Teams Even on the Eastern Table Renew Old Rivalry
#MIAvIND Preview
Indy Eleven at The Miami FC
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
FIU Stadium – Miami, Fla.
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2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 6W-4L-2D (+3 GD), 20 pts.; T-6th in Eastern Conference
The Miami FC: 5W-4L-5D (+4 GD), 20 pts.; T-6th in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: Aris Briggs (shin)
QUESTIONABLE: none
DISCIPLINE REPORT
IND: none
MIA: none
Indy Eleven plays the second of a four-match, month-long road trip Wednesday night at FIU Stadium in Miami, when the Boys in Blue face The Miami FC in a midweek battle for mid-table positioning. Indy is coming off of a wild 4-3 win over Charleston Battery, while Miami tied 0-0 at FC Tulsa. The two former NASL rivals will renew their series with high stakes for postseason qualification and positioning, as the two sides are currently tied for the final two playoff positions on the Eastern Conference table with 20 points each.
Wednesday’s match marks the first meeting between the Eleven and The Miami FC in nearly five years, when both teams played in NASL during its final season in 2017. Despite The Miami FC joining USL Championship in 2020, the two teams have not played due to scheduling changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams last met on Oct. 14, 2017, a 3-0 win for Miami that featured a brace from then-Miami forward and current Indy forward Stefano Pinho.
The Eleven’s offensive attack was potent in Saturday’s victory in South Carolina, headlined by Manuel Arteaga’s first half hat trick, the team’s first since joining USL Championship in 2018 and fourth in its nine-year history. Arteaga was named USL Championship Player of the Week for Week 13 for his efforts, which included a six shot-on-goal effort that marked the second highest single-game effort in the league’s 12-year history. Pinho started his first scoring streak of 2022 on Saturday by scoring in his second straight game, while Solomon Asante added two assists in his first start for the Boys in Blue, and his resulting three assists in short order tie already have him tied for Pinho for the team lead in helpers.
Bryan Meredith made his first start in an Indy Eleven shirt Saturday night, earning the win. The Nashville SC loanee made three saves on six shots faced, allowing one goal in the first 89 minutes before Charleston made a furious comeback in the closing minutes of the match.
The Miami FC have had a penchant for draws this season, posting ties five times this season and in three of its last four matches. Miami has been dominant on the defensive side of the ball, ranking second in clean sheets in USL Championship this season with seven. Six of those shutouts have been posted during Connor Sparrow’s 11 starts in goal..
LAST TIME OUT
Charleston Battery 3 : 4 Indy Eleven
Sat., June 4 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven stormed out to a historic first half scoring haul before holding on for a road win in a wild affair last Saturday at Patriots Point. Three goals in a seven-minute span midway through the first half put Indy on the front foot, starting with Stefano Pinho’s team best 6th goal (21’) and continuing with Manuel Arteaga’s first tallies of the season (25’ & 28’). While Augustine Williams clawed one back for the Battery in the 35th minute, Arteaga claimed his third of the night just 12 minutes after his opener, pushing the Eleven in front 4-1 heading into the halftime break.
After putting all seven of its first half shots on frame, Indy came out and put its foot on the ball in the second – and for the most part looked as if it would see the match out without too much of a sweat. However, Emmanuel Johnson’s 89th minute tally gave the home side a sliver of hope before Williams’ second of the night two minutes into stoppage time put Indiana’s Team on full blast. The comeback effort was too little too late, however, allowing the Eleven to get back into the win column and notch its second road win in its last three away outings.
FC Tulsa 0 : 0 The Miami FC
Sat., June 4 | Stats & Highlights
Neither The Miami FC nor FC Tulsa could find the back of the net Saturday night in Oklahoma, tying 0-0. The match marked the first meeting between the two teams and is Miami’s fifth draw of the season and third scoreless draw. The lack of goals wasn’t for a lack of effort, as the two sides combined for 30 shots, including 14 by the Floridian side. Miami goalkeeper Connor Sparrow made five saves en route to posting his sixth shutout of the season.
SERIES VS. THE MIAMI FC
All results in NASL regular season competition (2016-17)
Overall: 1W-5L-1D (6 GF/14 GA)
Home: 1W-2L-0D (2 GF/6 GA)
Away: 0W-3L-1D (4 GF/8 GA)
Despite sharing the Eastern Conference since The Miami FC joined the USL Championship in 2020 – two seasons after Indy Eleven’s entrance in 2018 – Wednesday night will mark the first meeting between the two sides since the final season of the NASL in 2017. After dueling to a 1-1-1 stalemate in three contests during Miami’s inaugural 2016 season, the South Florida side swept all four games in 2017, including two wins by a 6-3 margin at FIU Stadium.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: FW MANUEL ARTEAGA
It may be the easy choice, but it’s certainly the right one! The reigning USL Championship Player of the Week notched Indy Eleven’s first USLC hat trick and the team’s first since 2016 in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Charleston Battery. While those three tallies marked Arteaga’s first of 2022, he certainly has not been a one-game wonder for the Boys in Blue, as the Venezuelan leads the team in shots on goal (10), is now second in scoring (3) and tied for third in assists (2), despite missing the first four matches of the season due to injury and coming off the bench in the three games that followed.
The attacking troika of Arteaga, Stefano Pinho, and Solomon Asante have only played 101 minutes together across the last two games, but they have already proven lethal by combining for five goals and four assists. While admittedly a small sample size, those early returns should give the Indy faithful more than enough justification to raise their excitement – and expectations – over the last two-thirds of the season.
