Lone LIPAFC Clash in Circle City Kicks Off Indy’s “Rivalry Week”
#INDvLOU Heritage Environmental Services Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Louisville City FC
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
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2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 7W-14L-4D (-12 GD), 25 pts.; 9th in Eastern Conference
Louisville City FC: 17W-4L-4D (+32 GD), 55 pts.; 1st in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: FW Manuel Arteaga (R knee), MF Ayoze (R adductor), FW Aris Briggs (R shin), DF A.J. Cochran (hamstring), GK Bryan Meredith (R hand fracture)
QUESTIONABLE: GK Sean Lewis (L hamstring)
UNAVAILABLE PLAYERS
SUSPENDED:
IND: Sam Brown (caution accumulation, 8th yellow card of season on 8/27 vs SA)
LOU: N/A
* IND’s Neveal Hackshaw will receive a one-game suspension from USL for caution accumulation should he receive an eighth caution of the season on Wednesday
Indy Eleven’s version of “Rivalry Week” kicks off on Wednesday evening with the lone home installment of the Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Content in 2022.
Yes, it’s completely cliché to say, “throw out the records when these two hook up,” however it is indeed the Eleven that’s had the better of the series’ last five games dating back to the start of the 2021 season (2W-1L-2D), which included gaining its first point of the season – and forcing LouCity to drop their first point – via a 1-1 draw at Lynn Family Stadium back on March 26.
A courtesy glance at the teams’ records and the Eastern Conference table might also make one wonder if a competitive contest is in store. However, the same was likely thought by most heading into last Saturday night before Indy Eleven knocked off the USL Championship’s top side and Western Conference leader, San Antonio FC, 1-0, at Carroll Stadium, a shock result that likely got the attention of the Kentucky side.
For Indy Eleven, the triumph was not just a long time coming – it broke a club-record tying 12-game winless streak and marked its first victory since June 4 at Charleston Battery – it was a deserved result. What the side lacked in attacking quantity (5 shots, 2 on frame) it made up for in defensive quality, allowing zero big chances in a second half that was played to a virtual stalemate following Robby Dambrot’s opening salvo late in the first half. Especially after allowing a 90th minute game-winner at Tulsa a week earlier, the result against SAFC was a much-needed confidence builder, and proof for Mark Lowry’s side that it still has the resolve to finish off a game – and against the league’s best, no less.
The result also broke a six-game winless stretch at “The Mike,” which should help pump even more confidence into an Eleven team that all of a sudden lost the early mojo it had gained across a 4-0-1 run at Carroll across the first two months of the season. The Boys in Blue are going to have to get some extra energy from their home cooking this week, as Sam Brown’s caution accumulation suspension and Saturday’s early-game injury to A.J. Cochran adds to a growing list of players on the shelf ahead of the middle game of the team’s first three-match week in nearly two months’ time.
Louisville also saw a lengthy streak snapped on the weekend – its 10-game undefeated streak, a 9-0-1 run that kept it on top of a growing chasing pack in the East. Despite having the better of the chances throughout, their 0-1 loss at Miami FC on Saturday in South Florida kept the Kentuckians (55 points) within arm’s distance of 2nd place sharers Memphis 901 and Tampa Bay (51) as well as 4th place Birmingham (50); however, the two-time USLC champs still have command of the conference under their thumb heading down the final quarter of the season with both points to give and at least one game in hand on the latter two.
In attack, newcomers Wilson Harris (10 goals) and Enoch Mushagalusa (7 goals) have impressed after coming over from Sporting KC II in the offseason. The young duo shares the scoring stage this season with more familiar LCFC foes to Eleven fans in Brian Ownby (8) and Sean Totsch (7). Niall McCabe and Amadou Dia are co-leaders in assists with five helpers each, but five additional players have multiple assists, helping a balance Louisville side to a 49-goal haul that places fourth across the league.
It’s odd to say that a team that averages nearly 2.00 goals per game is better on the other side of the ball, but that’s certainly the case thanks to a stingy defense that has allowed a USLC low 17 goals on the season – five less than second place San Antonio. And it’s not just that they aren’t allowing goals – they’re not even allowing shots on target, of which they’ve faced another league low 64 of in their 25 contests. Kyle Morton has served as the primary backstop and collected 11 of their 13 clean sheets on the campaign, which ranks just one behind Miami for another league lead.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 1 : 0 San Antonio FC
Saturday, August 27 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven secured its first three-point result since early June by taking down the USL Championship’s top side, San Antonio FC, 1-0 in front of a season-best crowd of 10,081 at IUPUI Carroll Stadium.
Robby Dambrot’s first goal for the Boys in Blue late in the first half was all Indiana’s Team needed, thanks in part to goalkeeper Tim Trilk’s first clean sheet for the Boys in Blue – the team’s first shutout since May 21 against NY Red Bulls II – and a stout defensive effort across the field.
Dambrot’s tally came on a sparkling individual effort in the 40th minute that included a hearty ball-winning slide tackle, a dribble into the heart of the area, and a well-placed effort that wound through two more defenders and beat Jordan Farr to the far post. While Trilk did have some work to do courtesy of six saves, the Boys in Blue allowed zero big chances on the evening and controlled the proceedings across the final half hour to take a vital three points.
Scoring Summary:
IND – Robby Dambrot (Juan Tejada) 40’
Indy Eleven lineup (4-4-2): Tim Trilk; Robby Dambrot (Justin Ingram 73’), A.J. Cochran (Jesus Vazquez 9’), Mechack Jerome, Alex McQueen; Neveal Hackshaw (captain), Sam Brown, Raul Aguilera (Stefano Pinho 73’), Bryam Rebellon (Jared Timmer 94+’); Juan Tejada (Rodney Michael 89’), Solomon Asante
IND substitutes: Sean Lewis (GK), Wilfredo Rivera
The Miami FC 1 : 0 LouCity FC
Saturday, August 27 | Stats & Highlights
Miami took the lead at home four minutes in through Kyle Murphy’s near-angle, far post finish and never looked back, holding their slim lead throughout to hold off the Eastern Conference leader at FIU Stadium. While the visitors from LouCity dominated possession (68-32), shots (19-7), and shots on goal (5-2), they failed to get anything past Miami goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, who notched his league-leading 12th clean sheet of the season.
#LIPAFC SERIES HISTORY
All official competitions: 4W-8L-6D (18 GF/29 GA)
All competitions at home: 3W-5L-1D (7GF/14 GA)
All competitions away: 1W-3L-5D (11 GF/15 GA)
USL Championship regular season: 3W-5L-6D (14 GF/19 GA)
USLC regular season at home: 2W-3L-1D (4 GF/8 GA)
USLC regular season away: 1W-2L-5D (10 GF/11 GA)
Wednesday will mark the 19th all-time meeting in the “modern era” of the Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest series (aka “The Single Most Important Sporting and Cultural Event in Human History”), marking the most games for the Eleven against an opponent in the club’s nine-season run (15 games versus Tampa Bay is the next closest).
Indy Eleven continued its recent run of success on the wrong side of the river back on March 26, when Stefano Pinho’s first goal for Indiana’s Team – and the team’s first goal of the season three games in – helped it claim a 1-1 draw. That result pushed the Eleven’s undefeated streak at Lynn Family Stadium to three games dating back to the start of the 2021 season and coincides with its 2W-1L-2D run in LIPAFC play that started with a 2-1 win last April that snapped LCFC’s 10-game unbeaten run in the rivalry.
Their last meeting in the Circle City came last October 16, when Manuel Arteaga’s 86th minute tally made the difference in a 1-0 contest that marked the rivals’ fourth and final meeting of the 2021 season. That result helped Indy capture the season series against LouCity for the first time since joining the Championship in 2018.
#INDvLOU FAMILIAR FACES:
Eleven fans will see a familiar face suited up for LouCity once again, as former Indy midfielder Tyler Gibson has remained on the Kentucky side’s roster for a second season in 2022. Gibson was a heavy contributor for the Boys in Blue during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, tallying two assists in 2019 while leading the club in minutes played and appearances in both campaigns.
Ilija Ilic is the only other player brave enough to have cross the border lines in the series’ history. The Serbian striker was a LouCity original, making 75 appearances across the club’s first four seasons from 2015-18, including scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in all six games (five starts) against Indiana’s Team. Ilic then joined the Eleven for the 2019-20 seasons, and in his first game against his former side on Aug. 30, 2019, he gave a “thank you” in the form of an assist on Tyler Pasher’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Slugger Field.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: FW STEFANO PINHO
As mentioned above, LouCity rolls into the Circle City with the league’s top defense in tow, putting added pressure on the Eleven’s attacking corps to produce. After firing a season-high 18 shots in a 0-1 defeat at Tulsa on Aug. 20 and managing only five in last Saturday’s 1-0 win over San Antonio, we’re throwing the “quantity vs. quality” debate out the window … the preference would be to strike a balance of both, similar to its first half performance down on the wrong side of the river in the squads first meeting back in March.
And would you look at that … in that match it was none other than Stefano Pinho who tallied the opener, which also got the Boys in Blue off the scoreless schneid to start the 2022 season. Pinho has seen his time diminished due to injuries in recent months, a contributing factor to a scoreless drought that began in late June. However, the crafty Brazilian still leads the Eleven with seven goals on the season and has proven he can create something out of little, and with Mark Lowry rotating his team over during a three-game week, the odds are Pinho will get ample opportunity to put his stamp on the rivalry match.
