Familiar Face Helps Atlanta to 1-0 Win over Indy Eleven

Former “Boy in Blue” Pedro Mendes Tallies Game’s Lone Goal in 15^th Minute

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, August 1, 2015) – Former Indy Eleven attacker Pedro Mendes would exact revenge on his former squad on Saturday night, as the forward’s 15^th minute goal would be enough to give the Atlanta Silverbacks a 1-0 win in front of 9,632 fans at IUPUI’S Carroll Stadium.

After handling a majority of the possession over the course of the opening quarter-hour, the home side would fall behind in the 15^th minute when Mendes reaped the benefits of a slotted pass from fellow forward Jaime Chavez, placing his shot from 10 yards out past Indy ‘netminder Kristian Nicht to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

Indy Eleven dialed up multiple attacking numbers in the ensuing minutes, with a four-shot possession in the 17^th minute through Dane Richards, Victor Pineda—who had two attempts on goal—and Kyle Hyland going for naught, followed by a 19^th minute set-piece opportunity which striker Brian Brown headed on frame.  Atlanta goalkeeper Stewart Ceus would acrobatically make a diving stop of Brown’s effort, and the Silverbacks would hold their own for the rest of the stanza, keeping a stronghold of the game and its scoreline as they carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The “Boys in Blue” would come out of the break desperately searching for the equalizer and would nearly find it in the 53^rd minute when Richards used his pace and footwork to drive the ball from the midfield stripe past three defenders. The Jamaican attacker would work into the Atlanta penalty area before his touch took him too far, leading to the Haitian ‘keeper Ceus cutting off his low shot and ending the attack.

Another golden opportunity would go array in the 67^th minute when a shot by midfielder Dragan Stojkov from just outside the area was fired just past the left post, set up by quick square passes from Hyland and second-half substitute Wojciech Wojcik.  Another opportunity for Stojkov would arrive in the 75^th minute when a spell of lengthy possession opened up another chance for the Macedonian, but his 20-yard attempt jumped up on him early and sailed over the crossbar.

Hyland would be the next to register  a dangerous look at goal, as he broke through Atlanta’s defense in the 76^th minute and put a low shot in the direction of the back right post, but Ceus’ fingertips pushed the ball wide and out for a corner.

Indy continued its push to draw level with a Richards chance in the 85^th minute, a failed corner clearance by the Silverbacks falling to his foot inside the area.  A quick turn resulted in a bending shot to the left post, but the attempt would bounce just inches wide of Ceus, the far woodwork and the outstretched legs of oncoming “Boys in Blue” Wojcik and Charlie Rugg.

Atlanta would effectively kill off the remainder of the game, sending Indy Eleven to just its second home loss of the 2015 season and its first shutout at “The Mike” in 11 league games, dating back to last Sept. 27 against Carolina. Indy Eleven won’t have much time to think about the setback, as “Indiana’s Team” will turn around quickly for a midweek contest at FC Edmonton this Wednesday, Aug. 5, with kickoff in Alberta set for 9:00 p.m. ET (live on ESPN3.com).

The “Boys in Blue” will be back at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium for a third straight weekend next Saturday, August 8, when the squad will host the NASL’s other Canadian club, Combined and Fall Season leader Ottawa Fury FC.  The last “Class of 2014” clash of 2015 will mark “Faith and Family Night” at “The Mike,” and fans looking for tickets – including a special $79 Family 4-Pack featuring four tickets, hot dogs, chips and sodas – can secure their spots at www.IndyEleven.com.  Fans that can’t make it can follow the proceedings live on WISH-TV8, ESPN3.com and Exitos Radio 1590 AM.

INDY ELEVEN QUOTE SHEET – INTERIM HEAD COACH TIM REGAN

On the game’s physicality:
“We knew coming into the game that there were going to be a lot of challenges in the air and a lot of hard defending of balls in the air that you have to deal with. Overall on the night, I think we did a pretty good job of that if you take away the goal. If we could rewind that and we set ourselves up in training to defend that play – we had eight guys back, but somebody just needs to make a play on the ball.”

On the debut of midfielder Zach Steinberger:
“For Zach, just like it was for Dane [Richards] where it’s going to take time to get into the team. I thought he performed well tonight when he got on the ball. It’s going to get cleaner as time goes on and he’s going to get more comfortable with the players too. Overall, the game impacts him negatively because it’s slow and the ball doesn’t have a whole lot of time on the field. There’s a lot of stoppages and slowness to the game and we weren’t able to speed it up when we had control of it.”

On the absence of captain Erick Norales on the back line:
“Erick has been our best player all year. When he’s off the field it’s obviously going to hurt the team. Now, would he have won the game for us tonight? I’m not sure. But clearly with our captain and most steady performer off the field, losing him hurts the team.”

INDY ELEVEN QUOTE SHEET – DEFENDER CORY MILLER

On Indy Eleven’s second half attacking:
“I thought [a goal] was absolutely coming. We decided to settle down and play the ball and stop getting so nervous when we were getting under pressure. We kept getting in because they were reckless in the way they were pressing. We finally got in and figured it out, but we just couldn’t finish.”

On a short week ahead:
“It’s both good and bad. [Bad for] the body, but it’s good to get this game out of your head and just get back into it. We’re going to be hungry from this loss and last week’s tie so we’re on a stretch where we need to get a result and I think next week we’ll pull it out.”

NASL Fall Season
Indy Eleven  0 : 1  Atlanta Silverbacks
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Michael A. Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 9,632

Indy Eleven:
Fall Season: 1W-2D-2L, 7^th in NASL
Combined: 4W-6D-5L, 6^th in NASL

Atlanta Silverbacks:
Fall Season: 3W-1D-2L, 2^nd in NASL
Combined: 4W-6D-6L, 7^th in NASL

Scoring Summary:
ATL- Pedro Mendes (Jaime Chavez) 15’

Discipline Summary:
ATL- Kyle Porter (caution) 19’
ATL- Pedro Mendes (caution) 74’
ATL- Paulo Mendes (caution) 88’

Indy Eleven line-up (4-4-2):  Kristian Nicht; Marco Franco, Greg Janicki (C), Cory Miller, Kyle Hyland; Dragan Stojkov (Don Smart 77’), Brad Ring, Zach Steinberger (Charlie Rugg 65’), Victor Pineda; Brian Brown (Wojciech Wojcik 60’), Dane Richards

Indy Bench: Keith Cardona (GK), Judson McKinney, Jaime Frias, Daniel Keller

Atlanta Silverbacks line-up (3-5-2): Stewart Ceus (GK); Paul Black, Simon Mensing (C), Rauwshan McKenzie; Kyle Porter, Josh Hughes, Junior Burgos (Paulo Mendes 78’), Michael Reed, Kosuke Kimura; Jaime Chavez (Matt Horth 85’), Pedro Mendes (Shaka Bangura 79’)

Atlanta Bench: CJ Cochran (GK), Mohammed Issahaku