Late Strike Downs Indy Eleven at Minnesota United FC
September 2, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Indy Eleven News Release
BLAINE, MINN. (Wednesday, September 2, 2015) - Indy Eleven put itself in position to steal a point - or three - from the finale of its three-game road swing tonight at the National Sports Center Stadium, but Minnesota United FC defender Justin Davis had other plans, as he capitalized on a chance in the 77th minute to push the home side to a 1-0 win.
Coming off the worst defeat in club history and in the middle of a three-game, eight-day stretch, Indy Eleven interim head coach Tim Regan injected some fresh faces into his starting XI, switching out six players from the group that started Saturday in Fort Lauderdale. That new crop included goalkeeper Keith Cardona, who came up big in the early going with some active forays off his line and a big stop on Christian Ramirez in the 13th minute, tipping the red-hot United FC striker's header from deep inside the penalty area over the crossbar.
Indy Eleven failed to create many dangerous chances in the first half, but it did come close to hitting paydirt through Wojciech Wojcik in the 37th minute, when the striker's low shot from outside the area forced Minnesota 'keeper Sammy Ndjock to steer the chance around his left post for a corner. The woodwork would save Indy four minutes later, when Yago Silva flashed across the six to poke on a cross, only to see the chance glance off the left post and be cleared from the six-yard box to keep things scoreless heading into the halftime break.
Minnesota would come out the aggressors again in the opening of the second half, but it was Indy Eleven's Dane Richards who had the best chances to move the scoreboard around the hour mark, first seeing Ndjock go low in the 59th minute to thwart a 1-v-1 chance before having the Cameroonian 'keeper stop a counter-attack opportunity five minutes later.
Davis would be a menace in the left side of the area with increasing frequency as the second half wore on, and Indy's inability to keep track of him finally bit the visitors in the 77th minute. Kevin Venegas was able to get off a cross to the far side of the penalty area just as the ball neared the endline, and Davis took his chance calmly, slotting a perfectly-placed, left-footed volley across the face of goal and inside the far right post to put Minnesota up.
Indy Eleven defender Cory Miller had a chance to equalize deep into stoppage time on a volley of his own as a desperate ball up-field found the center back alone at the right post, but he couldn't catch it cleanly to challenge Ndjock, marking the last shot of the night for the Eleven.
With its longest road trip of the season now in the books, Indy Eleven will look to gain ground in the NASL's Combined Season standings this Saturday, Sept. 5, when it welcomes expansion side Jacksonville Armada FC to IUPUI's Carroll Stadium for the first time. Kickoff on Hispanic Heritage Night at "The Mike" is set for 7:30 p.m. for a match that can be seen live across Central Indiana on WISH-TV 8 (Countdown to Kickoff starts at 7:00 p.m.; Honda Post-game Show to follow) and heard via Spanish-language radio station Exitos Radio 1590 AM (online at www.Exitos1590.com).
Tickets for the match starting at just $10 are available at www.IndyEleven.com, as are special $25 Hispanic Heritage Night pre-game tailgate & ticket combos and a $20 Pizza "Pitch-nic" ticket and meal package.
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North American Soccer League Stories from September 2, 2015
- Late Strike Downs Indy Eleven at Minnesota United FC - Indy Eleven
- Minnesota United Fights to Third Straight Victory - Minnesota United FC
- New York Cosmos Sign Lucky Mkosana to Extension - New York Cosmos
- Cosmos Greet More Than 350 Kids to Free Back-To-School Soccer Clinics - New York Cosmos
- Atlanta's McKenzie, Burgos Earn League Honor - Atlanta Silverbacks
- Futty Danso Selected for Gambian National Team - North Carolina FC
- Oliver Named to NASL Team of the Week - Ottawa Fury FC
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