Boys in Blue head south for last dance of 2022 versus Legion FC
#BHMvIND Preview (Week 32)
Indy Eleven at Birmingham Legion FC
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Protective Stadium – Birmingham, Ala.
FOLLOW LIVE
Local TV: none
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Radio (Spanish): none
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed, presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers
Live stats: #BHMvIND MatchCenter on USLChampionship.com
2022 USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Indy Eleven: 12W-16L-5D (-12 GD), 41 pts.; 8th in Eastern Conference
Birmingham Legion FC: 16W-10L-7D (+17 GD), 55 pts.; 4th in Eastern Conference
COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK SPORTS MEDICINE INDY ELEVEN INJURY REPORT
OUT: FW Aris Briggs (shin), MF Sam Brown (concussion), MF Justin Ingram (hamstring), GK Bryan Meredith (R finger)
QUESTIONABLE: DF Alex McQueen (quadriceps)
SUSPENDED:
IND: none
BHM: none
NATIONAL TEAM DUTY:
none
Indy Eleven will close out its 2022 season Wednesday night at Birmingham Legion FC, and while its own playoff fate is sealed, Indy could have plenty to do with how Birmingham’s postseason journey will begin.
Playing spoiler is not the primary concern for the Boys in Blue and Head Coach Mark Lowry, who is expected to rotate his lineup from Saturday’s win over Charleston to get one last look at as much of his roster as possible before planning for next season begins in earnest. That means a likely healthy dose of regular contributors such as Juan Tejada, Solomon Asante, Manuel Arteaga, Mechack Jerome, and Neveal Hackshaw, all of whom began Saturday’s win over Charleston on the Eleven bench.
Lowry will certainly encourage his squad to empty the tank as it chases three points and a strong finish. While Indy Eleven has struggled to a 2W-7L-4D record against the East’s seven sides in postseason position, both wins and a draw have come from the last three such contests since Labor Day – including a wild 4-3 victory over Legion FC on Sept. 10. Those results have contributed to a 6W-2L-1D mark for Indiana’s Team since late August, and Wednesday provides one last opportunity to cement its status as one of the league’s top performers across the final third of the season while building momentum for 2023.
On the flip side, Legion FC (55 points) has sputtered down the stretch, with just five points from its last six outings (1W-3L-2D) allowing Pittsburgh (54), Detroit (54), and Miami (52) all a chance to equal or surpass the Hammers during the regular season’s final round of action this week. Should the currently fourth-placed Legion be passed by any one of that trio they will start the playoffs away from Protective Stadium, where they’ve posted a sturdy 8W-2L-4D mark at their first season in the new venue.
Birmingham can best avoid that fate by shoring up a defense that has failed to register a clean sheet in its last nine outings. During that stretch Legion FC has allowed 16 goals – including a season-high four to Indy on Sept. 10 – this after conceding just 23 times in its first 24 games.
The kicker is Birmingham’s actually scored 17 times in that same nine-game stretch, led by five goals apiece from Marlon Santos and Enzo Martinez, the latter of whom places fifth in the Eastern Conference with 14 goals. With Martinez (who also leads the Hammers with 7 assists), Santos (8 goals), Prosper Kasim (7g/5 assists), Juan Agudelo (7g/5a), and Bruno Lapa (5g/4a) pacing a Birmingham attack that ranks second in shots (502) and 7th in scoring (53 goals), the Eleven defense will again have its hands full against a squad that will look to go full throttle as it protects a potential home postseason opener.
LAST TIME OUT
Indy Eleven 4 : 1 Charleston Battery
Saturday, Oct. 8 | Recap & Highlights | Stats
Indy Eleven closed its home schedule for the 2022 USL Championship season on a winning note on Saturday via a resounding comeback that ended with a 4-1 win over the Charleston Battery.
The Battery broke things open in the 18th minute with Augustine Williams’ 16th goal of the season. The Sierra Leone international striker and Eleven netminder Sean Lewis met a cross at the goalkeeper’s right post at the same time, but the second ball stayed near Williams, who was able to finish from a near angle to move the scoreboard first for the visitors.
On the bittersweet night for Ayoze, the club record holder in appearances, starts, and assists helped deliver Indy’s equalizer off one of his patented set piece services in the 40th minute. From the right flank, el Capitan wound up and placed his delivery between the six and the penalty spot, where A.J. Cochran’s glancing header nudged it just inside the left post on a bounce, giving the center back his first goal in a pair of seasons with the Eleven.
The Boys in Blue came out on fire to start the second half and struck early through Stefano Pinho, who split a pair of defenders to win Bryam Rebellon’s short, squared header to the six in the 48th minute to give Indy a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. In the 64th minute, substitute forward Manuel Arteaga won a 50-50 header that put Pinho behind the Battery backline, and the Brazilian converted again, this time low to the left of Charleston goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux to extend the lead to 3-1. In the 71st minute it was Arteaga that helped put the nail in Charleston’s coffin, as he carried a ball into the final third and saw his hard cross deflect off Battery defender Charlie Asensio and past a helpless Fauroux for an own goal that put things out of reach.
Scoring Summary:
CHS – Augustine Williams (Fidel Barajas) 18’
IND – A.J. Cochran (Ayoze) 40’
IND – Stefano Pinho (Bryam Rebellon) 48’
IND – Stefano Pinho (Manuel Arteaga) 64’
IND – own goal (Charlie Asensio) 71’
Indy Eleven lineup (4-4-2): Sean Lewis; Robby Dambrot, A.J. Cochran, Jesus Vazquez, Ecris Revolorio (Mechack Jerome 57’); Ayoze (captain) (Solomon Asante 85’), Jared Timmer, Raul Aguilera (Manuel Arteaga 58’), Bryam Rebellon (Neveal Hackshaw 58’); Wilfredo Rivera (Juan Tejada 87’), Stefano Pinho
IND substitutes: Tim Trilk (GK)
Birmingham Legion FC 1 : 2 San Antonio FC
Sunday, Oct. 9 | Stats & Highlights
Birmingham lost for just the second time at its home of Protective Stadium in 2022 on Sunday afternoon, when it squandered an early advantage over Western Conference leading San Antonio FC in their penultimate contest of the regular season.
Legion FC took advantage of a spot kick opportunity set up by Shannon Gomez’s foul on Anderson Asiedu at the top of the area in the 18th minute, with Marlon Santos roofing the PK a minute later to give Jordan Farr no chance and put Birmingham up 1-0. Ignacio Bailone even the proceedings in the 41st minute with a well-placed header off Fabien Garcia’s cross into the heart of the area, and the Argentinean nearly had a second two minutes later only to see Legion FC ‘keeper Matt Van Oekel make a tough save to keep things even heading into halftime.
The visitors would put their stamp on the match in the second half, outshooting Birmingham 9-3 in the second 45 minutes. The persistence towards goal finally paid off in the 84th minute, when Santiago Patino’s curling ball across the frame of goal beat a diving Van Oekel inside the far right post to put SAFC up 2-1 late. The result kept Birmingham winless for three straight, marking their longest drought without a victory since May.
Birmingham Legion FC lineup (4-2-3-1): Matt Van Oekel; Jake Rufe, Phanuel Kavita, Alex Crognale, Jonathan Dean; Zach Herivaux, Mikey Lopez (Bruno Lapa 67’); Anderson Asiedu (Mataeo Bunbury 86’), Enzo Martinez, Marlon Santos (Prosper Kasim 86’); Juan Agudelo (Sadik Balarabe 62’)
BHM substitutes: Trevor Spangenberg (GK), Ryan James, Matthew Corcoran
IXI SERIES vs. BHM
USL Championship regular season: 3W-4L-0D (10 GF/10 GA)
USL Championship at home: 2W-2L-0D (8 GF/6 GA)
USL Championship on the road: 1W-2L-0D (2 GF/4 GA)
Indy Eleven enters Wednesday’s match looking to even up the all-time series with Birmingham, which it currently trails by a 3W-4L-0D margin. The Boys in Blue began the 2022 back-and-forth with BHM on Sept. 10, in one of the more memorable affairs of the season, squandering a 3-0 first half lead before using Stefano Pinho’s 78th minute tally to post a 4-3 win at Carroll Stadium.
After splitting their two meetings with home shutout wins during Birmingham’s inaugural 2019 season, the two sides spent 2020 apart due to COVID scheduling restrictions but reunited with four matchups in 2021. Indy got off to a flying start via a season-opening 1-0 win in Alabama last May 1, but Legion FC closed strong, posting a pair of one-goal wins at Carroll Stadium in July before notching a 3-1 win at BBVA Field on Oct. 10.
#INDvBHM FAMILIAR FACES: Only one member of Saturday’s combatants has familiarity in the other’s colors, and that’s Legion FC defender Alex Crognale, who had a six-game cup of coffee with Indiana’s Team while on loan from MLS side Columbus Crew to start the 2019 season.
ELEVEN PLAYER TO WATCH: EVERYONE!
Some may say this is a bit of a cop-out … and yeah, we’ll allow that! However, for a team that won just six of its first 24 games to turn around and win six out of nine in the stretch drive of the season, it seems to us that a collective spotlighting is the way to go for Wednesday’s last hurrah.
The conviction and cohesiveness that Mark Lowry’s group has found to close the season out strong is the exception rather than the rule during seasons that include a downturn such as Indy suffered in the summer. Full credit needs to be given up and down the roster and to the Technical Staff for continuing to prepare, execute, and fight for every point down the stretch.
The last time out on the road two weeks ago in Atlanta the Boys in Blue ended a nine-game road winless streak, exorcising one of the season’s last demons in the process. Now one more challenge remains, and there’s no reason the Boys in Blue can’t band together one final time and end 2022 with another quality result against a playoff bound Birmingham side that has tightened up as the campaign has come to a close.
