Legion FC Unable to Break Through in Loss to Indy Eleven
USL Birmingham Legion FC

Legion FC Unable to Break Through in Loss to Indy Eleven

June 4, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


Birmingham Legion FC with possession against Indy Eleven
Birmingham Legion FC with possession against Indy Eleven
(Birmingham Legion FC)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Wednesday night's result was a tough one for Birmingham Legion FC to come to grips with, as the Three Sparks outperformed Indy Eleven in nearly every category on the stat sheet. Unfortunately, the most important category was in favor of the visitors as Legion FC fall 1-0 at Protective Stadium.

"We created chances, but if you don't hit the target, you don't score goals," said head coach Mark Briggs afterwards. "The first 15 minutes is where we lost the game. We didn't start well and found ourselves losing a game that we shouldn't have been losing."

A goal in the fourth minute from Indy forward Cam Lindley was the difference in what was was the first of five total shots from his side in the match, and the only one on target.

Meanwhile, Legion FC spent the majority of the match in the attacking half as it peppered 21 total shots, with eight coming inside the box. And while there were some close calls, the breakthrough goal never came, bringing an end to Birmingham's two-match win streak.

"Who really wanted to score?" lamented Briggs. "We had chances on the edge of the box with a number of players but we couldn't hit the target. When you create those opportunities, you've got to have that ruthless edge and that desire to put the ball in the back of the net and we didn't have that tonight."

Birmingham finished with six shots on target, all of which were saved by Eleven goalkeeper Hunter Sulte. The home side had 22 touches inside the box to only four from Indy and led in possession with 60.2%.

The best chance at an equalizer came in the 56th minute when forward Ronaldo Damus received a pass from Enzo Martinez just inside the top of the box and got off a right-footed strike that froze Sulte, only to be denied by the left post. The ball eventually made its way back out to Martinez who then had a goal at the other side of the goal, but his attempt just barely sailed wide.

Legion FC finished the match with a significantly higher expected goal metric at 1.33 to Indy's 0.14. But it was the away side that finished its lone chance with Lindley notching his first goal of the season with a low burner that somehow made it through a mass of players in the box and tucked into the side netting.

"I thought we could've put better pressure on the shot," Briggs recalled. "Last week (against FC Tulsa), I saw five or six players throwing their bodies on the line to get in front of shots, this week I didn't see that."

With the absences of defenders Phanuel Kavita and Ramiz Hamouda due to recent international call-ups, Birmingham trotted out a new-look backline that featured a centerback pairing of Jake Rufe and Tiago Suarez, with Stephen Turnbull and Erik Centeno as the outside backs. For Turnbull, it marked his first start since April 13 when he picked up an assist in a 3-1 win over El Paso Locomotive FC and his first 90 minutes since a 1-1 draw against Louisville City FC on March 16.

BOX SCORE

USL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHDAY 11 1ST HALF 2ND HALF FINAL

INDY ELEVEN (2W-3L-5D | 11 PTS) 1 0 1

BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC (2W-5L-4D | 10 PTS) 0 0 0

LINEUPS

IND: Sulte - GK C, Ofeimu, Murphy, McRobb (O'Brien 69'), Hogan, Amoh (Kizza 69'), Quinn (Collier 90'), Rendon, Musa, Blake (Soumaoro 77'), Lindley (Bryneus 77')

BHM: Van Oekel - GK, Turnbull, Rufe, Suarez, Centeno, Laszo (Hernandez-Foster 45'), McIllhatton (Torres 45'), Martinez - C (Tregarthen 74'), Pasher, Trejo (Tabort Etaka 74'), Damus

GOALS

IND: Lindley 4'

BHM:

DISCIPLINE

IND: Musa (Yellow) 27'; O'Brien (Yellow) 90+1'; Murphy (Yellow) 90+4'

BHM: Centeno (Yellow) 16'; Damus (Yellow) 70'; Hernandez-Foster (Yellow) 75'; Torres (Yellow) 76'

NEXT UP

Legion FC will have some time to go over what exactly went wrong on Wednesday night before hitting the road in 10 days for a match at Louisville on Saturday, June 14.

"We've got to try and put our strongest foot forward," Briggs said. "It's a top three team in a difficult place to play because they don't lose many games over there. It will be a massive challenge for us and I want to see which players can rise to that challenge."

Birmingham then returns to Protective Stadium on the following Wednesday when it welcomes Briggs' former club, Sacramento Republic FC, on June 18. Tickets for that match are available now and can be purchased.

Check out the Birmingham Legion FC Statistics




Images from this story

Birmingham Legion FC with possession against Indy Eleven
Birmingham Legion FC with possession against Indy Eleven
   



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