Indy Eleven ended their two-game week with a 3-1 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Grand Park in a pivotal showdown against second-place Racing Louisville FC. Two goals from forward Maddy Williams and a goal from forward Katie Soderstrom moves their record to six wins, 0 losses and two draws, crowning them the queens of the Great Lakes Division.
There were many goal-scoring opportunities from both sides, as Louisville had a chance from the corner in the fifth minute before it was blocked just inside the opposing half. Williams unleashed forward Rachel McCarthy on a breakaway two minutes later as she attempted to beat the goalie, but she was stopped. Scoring the first goal in the 28th minute, forward Maddy Willams provided her veteran presence when midfielder Addie Chester delivered her a pass over the top, which Williams tucked into the far bottom corner. Williams’ goal would hold for the remainder of the half putting Indiana’s Team ahead at halftime.
“We talked before the game that we were probably going to get in on the counter-attack and that was exactly what happened,” Williams said. “Addie picked her head up and played a great ball and behind and really just caught them off guard.”
The second half saw a spark for Indiana’s team as in the 57th minute a free-kick from midfielder Grace Bahr sailed into the box, where Williams fired the loose ball into the net, tallying her second goal of the game. With the goal, she now ties Soderstrom as Indy’s leading goal-scorer and one of the USL W-League’s top scorers.
“The goal was on the corner. I think we all kind of felt like we had another one in us,” Williams said. “And that corner I think was just kind of a big mess in the box and landed right on my feet luckily.”
The celebration did not end there, as Soderstrom’s stray shot went under the Louisville defense and resulted in a goal, putting Indy up three to nil in the 61st minute of the game. Louisville’s Emily Madril silenced the momentum of the Girls in Blue with her penalty kick into the bottom corner after the referee called a handball on Robyn McCarthy, putting Louisville on the leaderboard. The silence however was short-lived, as the Girls in Blue gathered the hard-fought victory, putting them at the top of the Great Lakes Division.
“It’s a fierce rivalry; we’re competitors in nature. We knew it was gonna be a dogfight and it was a dogfight,” Assistant Coach Brandon Kim said. “But huge credit to the players, they fought, scratched and clawed their way to victory again.”
Indy Eleven will embark on their final road trip of the season by making two stops in Michigan, first to take on Kalamazoo FC on Tuesday, June 21 at 7 PM followed by a trip to the east to take on Detroit City FC on Friday, July 1 at 7:30 PM. 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 8
Indy Eleven 3 : 1 Racing Louisville FC
Friday, June 17, 2022 – 7:00 p.m.
Grand Park Events Center – Westfield, Ind.
Scoring Summary:
IND – Maddy Williams (Addie Chester) 28’
IND – Maddy Williams (Grace Bahr) 57’
IND – Katie Soderstrom (unassisted) 61’
Disciplinary Summary:
IND – Rachel McCarthy (yellow card) 45’
Indy Eleven lineup: 1-Mackenzie Wood (GK), 5-Grace Bahr), 6-Julia Leonard, 9-Katie Soderstrom, 12-Maddy Williams (18- Abby Isger 81’) , 16-Addie Chester (13-Jenna Chatterton, 61’), 21- Karsyn Cherry, 22-Greta Kraszula, 23-Robyn McCarthy, 24-Rachel McCarthy (10-Milica Bulatovic 61’), 26-Ella Rogers
IND substitutes: 15-Isidora Gajdobranski, 30- Kate Philips
Racing Louisville FC lineup: 8-Macy Enneking (GK), 3-Sam Cary, 4-Ashley Cathro, 6- Sarah Hernandez, 14-Ella Sanchez, 15-Itala Gemeli, 18- Autumn Weeks (25-Isabella Beltic 71’), 19-Allison Whitfield, 22- Emily Madril, 23-Allison Schlegel, 24-Clara Robbins
LOU substitutes: 1-Shelby Smith, 12-Kendra Pasquale, 13-Katie Erwin, 16-Audrey King, 21-Kayla Rowlett, 27-Allie George