Boys in Blue to Strive for Five Straight Wins at The Mike
#INDvTUL Preview
Indy Eleven vs FC Tulsa, presented by Community Health Network
Saturday, October 1, 2022 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Michael A. Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
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Local TV: MyINDY-TV 23
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Radio (Spanish): Exitos 94.3 FM / exitos943.com
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Single-game tickets starting at $15 available at ticketmaster.com
Get details on the club’s Breast Cancer Awareness Night activities at indyeleven.com/promotions
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 11W-15L-5D (-13 GD), 38 pts.; 8th in Eastern Conference
FC Tulsa: 10W-15L-6D (-11 GD), 36 pts.; 9th in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: FW Aris Briggs (shin), GK Sean Lewis (L hamstring), GK Bryan Meredith (R finger)
QUESTIONABLE: none
SUSPENDED:
none
** Jesus Vazquez and Manuel Arteaga will receive a one-game suspension from the USL Championship due to caution accumulation (8th caution of season) should either see a yellow card in Saturday’s match
NATIONAL TEAM DUTY:
none
Fresh off its first away win in nearly four months’ time, Indy Eleven returns to Carroll Stadium on the weekend looking to improve its four-game winning streak at “The Mike” against a FC Tulsa squad it just passed on the Eastern Conference table. While fighting for eighth place – one spot below the playoff line – is not what either club had in mind with three games remaining in the season, the contest between the evenly-matched sides could provide as reasonable a measuring stick as can be expected, with 10th place Hartford (33 pts.) being the only other squad within 9 points of the duo either above or below on the conference’s ladder.
Both teams have gone in opposite directions since Tulsa eeked out a 1-0 win over Indy in their practical playoff elimination game on Aug. 20, with the Eleven bouncing back to go 5W-1L-1D since and Tulsa claiming just a win and two draws from its last six outings. Indiana’s Team will be looking for a third straight win overall, this after it collected 1-0 victories both at home last Sunday against Loudoun United FC and on Wednesday evening at Atlanta United 2. Saturday marks the second time within the last month Indiana’s Team has the chance to sweep a three-game week, with a 0-0 draw at Detroit City FC over Labor Day weekend dashing the last opportunity.
Eleven Head Coach Mark Lowry rotated Wednesday’s line-up with seven new starters, setting his squad up well to be as fresh as possible for a third game in seven days’ time. With that, you can expect to see heavy doses of Stefano Pinho, Solomon Asante, and Juan Tejada in attack, while Ayoze and Neveal Hackshaw would be expected back in the midfield fray.
Tulsa has been led in attack this season by the forward tandem of Rodrigo da Costa (9 goals) and Dario Suarez (8 goals), who have combined to score 17 of their 42 goals on the campaign. While no other member of the Black and Gold has bagged more than three goals, five players currently share the team’s lead with three assists, and with another quartet sitting on a pair of helpers, the distribution of crucial passes has clearly been a “by committee” job for the Oklahoman side.
An added bonus will see co-captain Neveal Hackshaw rejoin the squad following his international duty with Trinidad & Tobago at the King’s Cup in Thailand over the last week. Even with a pair of 90-minute performances for the Soca Warriors since last Thursday and a trip halfway across the world on his legs, Hackshaw’s presence along with Arteaga and Cochran gives Lowry even more options to turn over the roster come Wednesday night, making life a little easier on the Eleven manager – and perhaps the legs of a few more of the Boys in Blue during its final three-game week of the campaign.
In defense, Indy Eleven needs no reminder about goalkeeper Austin Wormell, whose 7-save effort at ONEOK in their August meeting helped him claim the USL Championship’s Player of the Week honor. In front of Wormell, Adrian Diz Pe leads FC Tulsa in most defensive categories, while captain Bradley Bourgeois has provided a steady presence next to him at the center back position.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 1 : 0 Atlanta United 2
Wednesday, Sept. 30 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven captured its second 1-0 win in four days’ time, this time via a road victory over Atlanta at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Defender Robby Dambrot’s breathtaking strike midway through the first half proved enough to bring the full points back north thanks to the fourth shutout for the Boys in Blue and goalkeeper Tim Trilk over a seven-match span across the last month.
A back-and-forth start to the match produced what ultimately proved to be the lone tally by Dambrot in the 23rd minute, when he struck a spectacular full volley from the top of the area, his left-footed effort slicing away from 16-year-old debutante goalkeeper Nash Skogland to put Indiana’s Team ahead. An active first half wrapped up with multiple dangerous looks from both sides, but despite Indy Eleven putting seven of its 11 shots on target during the opening half it settled for the 1-0 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
Indy professionally saw out the match in the second half, not allow Trilk to see a shot on target from Atlanta’s eight attempts. However, some of those did cause concern, most notably Luke Brennan’s back-post redirect from the side of the area that brushed across the front of the crossbar in the 78th minute, followed by Nicolas Firmino’s darting header five minutes later that flashed wide to keep the full points with the visitors. The victory snapped an eight-game road winless streak (0W-7L-1D) for the Eleven, whose previous away win came back on June 4 at Charleston Battery (4-3).
Scoring Summary:
IND – Robby Dambrot (unassisted) 23’
Indy Eleven lineup (4-4-2): Tim Trilk; Robby Dambrot, A.J. Cochran, Mechack Jerome, Ecris Revolorio (Jared Timmer 45’); Alex McQueen (Solomon Asante 67’), Sam Brown, Raul Aguilera (Ayoze 76’), Justin Ingram (captain) (Neveal Hackshaw 87’); Manuel Arteaga (Stefano Pinho 67’), Wilfredo Rivera (Juan Tejada 76’)
IND substitutes: Hayden Vostal (GK)
Detroit City FC 2 : 2 FC Tulsa
Saturday, Sept. 24 | Stats & Highlights
The visiting Black and Gold accepted a disappointing draw versus playoff bound Detroit City FC to take a point back with them west from Keyworth Stadium. Yazeed Matthews put the home side up at the beginning of the second half with a close-range attempt, but Darío Suárez’s left-footed shot from outside the box tied things up at 1-1 in the 67th.
The flurry of goals continued when Eric Bird scored two minutes after Matthews with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to put FC Tulsa up 2-1 in the 69th minute. However, Detroit wouldn’t go down without a fight and ended up getting the goal back in the 75th minute, when a corner kick service inside the six was redirected by Michael Bryant, resulting in an eventual sharing of the spoils.
FC Tulsa lineup (4-4-2): Austin Wormell; Johnny Fenwick, Bradley Bourgeois, Kembo Kibato, Sean McFarlane (Angel Bernal 63’), Eric Bird, Christopher Pearson (Abuchi Obinwa 63’); Rodrigo da Costa, Marcus Epps (Brian Brown 81’); Dario Suárez, Luca Sowinski (Alberto Membrila 63’)
#INDvTUL SERIES
USLC regular season record: 1W-3L-1D (4 GF/6 GA)
USLC reg. season home: 0W-1L-1D (1 GF/3 GA)
USLC reg. season away: 1W-2L-0D (3 GF/3 GA)
FC Tulsa’s move to the Eastern Conference for the 2021 USL Championship campaign marked the start of a new series. The Oklahoman side improved its lead in the series to 3-1-1 on August 20, when seven Austin Wormell saves thwarted a spritely Eleven attack and Machuca’s 90th minute tally allowed the home side to claim the full points from a 1-0 win at ONEOK Field.
Tulsa took the 2021 series with a 2-1-1 ledger in four meetings across the unbalanced schedule played against largely fellow 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 34th 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 71st minute was negated by Jason Johnson’s tally seven minutes later in the 1-1 draw.
#INDvTUL FAMILIAR FACES:
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: MF BRYAM REBELLON
If it feels like you haven’t gotten a full look at Rebellon over the course of the season … it’s because you’re right! The veteran midfielder and one of Head Coach Mark Lowry’s long-time lieutenants from both his Jacksonville and El Paso tenures started the first six games of the season, but a nagging quadriceps injury robbed him of a good half of the campaign, limiting him to just four bench appearances between the end of April and July.
However, since August the Colombian has started five of the squad’s 10 matches and appeared off the bench in two more, and only roster rotation and minutes management ruled him out of Wednesday’s win at Atlanta. Rebellon is equal parts calm (being in the right spots and picking out the right pass to help keep possession) and chaos (bringing added bite into challenges, setting the tone in the middle third) when the time calls for both, which combined with a willingness to hustle from box-to-box makes him a coach’s dream. You might need to pay attention to him to see the full presence he provides, but it should be worth it in a tight match like Saturday’s should be, when the little things could make the biggest difference.
