NASL Jacksonville Armada FC

Dominant Possession Advantage for Naught in Armada's 3-0 Loss to Indy Eleven

Published on September 5, 2015 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Jacksonville Armada FC News Release


INDIANAPOLIS - Even with a clear hold on possession on Saturday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium, the Jacksonville Armada FC still couldn't get past its road woes and fell 3-0 to Indy Eleven.

Playing without all three of its normal starting forwards Jemal Johnson (injury), Alhassane Keita (injury) and Pascal Millien (international duty), Jacksonville (3W-2D-6L NASL Fall, 6-5-10 Combined) had trouble getting consistent pressure on Indy all night. Even though they held on to the ball 59 percent of the time to Indy's 41 percent, the Armada once again fell victim to the counterattack. And once the Eleven took a 1-0 lead, they "parked the bus" and made it very difficult for Jacksonville to get any clear looks at the goal.

Indy (3-3-6, 6-7-9) scored first in the ninth minute when it swiped the ball from the Armada at midfield and Sierra got caught out of the net, leaving a wide open shot for Eleven midfielder Zach Steinberger, who put it in the back of the net with an assist from Don Smart. The play was not without controversy, however, as Jacksonville wanted an offside call.

The Armada nearly fell behind 2-0 in the 29th minute when Indy's Dane Richards broke out and crossed it over a diving Sierra, but Armada defender Joseph Toby was able to hustle to the spot and clear the ball away. Steinberger, who finished the night with two goals, could have been responsible for another goal in the 39th minute with another open net, but his cross was too high and out of play.

Jacksonville's best chance of the night came in the 52nd minute when midfielder Marcos Flores blasted a shot that seemed destined to hit just inside the top left post, but Eleven goalkeeper Keith Cardona was there to punch it away.

The Eleven continued to take advantage of fumbled passes by the Armada and move on the counter. Indy's Dane Richards thought he scored in the 63rd minute after dicing through the Armada backline to put it in the back of the net, but he was ruled offside and the goal was negated. Steinberger seemingly put the game out of reach when he broke away from the Armada defense and chipped the ball over a diving Sierra, then tapped it into the goal for his second score of the night. Indy's Marvin Ceballos connected on the last goal in the 90th minute, hitting inside the upper left of the goal.

Despite the final score, Sierra made several impressive plays and finished with six saves.

The Armada will try to turn it around at 7 p.m. ET next Saturday when they travel to New York to take on the Cosmos. The match will be broadcast live on CW17 in Jacksonville, with pre-game coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. It will also be streamed live on sportsradiojax.iheart.com and on the iHeart app.

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North American Soccer League Stories from September 5, 2015


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