NASL Indy Eleven

Scorpions win 2-0 over Indy

Published on August 9, 2014 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Indy Eleven News Release


SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Scorpions used goals from forward Tomasz Zahorski and defender Julius James late in the first half to build a 2-0 advantage over the visiting Indy Eleven, a scoreline that held through to the final whistle in front of 7,847 fans at Toyota Field.

The action took awhile to get going as neither side were able to seriously threaten on goal for the first quarter hour. The home side took the initiative by attacking down the flanks through Walter Restrepo and Billy Forbes, with the first quality chance coming from Restrepo in the 15^th minute, whose effort from 15 yards was stopped with a fine kick save by Indy goalkeeper Kristian Nicht. in the 20^th minute, Scorpions forward Cesar Elizondo nearly headed home a Restrepo cross at the right post, but sent the chance on the doorstep just wide.

Minutes later Indy Eleven would get two excellent looks, but midfielder Kleberson's stinging shot from the top of the area was pushed wide by diving Scorpions 'keeper Josh Saunders, while a rebound shot inside the six-yard box by Mike Ambersley was blocked off the Eleven attacker's foot.

The scoring breakthrough would come from the Scorpions in the 28^th minute, when Nicht tried to punch a Restrepo cross wide, only to see it land at the feet of Forbes. With Nicht stranded, a quick square ball into the path of Zahorski allowed a simple, low finish by the Polish striker from eight yards out to give the home side a 1-0 advantage.

San Antonio would double up in the 38^th minute through defender Julius James, as the Scorpions' captain lost his mark inside the six and was able to get a head on Cesar Castillo's corner kick. Nicht got a foot to the low shot right on the goalline, but the ball trickled over to give San Antonio a 2-0 advantage, which it carried into the halftime break.

The second half began with James again the focal point, but this time for dubious reasons after earning his third straight red card of the season in the 56^th minute after showing his studs on a challenge at the midfield stripe against Eleven substitute defender Brad Ring. A fatiguing Indy side would be dealt a blow in the 74^th minute, when Ring was forced from the match after pulling up with an apparent right foot injury while trying to track another run by Restrepo,

Down a man for the final 30-plus minutes, San Antonio was willing and able to absorb pressure and embark on the occasional counter attack while clogging the middle of the field defensively, forcing Indy to pressure from out wide. The tactic proved successful as the visitors pumped in cross after cross but were unable to create many chances of note down the stretch, midfielder Don Smart's chipped effort off the top of the crossbar in the 90^th minute giving Indy its best hope of cutting into the eventual 2-0 margin for San Antonio.

From here, Indy Eleven (2-3-1, 7 pts. in Fall Season; 2-8-5, 11 pts. overall) will take to the road once again, and the task gets only marginally easier as the Hoosier State side faces Spring Champion and Fall second-place holder Minnesota United FC (4-0-1, 13 pts. in Fall; 10-1-3, 33 pts.) next Saturday, August 16. Kickoff from the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, Minn., is set for 8:00 p.m. ET for a match that can be seen live worldwide online at NASLLive.com.

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