Indy Looks to End Three-game Homestand with Full Nine Points
#INDvHFD Preview
Indy Eleven vs Hartford Athletic
Saturday, April 30, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
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In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #INDvHFD MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 3W-2L-2D (+1 GD), 11 pts.; 6th in Eastern Conference
Hartford Athletic: 0W-5L-1D (-6 GD), 1 pt.; 14th in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INJURY REPORT
OUT: MF Sam Brown (concussion), DF Mechack Jerome (L ankle sprain)
QUESTIONABLE: N/A
DISCIPLINE REPORT
IND: none
HFD: none
Indy Eleven will contest the third and final match of its end-of-April homestand this Saturday evening when it welcomes Hartford Athletic to IUPUI Carroll Stadium. Indy enters the match riding a three-game winning streak, making it one of four teams in the USL Championship with at least a trio of wins on the trot heading into Week 8 action. Indy’s five-game undefeated streak also makes it one of four squads in the upper half of the Eastern Conference standings with an unbeaten run of at least that distance, allowing it to at the very least keep pace with the East’s elite while also passing several clubs on its way up the ladder in the last month.
Meanwhile, Hartford is still looking to claim their first win of the season, having dropped four straight matches and five of their first six contests. However, don’t let Athletic’s place at the foot of the East table fool you – of those defeats, four have been to teams in the top half of the Eastern Conference (with three coming on the road) and four have come by one goal. They have also scored once in five of their six contests. All this points to the Connecticut side perhaps being due for a win … but the Boys in Blue will look to stave that inevitable three-point result off for one more matchday while extending their own run of stellar form.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 3 : 1 Orange County SC
Sun., April 24 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven used three straight goals in the second half to storm past Orange County SC in a 3-1 victory at “The Mike.”
Orange County struck first in the 13th minute when midfielder Ugo Okoli’s header at midfield freed Mikko Kuningas behind the backline, and the Finnish forward was able to finish low past stranded Eleven netminder Elliot Panicco to give the visitors the early advantage. Indy looked to equalize late in the stanza through forward Jonas Fjeldberg, but the Norwegian’s finish was nullified for offside – despite replays perhaps showing the contrary.
Orange County began the second half with some missed chances they quickly regretted, as in the 53rd minute Indy substitute midfielder Noah Powder evened the score just a minute after hitting the pitch.
After setting up Powder’s opener, Stefano Pinho took one for himself in the 64th minute. It was another substitute, forward Manuel Arteaga, who set up the goal by hooking the ball over a charging Pat Rakovsky and into the six, where Pinho crashed to meet contact and head into the vacated goal.
From there, Indiana’s Team was able to put its thumb on the scale, controlling play and relinquishing no true threats on its frame. Aris Briggs ended the scoring in the 92nd minute for a second straight match courtesy of a nice build up through Pinho and Arteaga, allowing Indy to finish with its first multiple-goal win of the campaign.
Hartford Athletic 1 : 2 Detroit City FC
Sat., April 23 | Recap | Stats & Highlights
Stephen Carroll scored deep in second-half stoppage time to send Detroit City FC to a 2-1 comeback victory against Hartford Athletic last Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, extending DCFC’s undefeated run to eight games in all competitions.
While the visitors from Detroit seemed to make the most noise in the attacking third during the first half – most prominently via chances by Connor Rutz and Pato Botello Faz in the middle fo the stanza – the Athletic took the lead two minutes before halftime. Rashawn Dally was the beneficiary after Prince Saydee eluded his marker on the right just outside the penalty area to deliver a low cross to the top of the six-yard area that Dally tucked home easily.
Midway through the second half the visitors pulled level as Deklan Wynne’s shot from the left side of the penalty area took a deflection and looped into the top-right corner of the net. Hartford had a pair of chances to regain the lead in the final quarter hour, but Carroll blocked Hartford newcomer’s Ariel Martinez effort off a solo run and Luka Prpa saw a chance off a set piece ring the crossbar.
Both teams continued to push for a winner, and after Detroit was denied by a near-post save from Hartford netminder Jimmy Slayton that kept out a chance from the left side by Francis Atuahene, it arrived for the visitors. Off the ensuing corner kick, Antoine Hoppenot’s initial delivery was headed onto the left post by Rutz, but rebounded to Carroll, who shot home into the roof of the net to send the visitors to victory.
THRICE AS NICE: Indy’s three-goal output last weekend versus Orange County was its first such performance in 29 outings, dating back to a wild, back-and-forth 3-3 draw at LouCity last June 26. It was the team’s 16th output of 3+ goals in 123 USLC regular season games – but only its fourth since the start of 2020 (55 games).
COMEBACK AROUND: Last Sunday’s victory was also a callback to Indy Eleven’s other road game in Louisville last season, as it marked the first come-from-behind win since the Eleven’s 2-1 triumph last May 29 at Lynn Family Stadium, which saw a pair of Jordan Hamilton goals (63’, 89’ PK) counter Corben Bone’s opener (45’). Of Indy Eleven’s 51 victories in USLC regular season play since the start of the 2018 campaign, last Sunday’s win was the seventh accomplished in comeback fashion, and the third such won by multiple goals.
#INDvHFD SERIES HISTORY: Indy Eleven and Hartford Athletic have played each other three times before, with Indy Eleven leading the series 2W-1L-0D. Indy Eleven and Hartford Athletic began their series history in 2019 by defending their respective home turfs. Indy got the upper hand in front of a record crowd of 20,251 during its 2019 home opener at Lucas Oil Stadium, using Nikolaj Lyngo’s own goal to post a 1-0 victory. Hartford returned the favor in Connecticut later that July with a 2-1 win that saw ex-Eleven striker Wojciech Wojcik score the eventual game-winner. Indy Eleven claimed a win in the clubs’ last outing on July 29, 2020, using goals by Nick Moon (4’), Tyler Pasher (51’), Drew Conner (81’) and Matt Watson (87’) to best Hartford 4-1, again at Lucas Oil Stadium.
FAMILIAR FACE: Indy Eleven will be welcoming a familiar face back to Carroll Stadium in Peter-Lee Vassell on Saturday. The Jamaican midfielder spent the 2021 campaign with Indiana’s Team, appearing in 20 matches while scoring three goals.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: DF A.J. COCHRAN
The Indy Eleven attack has been garnering more and more attention during its three-game win streak – and having scored multiple goals each time out, that’s certainly justified. However, Indy’s reliable defense maybe isn’t getting the notoriety it deserves because it has yet to post that sexiest of numbers – zero – so far this season. Despite that fact, the Eleven rank tied for ninth in the USL Championship in goals conceded with eight allowed in its seven matches.
Most times you’ll take a game where your defense allows only seven shots and one lone chance on frame, which is what Indy gave up to Orange County last Sunday. Yeah sure, that chance was converted, but it marked one of the rare opportunities in a match that the Boys in Blue grabbed an increasing stranglehold on as the game progressed. Lowry admitted he believes his side is increasingly capable of outscoring teams after that match – but he also conceded he badly wants to see his squad get that elusive shutout.
Entering last Sunday, the four-man backline of outside backs Jared Timmer and Bryam Rebellon and center backs Mechack Jerome and A.J. Cochran – along with deep-lying midfielder Sam Brown – had started all four games of the team’s undefeated run that turned a disappointing start on its head and started the team’s climb up the Eastern Conference standings. However, the veteran Cochran saw every piece around him shuffled against Orange County, as Brown and Rebellon sat out due to injury, while Jerome left the match due to a knock of his own in the 25th minute.
Credit Cochran for keeping a steady ship around him. His coordination with right back Alex McQueen; Timmer, his oft-center back partner from 2021 who reprised the role after Jerome’s early exit; familiar face Neveal Hackshaw, who replaced Jerome on the pitch and returned to his familiar left back spot after a month-long hiatus; and midfield revelation Justin Ingram helped to anchor the defensive unit on the fly and put the clamps down on OCSC, setting the scene for a furious second half comeback.
Cochran has the stats to show he’s leading by example, as he paces the Eleven with 27 clearances and eight blocked shots while winning a ridiculous 30/38 duels, including 19/22 in the air. However, those only tell part of the story – watch the St. Louis native for awhile on Saturday night and you’ll see the little things that have been helping lead the Boys in Blue to its recent ascendance … and will eventually lead to clean sheets.
