#PITvIND Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Highmark Stadium – Pittsburgh, PA
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Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio (Spanish): N/A
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #PITvIND MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 6W-7L-3D (-4 GD), 21 pts.; 8th in Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: 8W-6L-3D (+4 GD), 27 pts.; 5th in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: FW Aris Briggs (shin)
QUESTIONABLE:
DISCIPLINE REPORT
IND: Manuel Arteaga (red card)
PIT: none
Indy Eleven are headed to the banks of the Monongahela River for a midweek fixture with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. The Riverhounds are coming off of their first win since May 14, 3-0 over New York Red Bulls II last Saturday, while Indy Eleven have lost three consecutive games.
Wednesday night’s match marks the first meeting of the season between these all-too-familiar Eastern Conference foes. The two sides are even all-time in USL Championship play, splitting the series 3W-3L-2D since the first meeting in 2018. The teams also met in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2019, a 1-0 win for Pittsburgh.
Last time Indy and Pittsburgh faced off, the Riverhounds won 1-0 at Carroll Stadium on June 15, 2021, the final game for the Boys in Blue under then-head coach Martin Rennie. Pittsburgh is set to return to The Mike next month in a 7 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 6.
The Boys in Blue made a roster move earlier in the week, sending defender/midfielder Noah Powder to FC Tulsa in exchange for goalkeeper Sean Lewis. Lewis played for IXI head coach Mark Lowry with Jacksonville Armada and has posted 13 shutouts and 216 saves in 74 USL Championship regular-season appearances, helping to lead Tulsa to the postseason in each of the last two years.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC have struggled in recent weeks, going winless for the entire month of June before snapping the streak last Saturday against New York Red Bulls II. Still, the Riverhounds find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, sitting 5th in the Conference and six points clear of 8th place Indy Eleven with the season approaching its halfway point.
While the lineup is expected to remain fairly similar to last week’s, one major missing player will be forward Manuel Arteaga, who is suspended for the midweek match due to a red card shown to him near the end of Saturday’s loss to Miami.
While the Boys in Blue are away on Wednesday, the team returns home to Carroll Stadium for a special Saturday doubleheader with the W League squad, both matches against Detroit City FC. One ticket serves as admission for both games, with the USL W League match kicking off at 2 p.m. and the USL Championship match starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 0 : 1 The Miami FC
Sat., July 2 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven returned to IUPUI Carroll Stadium for the first time in five weeks on Saturday, but the team’s homecoming was spoiled in a tight 0-1 loss to The Miami FC. While goalkeeper Tim Trilk stopped three shots for Indiana’s Team, Josh Perez’s strike in the 55th ultimately made the difference in the back-and-forth affair.
New York Red Bulls II 0 : 3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Sat., July 2 | Stats
The Riverhounds added three points for the first time in over a month last Saturday in a 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls II. While Alex Dixon opened scoring early for Pittsburgh, Russell Cicerone notched a brace in the victory. RBII head coach Gary Lewis was fired following the result.
Series History vs. Pittsburgh:
USL Championship regular season: 3W-3L-2D (8 GF/10 GA)
USL Championship at home: 2W-1L-1D (5 GF/4 GA)
All official competitions (incl. U.S. Open Cup): 3W-4L-2D (8 GF/11 GA)
#PITvIND Series History: The Indy-Pittsburgh series has been one of the tightest in the USL Championship since the Eleven joined the league in 2018, with the sides all knotted up at 3W-3L-2D in regular-season play. Pittsburgh also found victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a 1-0 win at home in 2019.
If previous history is any indication Wednesday’s game will be a tight one, as eight of the nine all-time meetings have been either draws or games decided by one goal. In addition, five of the matches have seen the result shift late with either an equalizer (1) or game-winner (4) scored past the 80th minute.
Indy notched a pair of dramatic 1-0 wins in the 2020 series, with Tyler Pasher doing the damage in spectacular fashion both at Highmark Stadium on July 22 (97+’) and Lucas Oil Stadium (13’) on August 15.
The Eastern Conference foes met just once in the 2021 season, a 1-0 win for the Riverhounds at Carroll Stadium in the final game for the Boys in Blue under then-head coach Martin Rennie, who mutually parted ways with the club the next morning.
05/11/18: PIT 0:0 IND
08/29/18: IND 2:2 PIT (IND: McInerney 4’, 90+4’) (PIT: Greenspan 45+2’, Francois 59’)
09/22/18: PIT 3:2 IND [IND: McInerney 81’, Greenspan (og) 90+2’] [PIT: Zemanski 49’, Brett 51’, Forbes 90’ (pen)]
^05/29/19: PIT 1:0 IND (PIT: Forbes 85’)
06/01/19: IND 2:1 PIT (IND: Walker 71’, Pasher 81’) (PIT: Mertz 15’)
09/28/19: PIT 3:0 IND (PIT: Brett 15’, Forbes 40’, 71’)
07/22/20: PIT 0:1 IND (IND: Pasher 97+’)
08/15/20: IND 1:0 PIT (IND: Pasher 13’)
06/15/21: IND 0:1 PIT (PIT: Williamson 37’)
Bolded goals = GWG
^ = U.S. Open Cup
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: F Solomon Asante
After back-to-back matches without a goal, Indy’s offensive attack is looking to get back on track this week – and perhaps no player in the league is better equipped for that challenge than Solomon Asante. The two-time USL Championship MVP is near the top of the list in nearly all major offensive statistical categories in USLC history, and has notched three assists so far in seven matches this season. Asante is due for his first goal in an IXI shirt – and perhaps no time is better for the Ghanian to strike than the present.
