Indy Eleven Scores Just 20 Seconds Into Match, but Can't Hold off Reigning MLS Cup Champion
February 7, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Indy Eleven News Release
TUCSON, ARIZ. (Friday, February 7, 2014) - Indy Eleven took a lead against a Major League Soccer opponent for the second game in a row, but the lead was short-lived as defending MLS Cup champion Sporting Kansas City would rally to post a 3-1 victory over the expansion North American Soccer League side. The scrimmage was a 105-minute affair that was contested at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson.
"We had a great start, and I thought our group was very composed and stayed in the match even after we went behind," said Indy Eleven Head Coach Juergen Sommer. "We had one or two defensive breakdowns that did come back to bite us, but we were also able to create some chances of our own on the attacking side. I think the camaraderie of the group is starting to show after being together for the last week, so across the board we are pleased with our progress."
A "dream start" might not be fitting enough to describe the first minute for Indy Eleven, as the NASL squad went up just 20 seconds into the match. A pair of trialists hooked up on the play, as center back "R. Tipton" (aliases utilized for trialists) sent a ball over the Sporting KC backline and down the right flank for onrushing forward "B. Elkhart." Noticing Sporting KC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg was off his line, the striker took a first-time shot that dipped under the crossbar and inside the far left post to put the Hoosier State side up 1-0 before some players could even blink.
The early tally clearly got Sporting's attention, and a line-up that featured the bulk of the starters from last December's MLS Cup began to pile up chance after chance in attack. Argentine striker and Designated Player Claudio Bieler would even things up at 1-1 in the ninth minute, when his first time strike off a cut-back pass from defender Seth Sinovic cut through traffic and beat Indy Eleven goalkeeper Kristian Nicht inside his left post. Two minutes later it was forward C.J. Sapong giving Sporting the lead, as he finished off a pass from U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Graham Zusi at the doorstep to push the MLS outfit in front.
Sporting KC would keep the pressure coming, but Nicht would come up big to keep things at 2-1 heading into the break, his stop on Bieler's header from 10 yards out in the 41^st minute marking the highlight of the half for the German netminder. However, it was Kansas City returning the favor in the quick goal category at the start of the second half, as midfielder Sal Zizzo would finish from six yards out just 15 seconds into the second stanza to push the KC advantage to 3-1 in the 46^th minute.
After a "line change" for both teams at the hour mark, an Indy Eleven unit consisting mostly of trialists and guest players would keep things even over the last 45 minutes - and were unlucky not to cut into the lead. The right post was kind to the MLS'ers down the stretch, as both trialist forward "S. Monroe" and midfielder Don Smart would strike the woodwork in the final 15 minutes, beating KC 'keeper Andy Gruenebaum only to see their efforts bounce back into play.
After two games in three days, Indy Eleven (0-2-0 in preseason) will get a respite from match action for a handful of days before finishing the scrimmage portion of its Arizona schedule back at the Kino Sports Complex next Wednesday, Feb. 12 against another MLS side, Portland Timbers FC. Kickoff from Tucson is set for 8:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. MT (local), and fans will be able to follow the action as it unfolds via updates on the team's new in-game @IndyElevenLive 95&id95542ee71b&eee02f21f4a) Twitter feed.
INDY ELEVEN HEAD COACH JUERGEN SOMMER
On scoring just 20 seconds into the contest: "We had a great start there. It was a nice driven ball from the back and a really classy finish by one of our trialists. Right after that I thought, 'Oh boy, we just unleashed the Sporting KC dogs on us!' But I thought we stayed composed and stayed in the match."
On the group of players that finished the last 45 minutes of the match: "I was very pleased with that second group that came on after 60 minutes. I thought they had a lot of focus and energy and we matched [Sporting KC] step for step, if not even went a half a step ahead of them. We had two opportunities hit off the post and one blocked off the line, so I thought they showed well. I think the camaraderie is coming together with the time we've had on the road and it started to show as things went on today."
On the cohesiveness of the squad after one week of training camp: "I was pleasantly surprised to see both line-ups we put out there gel so quickly. I think [assistant coach] Tim Regan and [guest coach] Paul Telfair have really done a nice job of laying out the back four, working with them both individually and as a small group to communicate more effectively and tie them into the midfield. Those two helped get the guys on the same page really quickly. I'm excited for the weeks and months to come for what we can look like if we can keep this type of progress going."
INDY ELEVEN MIDFIELDER DON SMART
On the unit that kept Sporting KC scoreless after entering at the hour mark: "We talked about it before we went on the field, trying to calm the nerves down and keep things easy. We wanted to keep the ball moving so everybody could get their feet going so we wouldn't have to keep chasing the game over the place."
On the chances created in the last 45 minutes, including his 96^th minute chance off the post: "Towards the end everybody started feeling it a little bit, and it showed the way we were passing the ball around. Fortunately I got a little slip pass in and tried to hit it. Got a good shot off, but a defender slid in and got a toe to it and sent it off the post, so was unfortunate not to finish it."
On what the team got out of today's scrimmage: "This effort definitely brought a good spirit to the guys. We all talked about how pumped we were to play Sporting KC, so this should allow us to come together a little more the way we were able to compete after just being together for a week."
INDY ELEVEN GOALKEEPER KRISTIAN NICHT
On learning from the challenge of playing Sporting Kansas City: "We played against the MLS champions, and it was their first team that played in [MLS Cup] that we saw for the first 60 minutes. It's a tough task playing one of the best teams in America at this point in the preseason. We did make some mistakes and I'm totally okay with them coming now. That's what preseason is for, and it's better to get them out of the way now and learn how to prevent them."
On the team's cohesion improving as the match progressed. "It was the same as Wednesday (against Vancouver). We struggled the first 10-15 minutes and then we started to sort things out. It worked well against Vancouver and it started to work today as well. You can tell we're making progress every minute we play and that's what we have to do. We're only a week into preseason, so it's important to remember that we've just started to learn how each other play."
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