Improbable 4-1 Victory Puts Indy Eleven on Cusp of Spring Season Title
Eamon Zayed’s Hat Trick Paces Undefeated “Boys in Blue” in Massive Win over Carolina
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, June 11, 2016) – In order to be in the driver’s seat for the NASL’s Spring Season title, Indy Eleven needed to score four goals and win by three over the Carolina RailHawks – and that’s just what the “Boys in Blue” dialed up via a 4-1 win in front of 9,341 delirious fans at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium.
Eamon Zayed’s hat trick, the first by an Indy Eleven player in NASL play, paced Indy Eleven to the incredible win and first place in the NASL, all but guaranteeing “Indiana’s Team” the Spring Season crown. Only a six-goal win by Fort Lauderdale tomorrow afternoon at FC Edmonton will derail Indy Eleven from receiving its first trophy in club history – and the home game in the opening round of The Championship that comes along with it.
As expected, Indy Eleven came out of the gates committing numbers forward, a relentless first 10 minutes of attacking highlighted by Omar Gordon’s lunging stab at Dylan Mares’ through ball to the penalty spot that was saved by Akira Fitzgerald coming off his line. Indy saw its pressure pay off at the stroke of the quarter hour, when Zayed flung himself at Nemanja Vukovic’s cross from the left sideline, cutting inside his mark to head home just inside the right post to go up 1-0 early.
After the frantic first 15 minutes the Eleven attack would gear down a notch, with Carolina gaining more possession in its own attacking half. It would be a moment of individual brilliance from Nazmi Albadawi that brought things even in the 29th minute, the RailHawks captain cutting inside into space and uncorking a 22-yard shot that beat Indy netminder Jon Busch to his right post.
One minute of stoppage time would be enough for the home side to reclaim the momentum heading into the halftime break, as another Vukovic cross hit paydirt. This time it was Justin Braun redirecting from five yards out to beat Fitzgerald and breathe serious life back into Indy’s title chances.
The second half started much like the first, with Indy Eleven applying intense pressure in the final third. Braun’s perfectly-weighted through ball in the 54th minute put Mares just behind the backline, but Fitzgerald came up with a huge stop to keep the score at 2-1.
Minutes after Mares saw a goal taken off the board for accidently handing down the ball before firing, it was Zayed making another count in the 64th minute. The Irishman bagged his second of the night on another flashing header, this time off Gordon’s cross. Fitzgerald’s touch would push the ball off the post, but it fortuitously spun over the line to set up a thrilling finish at “The Mike.”
Carolina would nearly get one back through Brian Shriver in the 72nd minute as he was inside the six to redirect a cross from the right side of the area, but the chance wouldn’t make it through traffic.
Gordon looked as if he might have the magical fourth goal for Indy in the 84th minute when he got on the end of a deflected corner at the back post, but 18-year-old Jeremy Kelly – making his first NASL appearance – would appear to play the foil by clearing the chance off the line at the right post.
But the disappointment wouldn’t last long, as it was Zayed again hitting home just a minute later by sliding in at the back post to put home Duke Lacroix well-struck low cross, sending the Carroll Stadium crowd into hysterics. The goal was Zayed’s sixth of the campaign, the heroic effort on the evening pushing him to the top of the league’s scoring chart.
Three minutes of stoppage time would provide no serious threats to the three-goal advantage, with the final whistle signaling the biggest win in club history – and spilling many of the fans in attendance onto the Carroll Stadium pitch to join in the celebration.
From here, Indy Eleven will watch tomorrow’s FC Edmonton-Fort Lauderdale matchup (4:00 p.m. ET, live on ESPN3) with great interest to ensure that Spring Season trophy will be coming to the Circle City. After a couple days of recuperation it’s back to business for the undefeated (4W-6D-0L, 18 pts.) “Boys in Blue,” who will head up I-65 on Wednesday, June 15, to take on MLS side Chicago Fire SC in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
NASL Spring Season
Indy Eleven 4 : 1 Carolina RailHawks
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 9,341
Indy Eleven:
Spring Season: 4W-6D-0L, 18 pts., 1st place
Carolina RailHawks:
Spring Season: 4W-2D-4L, 14 pts., 6th place
Scoring Summary:
IND – Eamon Zayed (Nemanja Vukovic) 15’
CAR – Nazmi Albadawi (unassisted) 29’
IND – Justin Braun (Nemanja Vukovic) 45+’
IND – Eamon Zayed (Omar Gordon) 65’
IND – Eamon Zayed (Duke Lacroix) 85’
Discipline Summary:
CAR – Simon Mensing (caution) 44’
Indy Eleven line-up (4-4-2, L–>R): Jon Busch; Nemanja Vuković, Greg Janicki , Colin Falvey (capt) (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 75’), Marco Franco; Omar Gordon, Gorka Larrea (Brad Ring 89’), Nicki Paterson (Duke Lacroix 63’), Dylan Mares; Eamon Zayed, Justin Braun
Indy Eleven bench: Keith Cardona (GK), Cory Miller, Neal Shaffer, Daniel Keller
Carolina RailHawks (4-2-3-1): Akira Fitzgerald; Paul Black, Connor Tobin, Simon Mensing (Kareem Moses 77’), Drew Beckie; Nazmi Albadawi (capt) (Nick Taitague 66’), Alex Perez; Austin Da Luz, Jeremy Kelly, Tiyi Shipalane (Jonathon Orlando 66’); Brian Shriver
RailHawks bench: Brian Sylvestre (GK), Marvin Ceballos, Aly Alberto Hassan, Billy Schuler
Improbable 4-1 Victory Puts Indy Eleven on Cusp of Spring Season Title
Eamon Zayed’s Hat Trick Paces Undefeated “Boys in Blue” in Massive Win over Carolina
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, June 11, 2016) – In order to be in the driver’s seat for the NASL’s Spring Season title, Indy Eleven needed to score four goals and win by three over the Carolina RailHawks – and that’s just what the “Boys in Blue” dialed up via a 4-1 win in front of 9,341 delirious fans at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium.
Eamon Zayed’s hat trick, the first by an Indy Eleven player in NASL play, paced Indy Eleven to the incredible win and first place in the NASL, all but guaranteeing “Indiana’s Team” the Spring Season crown. Only a six-goal win by Fort Lauderdale tomorrow afternoon at FC Edmonton will derail Indy Eleven from receiving its first trophy in club history – and the home game in the opening round of The Championship that comes along with it.
As expected, Indy Eleven came out of the gates committing numbers forward, a relentless first 10 minutes of attacking highlighted by Omar Gordon’s lunging stab at Dylan Mares’ through ball to the penalty spot that was saved by Akira Fitzgerald coming off his line. Indy saw its pressure pay off at the stroke of the quarter hour, when Zayed flung himself at Nemanja Vukovic’s cross from the left sideline, cutting inside his mark to head home just inside the right post to go up 1-0 early.
After the frantic first 15 minutes the Eleven attack would gear down a notch, with Carolina gaining more possession in its own attacking half. It would be a moment of individual brilliance from Nazmi Albadawi that brought things even in the 29th minute, the RailHawks captain cutting inside into space and uncorking a 22-yard shot that beat Indy netminder Jon Busch to his right post.
One minute of stoppage time would be enough for the home side to reclaim the momentum heading into the halftime break, as another Vukovic cross hit paydirt. This time it was Justin Braun redirecting from five yards out to beat Fitzgerald and breathe serious life back into Indy’s title chances.
The second half started much like the first, with Indy Eleven applying intense pressure in the final third. Braun’s perfectly-weighted through ball in the 54th minute put Mares just behind the backline, but Fitzgerald came up with a huge stop to keep the score at 2-1.
Minutes after Mares saw a goal taken off the board for accidently handing down the ball before firing, it was Zayed making another count in the 64th minute. The Irishman bagged his second of the night on another flashing header, this time off Gordon’s cross. Fitzgerald’s touch would push the ball off the post, but it fortuitously spun over the line to set up a thrilling finish at “The Mike.”
Carolina would nearly get one back through Brian Shriver in the 72nd minute as he was inside the six to redirect a cross from the right side of the area, but the chance wouldn’t make it through traffic.
Gordon looked as if he might have the magical fourth goal for Indy in the 84th minute when he got on the end of a deflected corner at the back post, but 18-year-old Jeremy Kelly – making his first NASL appearance – would appear to play the foil by clearing the chance off the line at the right post.
But the disappointment wouldn’t last long, as it was Zayed again hitting home just a minute later by sliding in at the back post to put home Duke Lacroix well-struck low cross, sending the Carroll Stadium crowd into hysterics. The goal was Zayed’s sixth of the campaign, the heroic effort on the evening pushing him to the top of the league’s scoring chart.
Three minutes of stoppage time would provide no serious threats to the three-goal advantage, with the final whistle signaling the biggest win in club history – and spilling many of the fans in attendance onto the Carroll Stadium pitch to join in the celebration.
From here, Indy Eleven will watch tomorrow’s FC Edmonton-Fort Lauderdale matchup (4:00 p.m. ET, live on ESPN3) with great interest to ensure that Spring Season trophy will be coming to the Circle City. After a couple days of recuperation it’s back to business for the undefeated (4W-6D-0L, 18 pts.) “Boys in Blue,” who will head up I-65 on Wednesday, June 15, to take on MLS side Chicago Fire SC in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
NASL Spring Season
Indy Eleven 4 : 1 Carolina RailHawks
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 9,341
Indy Eleven:
Spring Season: 4W-6D-0L, 18 pts., 1st place
Carolina RailHawks:
Spring Season: 4W-2D-4L, 14 pts., 6th place
Scoring Summary:
IND – Eamon Zayed (Nemanja Vukovic) 15’
CAR – Nazmi Albadawi (unassisted) 29’
IND – Justin Braun (Nemanja Vukovic) 45+’
IND – Eamon Zayed (Omar Gordon) 65’
IND – Eamon Zayed (Duke Lacroix) 85’
Discipline Summary:
CAR – Simon Mensing (caution) 44’
Indy Eleven line-up (4-4-2, L–>R): Jon Busch; Nemanja Vuković, Greg Janicki , Colin Falvey (capt) (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 75’), Marco Franco; Omar Gordon, Gorka Larrea (Brad Ring 89’), Nicki Paterson (Duke Lacroix 63’), Dylan Mares; Eamon Zayed, Justin Braun
Indy Eleven bench: Keith Cardona (GK), Cory Miller, Neal Shaffer, Daniel Keller
Carolina RailHawks (4-2-3-1): Akira Fitzgerald; Paul Black, Connor Tobin, Simon Mensing (Kareem Moses 77’), Drew Beckie; Nazmi Albadawi (capt) (Nick Taitague 66’), Alex Perez; Austin Da Luz, Jeremy Kelly, Tiyi Shipalane (Jonathon Orlando 66’); Brian Shriver
RailHawks bench: Brian Sylvestre (GK), Marvin Ceballos, Aly Alberto Hassan, Billy Schuler
