction will begin at the west side at the levee later this year." Phase 3 will connect the bridge to Kentucky Avenue with new roadway.

That last part of the announcement about Phase 2 is key because that gives the City time to finalize their plan for the remains associated with the burial ground that used to be the Greenlawn Cemetery that are within the Henry Street Bridge's right-of-way for the Phase 3 section of the project. As was indicated in the June presentation of the White River Innovation District that includes the Henry Street Bridge, the DPW and City staff made sure to point out that the Henry Street Bridge, but particularly the roadwork, would be and "Archaeologist-led excavation, rather than Contractor-led excavation" and that "Archaeology work will begin in late 2024." 

I continue to find the subtle "contractor-led" jab simultaneously amusing and a bit childish. 

So while the City's plan continues to move forward, Indy Eleven and Keystone, conversely, look to be moving backwards. I chose to not reach out to the club before this article because it hasn't done me much good in the past when it comes to discussions about the stadium. However, as it stands, publicly, Indy have no announcements on any stadium plans, and have naturally begun season ticket renewals at Carroll Stadium. I'm sure the Eleven Park design is on hold because any plan related to the burial grounds' remains that cover significantly more area than the Henry Street Bridge roadway can no longer include any public-funded/assisted money since the Mayor has shifted the PSDA to another site. So unless there are some backdoor discussions about transferring the site and/or the City helping with the cost for interment of the remains, Keystone has ~25-acres that are going to be difficult to develop.

There are some secondary effects of losing the stadium as well. It appears that the the Indy Eleven USL Super League team is now, at a minimum, on hold. Putting the Super League team on hold means that Coach Dolinsky found another team in Lexington where he could run their USL W League team and be part of the Super League coaching staff. Shortly, we all expect that the MLS will officially state that Indy isn't going to be awarded a team, and Indianapolis will have lost a soccer stadium, a first division women's soccer team, and the coach that has been the most successful coach in the club's history. 

The Henry Street Bridge is moving forward though. 

Only question that I have now will be what that roadway passes. A fenced off abandoned plot of land doesn't seem out of the question, does it?

Indy Eleven vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 11.25

Summary

- Opponent: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 10,319
- Final Score: 1-1 D

- Starting XI: Sulte, Musa, White, Ofeimu, Martinez, Stanley, Wootton, Quinn (C), Guenzatti, Foster, Williams, R.

- Substitution: Lindley 62' (Wootton); O'Brien, J. 62' (White); Williams, A. 62' (Guenzatti); Neidlinger 74' (Musa); Collier 82' (Martinez)

- Unused: Oettl, Gibson, Mines

- Scoring Summary:
PIT - Griffin 73' (assist Osumanu)
IND - Williams, R. 90'+7' (unassisted)

- Bookings:

PIT - Hogan 3' (RED)
IND - Martinez 34' (Yellow)
PIT - Mertz 66' (Yellow)
IND - Lindley 71' (Yellow)
IND - Williams, R. 72' (Yellow)

- Referee: Elijio Arreguin

- Adage goals: None

Thoughts and Opinions

Before this week of games started, Coach McAuley stated that he felt an obligation to the club, the team, and the fans to provide the best lineup possible for the U.S. Open Cup game on Tuesday. If the team won all three or lost all three games, he thought he could feel confident with his decisions due to the importance of what a USOC Final could have meant for the club. Indy lost last Saturday in Las Vegas 3-2, then lost to Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday 2-nil. Coming into this game against Pittsburgh, the team knew that this was the proverbial 6-point type of game with the way that the middle of the Eastern Conference has bunched. With the 1-1 draw in tonight's game, Indy didn't provide any more separation from Pittsburgh (and lost ground on Rhode Island who leap frogged Indy (and Loudoun and Birmingham), but Indy has a game in hand), and Pittsburgh didn't gain any ground on Indy in points. While the game had the potential to be a 6-point game, it's not surprising that the game finished in a draw. In the now 15 times that the two teams have played since 2018, the game has been decided by more than a 1-goal differential just three times, and there have been four draws. Pittsburgh keeps games close.

The only reason a low-scoring draw is a surprise is because Indy had a man advantage for nearly the entirety of the game. In a reckless high boot challenge against Guenzatti, Hogan put his cleats into Seba's thighs. Referee Arreguin immediately pulled out the yellow card despite the early 4th minute for the infraction. However, following a brief moment, either in conversation with his AR or just thinking about it more, the yellow was rescinded and Hogan was sent to a very early departure from the game as the card was changed to a straight red. With three games in 8 days, 86-minutes of a man advantage (even against a defensively sound Pittsburgh club) looked like it was going to be a welcome wrinkle to the week.

The defensive block from Pittsburgh though, coupled with Indy's pace of play, which wasn't glacial but definitely deliberate, led to a scoreless first half. Indy couldn't find enough space to get through or around the Pittsburgh defense. To overcome the Pittsburgh block, Indy needed to address their tactics after the halftime break. Foster dropped deeper to be able to get the ball in more space to be able to use his speed against the Pittsburgh defense, which pushed Guenzatti up top. Bob Lilley, similarly, adjusted his tactics as well. Instead of sitting so much in the block, the Riverhounds looked to be much more aggressive going forward creating a much more wide open start to the second half. Likely because he realized that Indy was struggling with breaking down his defense, Lilley likely thought his squad could take a few more chances going forward to steal three points on the road.

Pittsburgh full-time shots

From Indy's perspective, when you don't take your chances, and let a team hang around, you run the risk of putting yourself in a bad situation. The Pittsburgh defense is so sound that even with Indy's man advantage, or maybe because of Indy's man advantage, Pittsburgh became even more sound defensively, thereby severely limiting Indy's chances. When Indy couldn't find the goal that might have opened the floodgates, Pittsburgh took their opportunity and put themselves on the board in the 73rd minute. Despite Indy holding a 74% to 26% possession advantage, a 13 to 6 shot advantage, a 34 to 8 advantage in crosses, and Pittsburgh getting just three shots in the second half (none after their goal), Pittsburgh made good on their opportunity in the box. Indy, conversely, peppered the Pittsburgh goal with shots in the second half, but couldn't find a way through. 

It looked like it might end with the Riverhounds headed to Pittsburgh with three points on their bus and a further tightening of the playoff race. However, Indy finally found that break through the Pittsburgh defense in the 90'+7'. Foster was fouled about 25-yards from goal, giving Indy a last ditch effort from a free kick. Quinn and Romario Williams both stood over the ball, and as Romario indicated afterwards, there "was a brief conversation" between them and once he told Quinn that "he fancied a shot," Quinn let him take it. Given Williams' recent run-of-form in front of goal, I had anticipated Quinn taking it as I stood on the sideline. Williams, to his credit, put a perfectly placed free kick over the wall and out of reach of Eric Dick to give Indy the equalizer. The free kick from Williams turned out to be the last major action of the game as the referee blew his whistle to end the game the second Pittsburgh restarted the ball after the goal. 

It's easy to say that a team that has a man advantage for 86-minutes (plus stoppage times) should easily win a game. In many ways, a man advantage against a Pittsburgh Riverhounds team does the exact opposite. They are so sound defensively, and so compact, it often takes a moment of brilliance to break it down. Foster's ability to get fouled by being disruptive in the middle of the field, and Williams' ability to pick out the upper 90 of the goal on the free kick was the moment of brilliance needed. This was not Indy's best played game, but much of that could be because of how well Pittsburgh played.

Indy has just one more mid-week game as the team comes down the homestretch of the season. Once the calendar officially rolls over into September, Indy doesn't play a single playoff team for the entire month. After Pittsburgh, who continues to hover near the playoff line but stays on a good run, Indy face Hartford (11th in East), El Paso (12th in West), North Carolina (10th), and Miami (12th and who staved off being officially eliminated from the playoffs thanks to a victory in Monterrey Bay) before starting October at home against Louisville. After Indy's 8-game win streak, Indy have found just 1 win in the past 10 games. While never a guarantee in this league, a stretch of four games against the league's basement-dwellers might provide Indy with some much needed points and confidence. Indy will hope to make that four wins out of four heading into the LIPAFC match to help themselves move up the table, or at a minimum, create some separation from the other playoff teams below them that are going to want to solidify their own standings in the table. Indy return to The Mike in two weeks to face El Paso.

The Game Beckons Game Ball

White was in the starting lineup having been in the country for less than a week. That's a "welcome to the country and the USL Championship" under fire kind of introduction. Some injuries helped precipitate that start, but he looked good despite the minimal training with the team. What I appreciated the most from his effort was his ability to have his head up when he received the ball. Pittsburgh's deep block due to their man disadvantage meant that getting the ball to the forwards was going to be difficult. As his teammates continued to pass the ball around the ball, too slowly to be honest, White looked to put the ball over the defenders with crosses. White had 3 crosses in the first half. As I've stated before, the GBGB often comes down to who I keep noticing the most. Tonight, that was White.

Romario nearly got the nod from me, but only because of such a brilliant free kick to equalize the game. His overall game, though, was not enough for me to knock White off the GBGB podium.

Photos - Don Thompson Photography