Get a sneak peek at Saturday's VICTORY gameday program, featuring midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr.
Get a sneak peek at Saturday’s VICTORY gameday program, featuring midfielder Jeremiah Gutjahr.
Be sure to pick your Indy City Futbol / #INDvOKC poster up at the Customer Service tent on the West Concourse while they last!
Be sure to pick your Indy City Futbol / #INDvOKC poster up at the Customer Service tent on the West Concourse while they last!
#INDvOKC Gameday Preview
Indy Eleven vs. OKC Energy FC – presented by IBEW Local 481
Saturday, August 14, 2021 – 7:00 P.M. ET
IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium | Indianapolis, Ind.
Follow Live
Local/National TV: MyINDY-TV 23
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio (Spanish): Exitos Radio 94.3 FM / exitos943.com
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #INDvOKC MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2021 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven 5W-7L-4D (-5 GD); 7th in Central Division
OKC Energy FC 5W-6L-7D (-1 GD); 5th in Central Division
Indiana’s Team will kick off the second half of its 2021 USL Championship campaign by renewing acquaintances with OKC Energy FC just over a month after their latest tilt in Oklahoma was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature. The two sides enter the weekend amongst the five-team group within three points of each other in the middle of the Central Division table, with a potential Eleven win putting them even with OKC (and potentially FC Tulsa and Atlanta United 2) on 22 points.
Indy Eleven enters Saturday looking to put last Sunday’s stinging 6-2 loss at Atlanta in the rearview mirror. In order to do that, the squad will have to replace a pair of key contributors that left that match due to injury, as midfielder Nick Moon and defender Jared Timmer are both ruled out for Saturday night. However, this is where the depth of Indy’s roster comes in, with veteran center back A.J. Cochran ready to jump back into the first XI for Timmer and Neveal Hackshaw continuing to progress towards full health after seeing appearances off the bench twice last week. In addition, goalkeeper Jordan Farr made his first appearance on the 18-man roster over the weekend since he suffered a hand injury in mid-June, giving another potential lift to the Boys in Blue should he be ready for full minutes between the posts.
The mental challenge of rebounding from a result described as “embarrassing” by Interim Head Coach Max Rogers will be compounded by the squad’s increasing urgency to get a win at Carroll Stadium. Indeed, the return to “The Mike” has not gone as planned for the Boys in Blue with just one victory in eight home outings thus far (1W-5L-2D, including a 1-1 draw versus OKC back in early June) … but then again the squad also entered last Sunday with the league’s top points per game earned on the road. So what’s the lesson here? Trends can be broken, and Saturday night could be pivotal on that front for Indy Eleven as it tries to change up its recipe for home cookin’.
On the flip side, OKC Energy FC has been, well, reenergized, under its own interim sideline boss in Leigh Veidman, who took over the reins after that 1-1 draw in Indy on June 2. Since then, OKC has rattled off a 5W-3L-3D record, but with those three defeats all coming against first-place Louisville and second-place Birmingham, Energy FC has proved it can go toe-to-toe with the squads it will need to best for a top-four spot and the postseason berth that goes with it.
Indy Eleven gets the benefit of catching OKC on short rest, as Energy FC followed the Boys in Blue down to Georgia and earned a 2-2 draw at Atlanta on Wednesday evening, Energy FC’s taking of the full three points being spoiled by David Mejia’s stoppage time equalizer.
SERIES HISTORY VS. OKC ENERGY FC
USL Championship regular season: 0W-0L-1D (1 GF/1 GA)
USL Championship at home: 0W-0L-1D (1 GF/1 GA)
2021 SERIES
06/02/21: IND 1:1 OKC
[IND: Moon 42’; OKC: Lopez 69’]
Saturday: IND v OKC (7:00 p.m. ET)
10/26/21: OKC v IND (6:00 p.m. ET)
10/29/21: OKC v IND (8:30 p.m. ET)
OKC Energy FC’s move to the Eastern Conference in 2021 meant the start of a new series for Indiana’s Team (along with OKC’s Sooner State mate at FC Tulsa). The squads began their ledger at Carroll Stadium on June 2, when Nick Moon’s finish off a Gordon Wild corner late in the first half was cancelled out by Frank Lopez’s redirect in the 69th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The two teams tried to renew acquaintances in Oklahoma City on July 10, only to see the game halted early in the second half, and ultimately abandoned, due to stormy weather and a subsequent power outage at Taft Stadium (for what it’s worth, now ex-Eleven attacker Cammy Smith notched a goal in what ended up being a 1-1 scoreline when the game was called).
With that match-up rescheduled to Wednesday, Sept. 29, that means Indiana’s Team and Energy FC will close out their 2021 series with back-to-back games at Taft Stadium, with the third meeting of the season taking place three days prior on Sunday, Sept. 26.
IND PLAYER TO WATCH: FW PETER-LEE VASSELL
August has been extremely kind to the Jamaican international, who has heated up by scoring in each of Indy’s games to start the month. He sealed the deal in a 2-0 win against FC Tulsa on Aug. 4 with a confident little dink past the goalkeeper and four days later provided Indy’s second goal against Atlanta off a volley just outside the box. Those two goals ties the highest output in a single season during his young career, equaling his total with Harbour View of Jamaica's National Premier League in the 2017-2018 season.
With starts in four of his 11 appearances so far, the 23-year-old has been used primarily as a sort of “super sub” coming on in place of center forwards Jordan Hamilton or Manuel Arteaga, or as a winger in place of Gordon Wild, Nick Moon or Ayoze. To go along with his two goals, Vassell has provided three key passes this season, but has yet to register an assist – although for a player with his vision and willingness to make plays, one would expect to see a helper on the board soon. Rogers mentioned after the Tulsa game that he felt Vassell’s first goal with the squad could build his confidence, and after finding the back of the net once more in four days’ time, it seems likely the Jamaican will be afforded the opportunity to add to his growing output on Saturday.
OKC PLAYER TO WATCH: FW Villyan Bijev
Villyan Bijev is absolutely powering the OKC Energy offense so far this season, as the forward sits currently has nine goals to his name. Not only does that mark lead OKC by a wide margin (Frank Lopez sits second on three finishes), but it is also good enough to tie him for third place on the USL Championship’s Golden Boot chart. Bijev comes off a Wednesday match against Atlanta United 2 that saw the forward score both of Energy FC’s goals – both go-ahead tallies in the 39th and 76th minutes – en route to a 2-2 draw.
Not only does the 28-year-old lead his team in goals, but he leads OKC in just about every major offensive statistic including assists (3), shots (35), and chances created (21). The former Liverpool academy player is scoring at a rate of a goal every 151 minutes for the Energy, making the Bulgarian a formidable attacking threat that Indy will have to handle if they want to come away with all three points.
#INDvOKC Gameday Preview
Indy Eleven vs. OKC Energy FC – presented by IBEW Local 481
Saturday, August 14, 2021 – 7:00 P.M. ET
IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium | Indianapolis, Ind.
Follow Live
Local/National TV: MyINDY-TV 23
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio (Spanish): Exitos Radio 94.3 FM / exitos943.com
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #INDvOKC MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2021 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven 5W-7L-4D (-5 GD); 7th in Central Division
OKC Energy FC 5W-6L-7D (-1 GD); 5th in Central Division
Indiana’s Team will kick off the second half of its 2021 USL Championship campaign by renewing acquaintances with OKC Energy FC just over a month after their latest tilt in Oklahoma was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature. The two sides enter the weekend amongst the five-team group within three points of each other in the middle of the Central Division table, with a potential Eleven win putting them even with OKC (and potentially FC Tulsa and Atlanta United 2) on 22 points.
Indy Eleven enters Saturday looking to put last Sunday’s stinging 6-2 loss at Atlanta in the rearview mirror. In order to do that, the squad will have to replace a pair of key contributors that left that match due to injury, as midfielder Nick Moon and defender Jared Timmer are both ruled out for Saturday night. However, this is where the depth of Indy’s roster comes in, with veteran center back A.J. Cochran ready to jump back into the first XI for Timmer and Neveal Hackshaw continuing to progress towards full health after seeing appearances off the bench twice last week. In addition, goalkeeper Jordan Farr made his first appearance on the 18-man roster over the weekend since he suffered a hand injury in mid-June, giving another potential lift to the Boys in Blue should he be ready for full minutes between the posts.
The mental challenge of rebounding from a result described as “embarrassing” by Interim Head Coach Max Rogers will be compounded by the squad’s increasing urgency to get a win at Carroll Stadium. Indeed, the return to “The Mike” has not gone as planned for the Boys in Blue with just one victory in eight home outings thus far (1W-5L-2D, including a 1-1 draw versus OKC back in early June) … but then again the squad also entered last Sunday with the league’s top points per game earned on the road. So what’s the lesson here? Trends can be broken, and Saturday night could be pivotal on that front for Indy Eleven as it tries to change up its recipe for home cookin’.
On the flip side, OKC Energy FC has been, well, reenergized, under its own interim sideline boss in Leigh Veidman, who took over the reins after that 1-1 draw in Indy on June 2. Since then, OKC has rattled off a 5W-3L-3D record, but with those three defeats all coming against first-place Louisville and second-place Birmingham, Energy FC has proved it can go toe-to-toe with the squads it will need to best for a top-four spot and the postseason berth that goes with it.
Indy Eleven gets the benefit of catching OKC on short rest, as Energy FC followed the Boys in Blue down to Georgia and earned a 2-2 draw at Atlanta on Wednesday evening, Energy FC’s taking of the full three points being spoiled by David Mejia’s stoppage time equalizer.
SERIES HISTORY VS. OKC ENERGY FC
USL Championship regular season: 0W-0L-1D (1 GF/1 GA)
USL Championship at home: 0W-0L-1D (1 GF/1 GA)
2021 SERIES
06/02/21: IND 1:1 OKC
[IND: Moon 42’; OKC: Lopez 69’]
Saturday: IND v OKC (7:00 p.m. ET)
10/26/21: OKC v IND (6:00 p.m. ET)
10/29/21: OKC v IND (8:30 p.m. ET)
OKC Energy FC’s move to the Eastern Conference in 2021 meant the start of a new series for Indiana’s Team (along with OKC’s Sooner State mate at FC Tulsa). The squads began their ledger at Carroll Stadium on June 2, when Nick Moon’s finish off a Gordon Wild corner late in the first half was cancelled out by Frank Lopez’s redirect in the 69th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The two teams tried to renew acquaintances in Oklahoma City on July 10, only to see the game halted early in the second half, and ultimately abandoned, due to stormy weather and a subsequent power outage at Taft Stadium (for what it’s worth, now ex-Eleven attacker Cammy Smith notched a goal in what ended up being a 1-1 scoreline when the game was called).
With that match-up rescheduled to Wednesday, Sept. 29, that means Indiana’s Team and Energy FC will close out their 2021 series with back-to-back games at Taft Stadium, with the third meeting of the season taking place three days prior on Sunday, Sept. 26.
IND PLAYER TO WATCH: FW PETER-LEE VASSELL
August has been extremely kind to the Jamaican international, who has heated up by scoring in each of Indy’s games to start the month. He sealed the deal in a 2-0 win against FC Tulsa on Aug. 4 with a confident little dink past the goalkeeper and four days later provided Indy’s second goal against Atlanta off a volley just outside the box. Those two goals ties the highest output in a single season during his young career, equaling his total with Harbour View of Jamaica’s National Premier League in the 2017-2018 season.
With starts in four of his 11 appearances so far, the 23-year-old has been used primarily as a sort of “super sub” coming on in place of center forwards Jordan Hamilton or Manuel Arteaga, or as a winger in place of Gordon Wild, Nick Moon or Ayoze. To go along with his two goals, Vassell has provided three key passes this season, but has yet to register an assist – although for a player with his vision and willingness to make plays, one would expect to see a helper on the board soon. Rogers mentioned after the Tulsa game that he felt Vassell’s first goal with the squad could build his confidence, and after finding the back of the net once more in four days’ time, it seems likely the Jamaican will be afforded the opportunity to add to his growing output on Saturday.
OKC PLAYER TO WATCH: FW Villyan Bijev
Villyan Bijev is absolutely powering the OKC Energy offense so far this season, as the forward sits currently has nine goals to his name. Not only does that mark lead OKC by a wide margin (Frank Lopez sits second on three finishes), but it is also good enough to tie him for third place on the USL Championship’s Golden Boot chart. Bijev comes off a Wednesday match against Atlanta United 2 that saw the forward score both of Energy FC’s goals – both go-ahead tallies in the 39th and 76th minutes – en route to a 2-2 draw.
Not only does the 28-year-old lead his team in goals, but he leads OKC in just about every major offensive statistic including assists (3), shots (35), and chances created (21). The former Liverpool academy player is scoring at a rate of a goal every 151 minutes for the Energy, making the Bulgarian a formidable attacking threat that Indy will have to handle if they want to come away with all three points.
