#INDvMIA Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Miami FC
Saturday, September 28, 2024 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis.
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Stream: ESPN+ (click to subscribe)
In-game updates: IndyElevenLive
Stats: #INDvMIA MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2024 Records
Indy Eleven: 11-10-7 (-4), 40 pts; 6th in Eastern Conference
Miami FC: 3-24-2 (-42), 11 pts; 12th in Eastern Conference
| IND | MIA | |
| 28 | Games | 29 |
| 39 | Goals | 25 |
| 43 | Goals Conceded | 67 |
| 26 | Assists | 18 |
| 124 | SOT | 94 |
| 122 | Shots Faced | 183 |
| 6 | Clean Sheets | 2 |
SETTING THE SCENE
Indy Eleven opens a two-match homestand vs. Miami FC on Saturday at Carroll Stadium.
The Boys in Blue enter the final six games of the regular season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-10-7 record and 40 points. The top eight teams in the East qualify for the playoffs that begin the first weekend in November, with the top four teams hosting.
SERIES VS. MIAMI FC
Saturday is the 13th all-time meeting between the two sides, with Miami holding a 6-4-2 edge. Indy has won the past three meetings, including a 3-1 road victory on May 12.
In the 41st minute, season assist leader Aedan Stanley lined up for a corner that found Adrian Diz Pe for a header.
The visitors had an 8-1 advantage in shots in the first frame and garnered four corners to Miami’s zero.
After Miami tied it in the 57th minute, Boys in Blue forward Augi Williams took over, converting on a penalty in the 67th minute for the match winner. A 70th-minute insurance goal for Williams came from Stanley.
Indy finished with a 17-8 advantage in shots, including 6-2 on frame. Williams led the team with nine shots, three on frame, while Martinez had three and Blake had two. Defensively, Diz Pe won three tackles, had three interceptions and added a pair of clearances. Yannik Oettl had one save.
30 FOR 30
Midfielder Jack Blake scored 30 goals in USL Championship regular-season play prior to his 30th birthday on Sunday. In two seasons with the Indy Eleven, Blake has 11 goals and four assists in 52 matches.
The seven-year USLC veteran (165 games played, 137 games started) leads Indy with eight goals this season, matching his career best in 2019 when he helped the Real Monarchs SLC win the league championship.
The seven-time USLC Team of the Week selection has three assists this season, improving his career total to 21. The Nottingham, England, native opened the 2024 campaign with five Team of the Week awards in the first 12 weeks, adding ones in Week 25 and Week 28.
At North Carolina, Blake had two good scoring opportunities in a four-minute stretch of the first half with a header off a long cross from Maalique Foster in the 22nd minute and a long blast from outside the box in the 26th set up by a feed from Aedan Stanley.
Blake leads the Eleven in shots on target (25) and is second on the team in shots (47) this season. In the USLC, he is tied for 18th in shots and tied for 20th in goals (8)
QUINN ON TARGET
Captain Aodhan Quinn has had shots on target in his last two matches. The San Diego native has started six of the last seven matches for the Boys in Blue since making his season debut on August 2 at Charleston. The 11-year USLC veteran returned after a season-ending injury on September 2, 2023.
The 32-year-old Quinn has 54 goals, the 24th player in USL Championship history to hit 50. He is one of only six players to have a combined 100 career goals and assists and is the second player to join the 50 goals/50 assists club (54/50). Quinn has recorded 25 penalty kick goals in 28 attempts in his career in the league, the most of any individual player in league history.
Quinn became the USL Championship’s leader in regular-season minutes played against Tampa Bay on July 22, 2023.
Minutes | 21,446 | 2nd (2)
Assists | 50 | 4th
Games Started | 244 | 4th
Appearances | 258 | 7th (4)
50/50 CLUB
Midfielder Aodhan Quinn, has combined for more than 100 goals/assists, placing him fifth on the USLC’s all-time list.
1. Dane Kelly – 127 (106 goals & 21 assists)
2. Enzo Martinez (BHM) – 122 (73 goals & 49 assists) *
3. Solomon Asante (LV) – 108 (52 goals & 56 assists) *
4. Neco Brett (MEM) – 107 (81 goals & 26 assists) *
5. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 104 (54 goals & 50 assists) *
*Denotes active player
Sebastian Guenzatti is just three goals/assists away at 97 with 75 goals and 22 assists.
20 IN 5
Forward Maalique Foster has scored 20 goals and had 13 assists in five seasons of USL Championship play for Indy Eleven, Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2023-24), Sacramento Republic FC (2022), and Rio Grande Valley FC (2019). The 27-year-old scored his first goal in an Indy Eleven uniform vs. El Paso on September 14.
Foster was recognized on the USL Championship Team of the Week-Bench for Week 28. Both Foster and Romario Williams are natives of Portmore, Jamaica. The speedy Foster, acquired from Colorado Springs on August 23, has five goals and four assists this season.
TRIO IN 60-GOAL CLUB
Forward Romario Williams became the third player on the Indy Eleven roster and the 19th player overall in USL Championship history to score 60 goals with his tally vs. El Paso Locomotive FC on September 14. The 30-year-old reached #60 in his 146th regular season contest and he is tied for fifth all-time with a strike rate of a goal every 156.2 minutes.
The Portmore, Jamaica, native joins teammates Sebastian Guenzatti (75) and Augi Williams (71) in that exclusive group.
Romario has scored his two goals as one of the Boys in Blue in his last two home matches, with his first a dramatic free kick in the final minute of second-half stoppage time to give the hosts a 1-1 draw against Pittsburgh at Carroll Stadium on August 31. That goal was a USLC Goal of the Week nominee for Week 26.
The former UCF collegiate player was selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week – Bench for Week 28. Acquired from Hartford on June 14, Williams has four goals overall in 23 matches in 2024.
USLC 60+ Regular Season Goals Best Strike Rate
- Cameron Lancaster – 80 goals, 113.9 mins/goal
- Cal Jennings – 63 goals, 136.1 mins/goal
- Dane Kelly – 106 goals, 150.3 mins/goal
- Wilson Harris – 65 goals, 150.6 mins/goal
- Romario Williams – 60 goals, 156.2 mins/goal
- Chandler Hoffman – 66 goals, 156.2 mins/goal
SUPER SUBS
Forwards Elliot Collier and Douglas Martinez entered Saturday’s match at North Carolina in the 70th minute and once again produced a great scoring chance quickly. Martinez delivered a beautiful feed into the box that Collier headed just over the bar. In the previous match vs. El Paso, the two combined for Collier’s fifth goal of the season just three minutes after coming on to the pitch.
The 6’4 Collier is tied for second on the team with five goals this season in 564 minutes. The New Zealand native is in his second stint with the Indy Eleven in 2024 after helping the 2018 Boys in Blue earn a USL playoff berth while on loan from the MLS Chicago Fire. The 29-year-old Collier played 54 matches for the Fire in 2018 and 2020-21. He competed collegiately for Loyola Chicago.
USL Championship Goals per 90 Minutes
# Player G/90, Goals
1. Nick Markanich (CHS) – 0.97, 27
2. Elliot Collier (IND) – 0.80, 5
3. Kieran Phillips (SAC) – 0.75, 9
4. Jackson Conway (CHS) – 0.74, 4
5. Wilson Harris (LOU) – 0.73, 16
6. Khori Bennett (LV) – 0.72, 12
(min. 4 goals)
GOALS
The Boys in Blue have scored 23 first half goals this season, tied for fourth in the USLC team behind Eastern Conference leaders Louisville City (28) and Charleston (26) and Colorado Springs.
They have 39 goals this season (11th USL), with at least one tally in 22 of their 28 matches.
Defensively, Indy has held opponents scoreless in the first half in 18 of 28 matches in 2024.
The Boys in Blue scored in 15 straight USLC matches to open the 2024 campaign. The streak, which ended on June 22 against Orange County, is the longest to open a USLC campaign and is the longest run overall within the same season for the club. In total, Indy scored in 18 straight regular season matches dating back to Sept. 30, 2023.
