PREVIEW | #TULvIND

Saturday’s Tussle at Tulsa Pivotal for Postseason Hopes

#TULvIND Preview - presented by Heritage Environmental Services 
Indy Eleven at FC Tulsa
Saturday, August 20, 2022 – 8:30 p.m. ET 
ONEOK Field  – Tulsa, Okla.

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Local TV: none
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe) 
Radio: none
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers 
Live stats: #TULvIND MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com  

2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS 
Indy Eleven: 6W-13L-4D (-12 GD), 22 pts.; 9th in Eastern Conference 
FC Tulsa: 8W-12L-4D (-10 GD), 28 pts.; 8th in Eastern Conference 

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: Aris Briggs (R shin), Bryan Meredith (R hand fracture)
QUESTIONABLE:  Manuel Arteaga (R knee)

DISCIPLINE REPORT 
IND: none
TUL: none

* IND’s Sam Brown will receive a one-game suspension from USL for caution accumulation (eight) should he receive a yellow card in any game up to and including Aug. 31 vs. LOU

There’s too much soccer left to play in the season to say Saturday’s tussle in Tulsa is a “must-win” for either side … but it’s about as close as it gets for the two teams sitting just below the Eastern Conference’s playoff line.

That is especially the case for Indy Eleven, which needs to make up 15 points on the current holder of the seventh and final playoff spot, Miami FC. Having two games in hand makes that daunting task a bit more reasonable, but dropping one of the two head-to-head meetings left against a Tulsa team that sits in between in eighth place – six points ahead of Indy with one more game played – would only serve to amp up the degree of difficulty down the stretch.

In order to do so, Indy Eleven needs to spin out of its 11-game winless streak, which it showed signs of doing last weekend at Hartford despite a 2-1 defeat. Indy’s 16 shots,  six shots on goal, 11 chances created, and 1.61 expected goals (xG) were the most for Indiana’s Team in its last seven games dating back to a frustrating 0-1 defeat to Miami on July 2, and it will look to carry a particularly feisty second half effort with it to Oklahoma on the weekend.

LAST TIME OUT

If the Boys in Blue are looking for some inspiration to snap its streak, it only has to look across the field on Saturday. After a 3-2-0 start to the season, FC Tulsa went on a dour 1-7-3 streak that left the Black-and-Gold tumbling down the East’s ladder. However, a 4-3-1 stretch since late June has allowed Tulsa to climb its way back into playoff contention – although the Eleven will hope the Oklahoma side’s recent trend of trading wins and losses will continue following Tampa’s pivotal 2-1 road triumph at Miami on Aug. 10.  

Hartford Athletic  2 : 1  Indy Eleven 
Sat., August 13 | Recap & Highlights  |  Stats

Despite controlling the second half on the road, Indy Eleven’s comeback bid at Hartford Athletic fell short in a 2-1 defeat at Trinity Health Stadium in the Connecticut capital.

Hartford grabbed control of the contest with Danny Barrera’s opener in the 19^th minute, when he had ample time and space to fire a dipping shot from 22 yards that just beat Sean Lewis’ dive to his left post. Athletic doubled their pleasure just seven minutes later by finishing off a 3-v-2 counter attack that saw Ariel Martinez accept Prince Saydee’s final pass and finish inside the far right post to put Indiana’s Team in a sudden 0-2 hole midway through the opening stanza.

In a summer of hard luck, a deserved break went Indy’s way just before halftime, when defender Robby Dambrot was tripped down inside the area to earn the Eleven their first penalty kick off the 2022 campaign. Ayoze stepped up and buried the spot kick into the left side netting past Yannik Oettl’s lunge, giving the Eleven captain his second goal of the season – both coming against Hartford.

Indy carried its momentum into the second half, but despite outpacing Hartford in possession (58-42), shots (9-7) and shots on goal (4-2), Indiana’s Team couldn’t punch through for the equalizer.

The Miami FC  1 : 2  FC Tulsa
Wed., August 10 |  Stats 

Similar to Indy’s tilt last Saturday, the meeting between teams hugging the playoff line saw all three goals scored in the opening stanza. Maimi’s Paco Craig scored the opener with a header off a set piece in the 25^th minute, but that was quickly negated by Dario Suarez’s well-placed effort from distance just two minutes later. It was former Boy in Blue Noah Powder delivering his Tulsa account opener – and what proved to be the match’s decisive blow – five minutes before halftime, his skimmer off the turf from 20 yards helping the visitors take a vital three points back to Oklahoma.

IXI SERIES VS. FC TULSA:
USL Championship regular season: 1W-2L-1D (4 GF/5 GA)
USL Championship on the road: 1W-1L-0D (3 GF/2 GA)

FC Tulsa’s move to the Eastern Conference for the 2021 USL Championship campaign marked the start of a new series for Indy Eleven, which the Oklahoman side captured via a 2-1-1 ledger in four meetings across last season’s unbalanced schedule largely against Central Division opposition.

FC Tulsa made the Eleven’s homecoming to IUPUI’s Michael A. Carroll Stadium to start the home portion of its 2021 slate a rude one on May 8, as Joaquin Rivas’ second half brace gave Tulsa a 2-0 triumph. Indiana’s Team returned the favor at ONEOK Field on August 4, late goals by Gordon Wild and Peter-Lee Vassell helping the Boys in Blue claim a 2-0 road win of their own. A return to Oklahoma on Sept. 8 was not as kind for Indy, which saw Manuel Arteaga’s 34^th minute equalizer nullified by a late Daniel Suarez tally in a 1-2 defeat. The sides bookended the 2021 Carroll Stadium schedule on Oct. 23, when another goal by Vassell in the 71^st minute was negated by Jason Johnson’s tally seven minutes later in the 1-1 draw.

A meeting at “The Mike” on Saturday, Oct. 1, will close out this year’s home-and-home series between the sides.

FAMILIAR FACES: #TULvIND
Indy Eleven will face off against two former Boys in Blue on Saturday in Brian Brown and Noah Powder. We’ll start with the more recent member in Powder, the seven-year USLC veteran who began the 2022 campaign with Indy and notched a goal and assist in 13 appearances before being traded for GK Sean Lewis on July 5. The 29-year-old Brown has logged plenty of miles since he scored five goals in 24 appearances for Indiana’s Team all the way back in 2015, as Tulsa marks his sixth stop in the seven seasons since, including five different USL Championship sides (including Reno 1868, where he teamed with current Eleven defender Jared Timmer).

The above mention of Lewis obviously means that he brings familiarity into Saturday’s contest as well. Prior to the July trade, Lewis was a member of the Tulsa organization since 2019, logging 61 games between the posts in three-and-a-half seasons with the side, including 12 earlier this season.

ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: FW SOLOMON ASANTE

For an Indy Eleven squad that had combine for eight shots on goal across its previous six outings, it was perhaps no coincidence that one of the league’s all-time great attacking players took it upon himself to put Indy’s first shot on frame last Saturday no less than 10 seconds into the contest. It was the first of three shots – all on target – on the evening for Asante, a sign he’s looking to take more initiative to crank the Eleven’s attack into a new gear over the final third of the season.

And why can’t he? The influential Ghanaian still very much passes the “eye test” when it comes to making things happen on the ball, and while for the most part he’s looked to play distributor since joining the Boys in Blue in May, he still possesses the craftiness around the box to demand the closest of attention from defenders. Asante came up big in plenty of important games during his standout four seasons with Phoenix Rising FC, and with Indy’s backs against the wall when it comes to postseason hopes, perhaps he can rekindle that “Asante Magic” and help the Eleven conjure up a massive win that could jump start its season come Saturday.