Ayoze Ties Club Record with 115 Appearances for the Boys in Blue
Indy Eleven continued to see hard luck at home, dropping a 2-0 result to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in front of an announced crowd of 9,039 at IUPUI Carroll Stadium.
Indy Eleven captain Ayoze made a bit of history at the opening whistle for Indiana’s Team, as he tied “Eleven Original” midfielder Brad Ring for the club’s all-time lead in appearances at 115 “caps” since his debut with the squad in 2018.
A guarded start to the match broke in the 13th minute when the Riverhounds struck first. Daniel Rovira began the play with a lengthy run through the final third before his cross to the six was finished with a diving header by Russell Cicerone to move the scoreboard early for the visitors. Manuel Arteaga almost equalized just five minutes later when his own run to the six was picked out by Juan Tejada’s low cross, but the Venezuelan couldn’t get his feet right and sent the chance over frame.
It took another 20 minutes for another serious threat on goal, but Cicerone’s smack from 20 yards was parried over with two strong hands by Indy goalkeeper Sean Lewis. The last big look of the half came in the 41st minute when Ayoze’s ball over the top found Tejada in the left side of the area, but his shot was pushed wide of the far post, keeping the Riverhounds up heading into the halftime break.
It was Cicerone again doing the damage for Pittsburgh seven minutes into the second half, as his run through the center of the area was rewarded by Albert Dikwa’s cross to the six. The visitors’ excitement for Cicerone’s 52nd minute tap-in finish was tempered two minutes later, as Riverhounds midfielder Marc Ybarra dragged down Eleven forward Solomon Asante by his shirt to earn a second caution, resulting in the first red card issued to an Indy opponent in 2022.
Indy pushed to take advantage of the 11-v-10 situation, but it was Lewis having to come up big first at the hour mark, coming right across his frame to get a paw on Rivira’s heavy shot from 10 yards to send it off the woodwork. Indy found its best chance in the short term through midfielder Neveal Hackshaw’s 25-yards blast that sailed just over the bar in the 65th minute.
A slew of set pieces were the most the Boys in Blue could muster across the next 20 minutes, but nothing tested Riverhounds ‘keeper Jahmali Waite, who patrolled his area well on the series of crosses. A pair of Eleven substitutes looked to get one back in the 86th minute when Stefano Pinho nodded Wilfredo Rivera’s cross off the underside of the crossbar, but the ball was deemed to bounce off part of the goalline rather than over it despite the vehement arguments of the Boys in Blue. Asante’s free kick in the 96th minute was stopped by Waite, giving Indy Eleven its lone counted shot on frame of the evening at the game’s death, the result sending Indiana’s Team to a tenth consecutive game without a victory.
After closing its three-game homestand this evening, Indy Eleven will take to the road for its next two, beginning next Saturday, Aug. 13, with a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff at Hartford Athletic (live on ESPN+). Following a pivotal meeting for postseason hopes at FC Tulsa on Aug. 20 (8:30 p.m., live on ESPN+), Indiana’s Team will return home with two games against top of the table sides in four days’ time on Aug. 27 against Louisville City FC (7:00 p.m.) and Aug. 31 versus San Antonio FC. Tickets for those matches – and all future contests at Carroll Stadium – can be purchased online at indyeleven.com/tickets, and fans can learn more about promotional themes for the evenings at indyeleven.com/promotions.
2022 USL Championship Regular Season – Matchday 22
Indy Eleven 0 : 2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Saturday, August 6, 2022
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
Scoring Summary:
PIT – Russell Cicerone (Daniel Rovira) 13’
PIT – Russell Cicerone (Albert Dikwa) 52’
Disciplinary Summary:
IND – Manuel Arteaga (yellow card) 43’
PIT – Marc Ybarra (yellow card) 44’
PIT – Marc Ybarra (second yellow, red card) 54
IND – Ayoze (yellow card) 77’
PIT – Dane Kelly (yellow card) 87’
IND – Jesus Vazquez (yellow card) 90’
IND – Neveal Hackshaw (yellow card) 91+’
Indy Eleven lineup (4-4-2): Sean Lewis; Ayoze (captain) (Robby Dambrot 83’), Jesus Vazquez, Mechack Jerome, Jared Timmer (Alex McQueen 72’); Justin Ingram (Wilfredo Rivera 83’), Neveal Hackshaw, Manuel Arteaga, Bryam Rebellon (Stefano Pinho 64’); Juan Tejada, Solomon Asante
IND substitutes: Tim Trilk (GK), A.J. Cochran, Sam Brown
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (3-4-1-2): Jahmali Waite; Shane Wiedt, Arturo Osuna, Jelani Peters; Toby Sims (Nathan Dos Santos 70’), Daniel Griffin (captain), Marc Ybarra, Daniel Rovira (Mekeil Williams 70’); Russell Cicerone (Dane Kelly 59’), Robbie Mertz (Kenardo Forbes 60’), Albert Dikwa (Alex Dixon 92+’)
PIT Substitutes: Chase Vosvick (GK), Edward Kizza
