United Drops Crucial Points In Fall Season Title Chase

Indy Eleven controlled both sides of the ball and utilized the speed of their forwards en route to a commanding 3-1 victory over a heavily-favored Minnesota United in front of 9,085 fans at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium. Indy Eleven used goals by Dylan Mares, Brian Brown, and Brad Ring to cruise to a big cushion before Minnesota’s Brent Kallman snagged a late consolation goal for the visitors.

Matching Minnesota in physicality following the first whistle, it appeared as if the Boys in Blue had struck first when Brown finished a Don Smart cross in the sixth minute, only to see the play ruled correctly offside by the linesman. Continuing to stifle the Loons’ short passing in the midfield, Zach Steinberger added a long-distance chance of his own while Mares also fired an early shot which helped establish the tone early for the Eleven.

Indy Eleven continued to dominate possession thanks to strong play up front, with Mares receiving a 19th minute chip from Steinberger before firing a shot that was deflected by United goalkeeper Sammy Ndjock and swept away by Aaron Pitchkolan before it could trickle past the goal line.

Defensively, the Indy back line received its first test in the 26th minute when Minnesota forward Kalif Alhassan rushed the box and nearly finished a short pass past Eleven goalkeeper Kristian Nicht, but Eleven defender Marco Franco swept away the chance without incident.

The relentless Eleven continued pressing in the 37th minute, when Duke Lacroix turned and fired a shot from 16 yards that forced Ndjock into a leaping tip save. The deserved breakthrough for the home side would finally come two minutes later when Mares capitalized for his second strike in as many games and team-high fifth goal on the season. The Indy midfielder and NASL Young Player of the Year candidate fired a shot from 10 yards out into the back of the net, setting up his goal with a slicing pass to Daniel Keller, who sprinted down the left wing before hitting Mares with a cutback feed.

Indy began the second half as it did the first, controlling possession and producing chances using effective wide play and blazing quick counter attacks. Smart continued a strong performance minutes after both teams returned to the field, firing a chance that scraped the outside of the Minnesota net.

The Jamaican duo of Smart and Brown reunited to capture Indy’s second goal of the game in the 55th minute, a play started with Sergio Peña’s strong tackle in midfield. Steinberger would push forward quickly and deposit a pass to Smart, who slid a low cross across the box past a sliding Minnesota defender and onto the left foot of Brown, who kissed a low shot off the inside of the right post to double the advantage.

On the other end, Smart defended the Eleven net as well, clearing a Minnesota corner kick that bounced past Nicht. Playing with a two-goal advantage, the men in checkers were not done yet, and their continued pressure paid off in the 82nd minute with a golazo off the foot of the substitute Ring. Settling a blocked Brown shot, Lacroix gathered the ball near the edge of United’s 18-yard box before laying off for an onrushing Ring, who rocketed a textbook upper-90 drive off the hand of a diving Ndjock for Indy’s third goal of the game. 

Thanks in part to the defense in front of him, Nicht finished the night with a pair of saves in his return to the Indy Eleven net, only being bested by Kallman’s header off a Kevin Venegas corner kick once the game was out of reach in the 85th minute of play.

Despite the win, the Eleven will have to wait until next year for postseason play.