#INDvLOU Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Louisville City FC
Saturday, October 5, 2024 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis.
Follow Live
TV: WNDY 23
Stream: CBS Sports Golazo Network
In-game updates: IndyElevenLive
Stats: #INDvLOU MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2024 Records
Indy Eleven: 12-10-7 (+0), 43 pts; 5th in Eastern Conference
Louisville City FC: 22-6-2 (+39), 68 pts; 1st in Eastern Conference
| IND | LOU | |
| 29 | Games | 30 |
| 43 | Goals | 77 |
| 43 | Goals Conceded | 38 |
| 29 | Assists | 48 |
| 133 | SOT | 178 |
| 123 | Shots Faced | 112 |
| 7 | Clean Sheets | 11 |
SETTING THE SCENE
Indy Eleven begins the final month of the regular season with a home match vs. Players’ Shield leader Louisville City FC.
The Boys in Blue enter the final five games in fifth place in the USL Championship Eastern Conference with a 12-10-7 record and 43 points. The top eight teams in the East qualify for the playoffs that begin the first weekend in November, with the top four teams hosting.
LIPAFC
The Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest dates back to 2015 with Louisville holding an 11-5-6 advantage. Twenty of the 22 matches have taken place since Indy joined the USL Championship in 2018 (2 playoff), with Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches in 2015 and 2016.
SERIES VS. LOUISVILLE
Saturday marks the 22nd overall meeting between the sides all-time, with Louisville leading 11-5-6.
Louisville Leads 11-5-6 | GF 23, GA 38
LAST TIME VS. LCFC
On April 6 in a nationally-televised contest on CBS, Indy Eleven fell, 5-3, on the road at Louisville City.
Midfielder Jack Blake scored two goals for the Boys in Blue with a penalty kick in the 34th minute and a second in the 59th off an assist from forward Sebastian Guenzatti. Blake led Indy with five shots, including three on target.
A veteran of both sides of the rivalry, 62nd minute sub Tyler Gibson made his presence felt with a strike in the 82nd. The shot ricocheted off a Louisville defender and was credited as an own goal.
The eight combined goals were the most goals scored in a meeting between the two teams, topping the six in a 3-3 draw on June 26, 2021.
FAMILIAR FOE
A heated rivalry no matter who is on the field, three players on the pitch Saturday have added motivation having played for both Indy and Louisville. Aodhan Quinn (2015-16 at Louisville) and Tyler Gibson (Indy Eleven 2019-20, Louisville 2021-23) are current Boys in Blue. For Louisville, Indiana Hoosier Dylan Mares had stints with Indy from 2014-16 and in 2018, joining Louisville in 2023.
AUGI USLC “PLAYER OF THE WEEK”
The USL Championship announced its Team of the Week for Week 30, with Indy Eleven forward Augi Williams voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording the first hat trick of his career in the league during Indy’s 4-0 victory against Miami FC on Saturday night at Carroll Stadium.
The Sierra Leone international joined Indy this offseason having already proven himself as one of the leading goal scorers in the USL Championship’s history. Currently in his ninth season in the league, Williams had previously recorded 11 two-goal performances in his career but finally bagged his first hat trick with three goals in the span of 13 minutes that carried the Boys in Blue away from Miami in the second half.
“In my position everything is always about moments,” said Williams. “You have good days, you have bad days, and you must take both and apply them in the best way that you can. Obviously, tonight I was lucky enough that three went in and it could have been four with the header, but I will take what I get. It’s a great feeling, getting three points and being closer to our goal.”
Williams became the third player to record a hat trick in Indy Eleven history and is now closing in on his third consecutive regular season with double-digit goals. The 27-year-old has reached double-digits in all competitions this season, having bagged three goals during Indy’s run to the Semifinals of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, including finding the net in the side’s defeat of Atlanta United FC in the Quarterfinals.
Williams’ performance also moved him into a tie for sixth place in the Championship’s regular season history with 74 goals in 214 appearances, one goal behind current teammate Sebastian Guenzatti.
Williams earned 55 percent of the ballot to claim the award. The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
This is Augi’s second Team of the Week honor this season. He also earned this accolade after a two-goal performance at Miami on May 12. Augi joins defender Aedan Stanley (May 12) as Boys in Blue players to earn the “Player of the Week” award in 2024. Augi’s 10 shots vs. Miami FC tied for the most by a player in the USLC this season.
INDY ELEVEN HAT TRICKS
9/28/24 Augi Williams vs. Miami
6/4/22 Manuel Arteaga at Charleston
8/4/16 Eamon Zayed vs. Jacksonville
6/12/16 Eamon Zayed vs. North Carolina
USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR-SEASON GOALS
1. Dane Kelly – 106
2. Neco Brett (MEM) – 81*
3. Cameron Lancaster – 80
4. Hadji Berry – 79
5. Sebastian Guenzatti (IND) – 75*
6. Corey Hertzog – 74
Augi Williams (IND) – 74*
PK JACK
Midfielder Jack Blake gave his team a 1-0 lead vs. Miami by converting a penalty kick in the 62nd minute. He is a perfect 6-6 on PKs this season, one shy of the franchise record of seven by Aodhan Quinn in 2023 and Ayoze (2018-22). The goal was Blake’s team-high ninth of the season, surpassing his previous career high of eight in 2019 when he helped the Real Monarchs SLC win the USLC league championship.
The seven-year USLC veteran (166 games played, 138 games started) has scored 12 goals in his two seasons with the Indy Eleven (sixth in team USLC franchise history) and 31 in his USL Championship career. The 30-year-old Blake leads the Eleven in game-winning goals (3) and shots on target (26) and is second on the team in shots (46) this season. In the USLC, he is tied for 13th in goals (9) and tied for 15th in shots.
The seven-time USLC Team of the Week selection was voted to the USLC “Team of the Week – Bench” for Week 30. The Nottingham, England, native opened the 2024 campaign with five Team of the Week awards in the first 12 weeks, adding ones in Week 25 and Week 28.
EC2
Forward Elliot Collier continued his run of providing an immediate spark to the Indy Eleven attack with an assist one minute after entering the match vs. Miami. In the 73rd minute, forward Douglas Martinez stole the ball just outside the box and got it to Collier, who turned and took one touch before delivering a short pass to Augi Williams, who took a touch inside the six and hesitated, before finishing on the near side low off the inside of the post.
Just 13 minutes later, Collier set up another Augi goal. Midfielder Laurence Wootton started the scoring sequence by blocking an attempted cross. The ball caromed to midfielder Brem Soumaoro who delivered a long pass that was touched to Collier near midfield. Collier took it to just outside the area before centering to Augi for the finish to his hat trick.
The 6’4 Collier is tied for third on the team with five goals this season in 582 minutes. The New Zealand native is in his second stint with the Indy Eleven in 2024 after helping the 2018 Boys in Blue earn a USL playoff berth while on loan from the MLS Chicago Fire. The 29-year-old Collier played 54 matches for the Fire in 2018 and 2020-21. He competed collegiately for Loyola Chicago.
USL Championship Goals per 90 Minutes
# Player – G/90, Goals
1. Nick Markanich (CHS) – 0.97, 27
2. Kieran Phillips (SAC) – 0.81, 10
3. Elliot Collier (IND) – 0.77, 5
4. Wilson Harris (LOU) – 0.75, 17
5. Jackson Conway (CHS) – 0.74, 4
6. Khori Bennett (LV) – 0.68, 12
(min. 4 goals)
HEY NINETEEN
Defender Logan Neidlinger became the youngest (18) goal scorer in Indy Eleven history with his first career goal vs. New Mexico United on August 11. Neidlinger also is the first Indy Eleven player on a USL Academy contract to score. The now 19-year-old became the youngest Boys in Blue player to record an assist with his first on Saturday. In the 84th minute, Martinez chipped in a short ball inside the right side of the area that Neidlinger crossed into Augi Williams who one-timed it home.
7 IN 21
Goalie Hunter Sulte recorded his seventh clean sheet in 21 matches with one save on Saturday. Sulte, who made his 21st start in the past 23 matches, is fifth in shutouts on the Indy Eleven all-time list for USL Championship play. The 22-year-old Sulte is tied for 11th in the USLC in clean sheets and he is tied for 16th in saves (57).
The Anchorage, Alaska, native on loan from MLS-side Portland Timbers started in his MLS debut on May 1, 2021, vs. FC Dallas. He is the second youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to play in a league match at 19 years and six days and the tallest ever (6’7).
FOUR!
Indy Eleven’s 4-0 victory over Miami FC last Saturday equals the largest victory margin in franchise history. The Boys in Blue beat Birmingham by that same score on August 9, 2023 and at Charleston on June 2, 2023. The four goals in the second half vs. Miami tied the franchise record set in that Charleston match.
The four-goal output is the 11th time in the franchise’s 11-year history that Indy has scored at least four goals in a game.
GOALS
The Boys in Blue have scored 23 first half goals this season, good for fifth in the USLC. They have 43 goals (7th USL), with at least one tally in 23 of their 29 matches.
Defensively, Indy has held opponents scoreless in the first half in 19 of 29 matches in 2024.
The Boys in Blue scored in 15 straight USLC matches to open the 2024 campaign. The streak, which ended on June 22 against Orange County, is the longest to open a USLC campaign and is the longest run overall within the same season for the club. In total, Indy scored in 18 straight regular season matches dating back to Sept. 30, 2023.
