Indy Plays Role Of Spoiler With Win Over The Strikers

Indy Eleven once again played spoiler in regards to a contender for The Championship, opening up an early lead and hanging on late to defeat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 2-1, in front of 9,213 fans in the 2015 home season finale at Carroll Stadium.

With tonight’s result, Fort Lauderdale no longer controls its own destiny in the chase for the fourth and final spot in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament, now trailing in-state rival Tampa Bay Rowdies by a single point heading into next weekend’s final matches. Meanwhile, Indy Eleven closed out its home slate with back-to-back wins over top half teams for a second straight season, pushing into seventh place in the league’s Combined Standings in the process.

While Indy Eleven started to open up an advantage in possession, the majority of the match’s opening quarter hour was played in the middle third of the field.  Even the first serious look came from near the midfield stripe in the 18th minute when Indy midfielder Sergio Pena hit a surprise strike that forced Strikers goalkeeper David Meves to tip away from the upper corner of his goal.

The Boys in Blue once again were able to break through first just two minutes later on a low shot by midfielder Don Smart that beat Meves low and to his left side. Receiving a tight pass from midfielder Marvin Ceballos near the center circle, Smart used a series of touches to bring the ball onto his right foot and blast the Eleven to an early 1-0 lead.

Indy continued to utilize the middle of the field and looked to build on their lead through set pieces. Reviving a far post corner into the center of the 18-yard box, Peña saw his feed received by defender Greg Janicki, who headed the ball onto the foot of Brian Brown. Meves was up to the task, but continued to be tested by a relentless Indy Eleven attack.

Indy Eleven put an exclamation point on its productive first half when a perfectly placed free kick from Dylan Mares found the head of Brown, whose shot from near the penalty spot tied him with Mares for the team lead on five goals. In extra time of the first half, Smart appeared to have struck once again, but the referee deemed the Jamaican handled the ball before getting off his shot.

On the other end of the field, Eleven goalkeeper Kristian Nicht saw his first real test 54 minutes into the match. With time and space, the league's scoring leader, Stefano Pinho, fired a heavy shot from 30 yards out, but the veteran Nicht was up to the task, diving high and left to knock the ball out for a corner.

After being subbed in at halftime, Strikers attacker José Angulo was the recipient of an Erick Norales turnover inside the Eleven defensive third. With no pressure, Angulo had time to set up and beat Nicht from 20 yards out to cut Indy’s lead in half just before the hour mark.

Another haltime sub, Dani Sánchez, nearly evened things up in the 64th minute when he looked to catch Nicht off his line, but the German shot-stopper scrambled back to tip the long-distance effort over his crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick, the Eleven were able to jam the defensive box, blocking multiple shots to retain the lead.

Indy Eleven'a defense held up despite plenty of pressure from Fort Lauderdale in the last 20 minutes and amid a key injury to the captain Norales, who exited the match in the 85th minute and was replaced by Cory Miller. Blocking two crucial free kicks, Nicht also punched out a pivotal cross by former teammate Walter Ramirez in a lengthy extra time to go along with his four saves that preserved the win.