Boys in Blue Look to Return to Winning Ways Back at Carroll Stadium
#INDvMB Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 22, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
Follow Live:
Local TV: MyINDY-TV 23 (Indy DMA), WLMO 2 (Ft. Wayne) & WHME 46 (South Bend)
Streaming Video: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
Spanish Radio: Exitos Radio 94.3 FM & exitos943.com
In-game updates: @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live Opta stats: #INDvMB MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2023 USL Championship Records:
Indy Eleven: 1W-2L-2D (-3 GD), 5 pts.; T-7th in Eastern Conference
Monterey Bay F.C.: 2W-2L-2D (+2 GD), 8 pts.; 5th in Western Conference
Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report:
OUT: None
QUESTIONABLE: None
Discipline Report:
IND: none
MB: none
While it’s early in the season, Saturday’s return home to IUPUI Carroll Stadium to face Monterey Bay F.C. has a ”potential turning point” feel for an Indy Eleven squad looking to reverse its recent offensive fortunes.
One goal was enough for Indy to get positive results to start the season at Tampa Bay (1-1 D) and Detroit City FC (1-0 W). However, a scoreless draw followed against Las Vegas, and two additional shutouts later against Oakland and Orange County and the Boys in Blue find themselves weighted down by a 298-minute scoreless streak heading into the weekend.
Indy is accomplishing the “ball dominance” portion of the game that Head Coach Mark Lowry desires, as its whopping 66% possession leads the USL Championship by a fairly ridiculous six percent. And while its output of 10.4 shots/game and 3.4 shots on goal/game are below the league’s averages (11.1 shots/gm and 3.7 shots on goal/game), they are not off to an extent where the attack can be considered anemic. Even its resultant 43.6% shot on target accuracy ranks 14th, almost smack dab in the middle of the league.
Is the problem as simple as … just needing to finish better? A league-low 5% goal conversation rate on shots points in that direction, but it’s more complex than that. The Eleven’s five big chances created are fourth fewest in the league, while an 18% crosses/corners accuracy rate is third to the bottom. For all the possession that Indy has gobbled up, in the end it hasn’t resulted in quality chances in complementary numbers, which is leading to frustration in front of goal.
As Lowry stresses, it’s #ElevenTogether – this is not one player’s or position group’s issue to fix, but a team one – and one can hope a return to Carroll Stadium, where the Eleven had won seven of eight games across all competitions before its loss to Oakland two weeks ago, can be a part of the cure for the offensive ails.
On the flip side, outside of that 0-3 loss to Oakland, the Eleven have registered two shutouts and two games with just one concession. So, on one hand Indy’s possession edge maybe hasn’t shown up on the attacking side of the ball like many would expect … but on the other hand, leaving the opposition less than one-third of the game with the ball has certainly paid off defensively.
Monterey Bay enters the match the opposite of Indy in many ways – while the Eleven’s five games have seen a combined seven goals, Monterey Bay’s six matches have seen 22 balls hit the back of the net. MBFC’s 12 goals are tied for the most in the league, and it’s been finishing with efficiency, their incredible 36% conversion rate (12 goals on a second-to-league-last 42 shots) ranking a full 14 percentage points ahead of second-place Charleston in the category. That’s not a rate that can hold up across a season – but try convincing current USL Championship Golden Boot leader Hugh Dixon (6 goals on 7 shots) of that.
What gives Indy more than enough hope for offensive success on Saturday is MBFC’s 10 goals allowed, tied for the second most concessions in the USLC in the early going. After Cameroonian netminder Gerold Ngnepi let in seven goals across their first four contests, the switch was made to rookie 25-year-old Mexican goalkeeper Carlos Herrera, who has conceded thrice across a 4-2 home win over New Mexico United and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Phoenix Rising FC.
One more added wrinkle to the contest? The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Third Round, which will take place midweek. While both Indy and Monterey Bay will want to be mindful of saving legs for the squads they’ll look to field against MLS competition next week, that task will be tougher for MBFC as it has to travel cross-country and will have one less day of rest before squaring off Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes (yes, it must be said, in the “Frank Yallop Bowl”). Meanwhile, Lowry and Indy get one extra day of rest and a heckuva lot less miles traveled for next Wednesday’s meeting at Columbus Crew SC – which means he might be able to get more mileage out of his squad on Saturday evening.
IND Last Time Out:
Orange County SC 1 : 0 Indy Eleven
Saturday, April 15 | Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, Ca.
Recap & Highlights | Stats
Milan Iloski’s penalty kick conversation on the half hour stood tall for the home side last weekend in Southern California. While Indy Eleven dominated possession (63%-37%), crosses (42-9), and corner kicks (11-2), the Boys in Blue failed to push one across for the third straight contest while falling to a second straight defeat.
MB Last Time Out:
Phoenix Rising FC 1 : 1 Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 15 | Phoenix Rising Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz.
Stats & Highlights
Monterey Bay F.C. stayed undefeated on the road with its second away draw in two outings, this time splitting the spoils in Phoenix. Rising FC had the better of the chances across the opening hour, but it was MBFC going on top first in the 63rd minute via Alex Dixon penalty kick conversion. The lead was short lived though, as Kevon Lambert’s header squared things at 1-1 just four minutes later. Both sides had golden chances to push ahead in stoppage time, but Rocco Rios Novo’s tip save of Christian Volesky’s header in the 91st minute frustrated the visitors, while Carlos Harvey’s last gasp effort for Rising FC in the 96th minute missed inches wide, forcing the sharing of the points.
Series vs. Monterey Bay F.C.:
USL Championship regular season: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)
Away record: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)
Saturday marks the second match against Monterey Bay F.C. in as many seasons of play for the new California club that enjoyed its expansion campaign in the USL Championship last year.
In their first meeting out west last September 17 it was all MBFC, which used Chase Boone’s first-half brace (31’, 43’) to race out to a lead that mushroomed to an eventual 5-0 win at Cardinale Stadium courtesy of second half goals from James Murphy (49’), Sam Gleadle (50’), and Christian Volesky (66’).
#INDvMB Familiar Faces
As far as we can find, there are no players on either squad that have suited up for either side … which is no surprise given MBFC’s brief history.
That said, any fan of American soccer will be familiar with Monterey Bay Head Coach Frank Yallop, the Canadian soccer legend who was a fixture in MLS coaching circles for nearly 15 seasons (San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy & Chicago Fire) before helming four different USL Championship Western Conference squads (Arizona United/Phoenix Rising FC, Fresno FC, Las Vegas Lights FC & Monterey Bay) since 2016. His assistants will also be familiar to Bay Area soccer fans, as both Ramiro Corrales and Joe Cannon played for Yallop during his two stints with the Earthquakes.
Eleven Player to Watch: MF Jack Blake
When the goals start arriving – and they will arrive – one likely source to either set them up or finish them off will be the man patrolling the right side of midfield. Blake currently leads the squad with 10 shots (including blocks) and 5 shots on goal, proving the Englishman’s willingness to give it a go and pick up some slack in the attack.
Meanwhile, Blake is depended on to play provider as well, and his ranks towards the top of the team in total passes, long passes, and passing percentage shows proof that his strength as a distributor is as advertised when he came to the club from San Diego Loyal SC.
