Maddy Williams’ Historic First Half Hat Trick Helps Keep Indy Undefeated, Atop Great Lakes Division
WESTFIELD, Ind. (Friday, June 10, 2022) – The Indy Eleven women’s squad remained undefeated and atop the Great Lakes Division standings courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Flint City AFC in front of another sellout crowd of 1,041 fans at the Grand Park Events Center. The result included a historic performance from forward Maddy Williams, who notched the first hat trick in Indy Eleven’s short USL W League history, with all three tallies coming in the first half and lifting her into a tie for the team’s scoring lead alongside Katie Soderstrom.
The result pushed the Eleven’s undefeated record to 5W-0L-1D after the first half of the squad’s 12-game W League campaign. The three points also pushed Indy back into solo possession of the Great Lakes Division lead on 16 points, with Indiana’s Team now sitting two points clear of Racing Louisville FC and holding a game in hand on its rival.
The action towards goal started early on both sides, with Rachel McCarthy pushing a near-post header just side from five yards only 30 seconds in and Flint City defender Abby Werthman putting a 3rd minute free kick from just outside the area just wide of the left post. The scoreboard wouldn’t stick on zeroes for long, however, as Williams started her hat trick off in the 7th minute by taking down Robyn McCarthy’s diagonal into the left side of the area with a touch in space before finishing into the middle of goal past Flint netminder Kayla Shuk for the opener.
It was another well-placed diagonal into the left side of the area that set-up Williams’ second of the night in the 17th minute, this time via a low ball by midfielder Ella Rogers that took three defenders out of the play. With ample time and space Williams chose to chip Khuk, with her bending effort from 15 yards dipping perfectly into the upper right corner for a classy finish and a 2-0 Indy lead. Williams upped the degree of difficulty to cap off her hat trick in the 22nd minute, when she took a popped up clearance attempt first-time with an audacious volley from 20 yards out that hit the inside of the far right post, leaving the Purdue product shrugging her shoulders and Flint asking plenty of questions down 3-nil just a quarter of the way through the match.
Flint City AFC nearly pulled one back in the 36th minute after a long spell of possession ended with Eleven ‘keeper Nona Reason chasing a cross off her line and the ball eventually landing at the feet of Alexa Sabbagh, but the AFC striker sailed her chance from six yards over frame. Williams looked to continue her dominating performance in the 41st minute by nutmegging a defender to get into the left side of the area once again, but her clipped effort from 10 yards missed the upper right 90 by a foot. The Eleven closed out the first half in stoppage time with Grace Bahr’s 25-yard rocket off a free kick that Shuk did well to grab onto without spilling at her left post, allowing the score to stay at 3-0 Indy heading into the halftime break.
The second half saw the Noblesville H.S. grad Reason called into more action during her first start of the season, starting in the 51st minute when she extended fully to her right to get both hands on a shot across her frame from 15 yards. Five minutes later AFC midfielder Alana Wood ended a mazy run from midfield and into the area with a solid 15-yard effort, but once again Reason was on the spot at her right post to make a sure-handed stop.
As substitutions chopped up the game following the hour mark, Indy Eleven still kept its foot on the gas, with forward Rachel McCarthy looking the most dangerous down the stretch. The BYU striker nearly had Indy’s fourth in the 78th minute with Kruk drawn off her line, but late pressure forced her to dribble an angled effort just past the base of the far post. Half chances would be all that was left for the remainder of the match, giving Indy a second straight victory and third win at its Grand Park home in as many outings.
Indy Eleven will kick off the second half of its USL W League campaign with a two-game week, starting on Tuesday evening when it travels to the Cincinnati area to take on Kings Hammer FC at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Girls in Blue will return home to the Grand Park Events Center next Friday, June 17, for a pivotal showdown against Racing Louisville at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets for that contest are available at indyeleven.com/wleague-tickets for only $8, and fans who cannot make it to the match can watch the proceedings via ISC Sports Network. To learn more about the newest edition of Indiana’s Team representing the women’s game, visit indyeleven.com/wleague.
2022 USL W League Regular Season – Matchday 6
Indy Eleven 3 : 0 Flint City AFC
Friday, June 10, 2022 – 7:00 p.m.
Grand Park Events Center – Westfield, Ind.
Scoring Summary:
IND – Maddy Williams (Robyn McCarthy) 7’
IND – Maddy Williams (Ella Rogers) 17’
IND – Maddy Williams (unassisted) 22’
Disciplinary Summary:
none
Indy Eleven lineup: 1-Nona Reason (GK), 5-Grace Bahr, 6-Julia Leonard, 9-Katie Soderstrom (7-Becky Dean 62’), 12-Maddy Williams (10-Milica Bulatovic 62’), 13-Jenna Chatterton (17-Emily McCalliget 73’), 22-Greta Kraszula, 23-Robyn McCarthy (Selena Barnett 73’), 26-Ella Rogers (15-Isadora Gadjobranski 73’)
IND substitutes: 1-Mackenzie Wood, 4-Kristina Lynch
Flint City AFC lineup: 0- Kayla Shuk (GK), 2-Kendra Zak, 5-Isabelle Karkaba (15-Kayla Robbins 45’), 10-Abby Werthman, 12-Arianna Hudson, 13-Zoe Hudson, 14-Alli Leonard, 16-Anna Schroeder, 17-Sam Lopez, 18-Alana Wood (11-Alexis Kufta 64’), 22-Alexa Sabbagh
MID substitutes: 7-Jaden Frigerio, 16-Katie Ferguson