Indy Eleven Can’t Catch Breaks in 0-2 Loss at FC Edmonton

Eddies Tally on Either Side of the Half to Send “Boys in Blue” to Defeat in Alberta

EDMONTON (Wednesday, August 5, 2015) – Indy Eleven fell behind early and looked to be in position for an equalizing penalty kick midway through the second half, but instead saw FC Edmonton double its advantage from the spot just minutes later en route to a 2-0 win at Clarke Field.

Indy Eleven’s first three-game-in-eight-day stretch would force interim head coach Tim Regan to shuffle his roster, with only three players – center backs Greg Janicki and Cory Miller and central midfielder Zach Steinberger – holding their spots from last Saturday’s home match against Atlanta.  The home-standing Eddies would control the bulk of the first half, and they would be rewarded for their attacking forays in the 16^th minute when defender Albert Watson rose at the back post to head home Lance Laing’s corner kick, putting FC Edmonton up 1-0 early.

Striker Tomi Amoebi nearly put Edmonton up a pair of occasions after the half hour mark, narrowly connecting on Daryl Fordyce’s free kick at the top of the six-yard box in the 32^nd minute and pulling a 1-v-1 chance against Eleven netminder Keith Cardona just wide of the right post five minutes later.

Forward Charlie Rugg would breathe some life into the Indy Eleven attack in the final minutes of the opening half, but a header off midfielder Don Smart’s cross would be pushed just wide in the 44^th minute while a shot a minute later was fired right into the chest of Eddies ‘keeper Matt VanOekel.  

The goal-scorer Watson would be at the heart of another big play in the 64^th minute, when Rugg worked his way into the area and tried to chip-and-run his way past the FC Edmonton captain.  While the ball appeared to deflect off the defender’s arm, no whistle was blown, which made the visitors even more incredulous five minutes later when a similar play on the other end was whistled.  Laing’s attempted flick-on made contact with the arm of Eleven defender Judson McKinney, and Ameobi would atone for his previous close calls from the spot, sending Cardona to his left and finishing low and to his right to double the Edmonton lead. 

The home side would absorb the Indy pressure well over the final 20 minutes to post its third win of the Fall Season while sending Indy Eleven to its third loss in its last four outings.  The result dropped “Indiana’s Team” to the eighth spot in both the NASL’s Fall and Combined Season standings, yet the squad remains within three points of fourth-place Minnesota on the Fall table and four points from fourth-place Carolina on the Combined table with 14 regular season games remaining.

The “Boys in Blue” won’t have much time to think about tonight’s loss, as the squad will be back at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium for a third straight weekend this Saturday, August 8, to 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.

NASL Fall Season
FC Edmonton  2 : 0  Indy Eleven
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Clarke Field – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Attendance: 3,120

Indy Eleven:
Fall Season: 1W-2D-3L, 8^th place
Combined: 4W-6D-6L, 8^th place

FC Edmonton:
Fall Season: 3W-2D-2L, 3^rd place
Combined: 5W-5D-7L, 7^th place

Scoring Summary:
FCE – Albert Watson (Lance Laing) 16’
FCE – Tomi Ameobi (penalty kick) 70’

Discipline Summary:
FCE – Lance Laing (caution) 80’
FCE – Johann Smith (caution) 83’

Indy Eleven line-up (4-4-2):  Keith Cardona; Judson McKinney, Greg Janicki (capt), Cory Miller, Jaime Frias; Don Smart, Daniel Keller (Dane Richards 73’), Zach Steinberger, Duke Lacroix (Brian Brown 55’); Charlie Rugg, Wojciech Wojcik (Victor Pineda 45’)

Indy Bench: Kristian Nicht (GK), Marco Franco, Kyle Hyland, Brad Ring

FC Edmonton (4-5-1): Matt VanOekel; Eddie Edward, Albert Watson (capt), Kareem Moses, Johann Smith; Dustin Corea (Sainey Nyassi 67’), Ritchie Jones, Daryl Fordyce, Thaigo de Freitas (Cristian Raudales 65’), Lance Liang; Tomi Ameobi (Frank Jonke 79’)

Edmonton Bench: Tyson Farago (GK), Allan Zebie, Tomas Granitto, Hanson Boakai