INDY ELEVEN GAMEDAY & MATCH PREVIEW
Indy Eleven vs San Antonio Scorpions
Saturday, October 10, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Michael A. Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, IN

WATCH LIVE:
TV: WISH-TV Indianapolis 
Streaming Video: ESPN3.com (U.S) and various ESPN online platforms (international)

LISTEN LIVE:
Local radio (SPANISH): Exitos Radio 1590 AM
Streaming audio (SPANISH): www.Exitos1590.com

FOLLOW ONLINE:  
In-game updates: Follow the @IndyElevenLive Twitter feed
Live stats: Visit the NASL.com MatchCenter 
Game Hashtag: #INDvSAS

Click here for the full NASL standings page
Click here to see the Fall NASL Schedule

TEAM RECORDS: 
Indy Eleven:
Fall Season: 3W-5D-8L, 14 pts., 10th place
Combined Season: 6W-9D-11L, 27 pts., 9th place

San Antonio Scorpions:
Fall Season: 3W-5D-7L, 14 pts., 8th place
Combined Season: 6W-8D-11L, 26 pts., 11th place

GAME NOTES:  
 

 

HISTORY vs. SAN ANTONIO

Indy Eleven enters Saturday’s scrap with San Antonio looking to even up the all-time series between the squads, which it currently trails by a 2W-3L-0D margin.

San Antonio took the edge in the series just under a month ago on Sept. 12, when a pair of Rafael Castillo goals on either side of halftime gave the defending NASL champs a 2-0 win at Toyota Field. “Indiana’s Team” took the first meeting of 2015 back on April 18, also at Toyota Field, in dramatic fashion, as second half goals by Erick Norales and Sergio Peña – the latter on a 45-yard golazo – gave Indy Eleven a 2-1 comeback win.

Indy Eleven and San Antonio split their prior two meetings in the Circle City, both taking place last season. The “Boys in Blue” captured their second win in a row at “The Mike” last Oct. 18 to close out the home portion of their slate.

ALL-TIME INDY vs. SAS RESULTS

Oct. 10, 2015 vs. SAS               7:30 p.m. ET 
Sept. 12, 2015 @ SAS              0-2 L 
April 18, 2015 @ SAS              2-1 W 
Oct. 18, 2014 vs. SAS              1-0 W 
Aug. 9, 2014 @ SAS                0-2 L 
May 31, 2014 vs. SAS              1-2 L

INFIRMARY UPDATE – BOYS IN BLUE BACK TO BLACK AND BLUE

A pair of draws down south saw Indy Eleven playing at almost full strength, but following 180 minutes of action just days apart, Indy is back on the mend with some key components added to the injury report.

Defensemen Kyle Hyland, Judson McKinney, and Marco Franco have both been ruled out with lower body injuries, while midfielder Brad Ring is officially listed as doubtful due to a foot injury. Defenseman Jaime Frias, who has been fighting through an infection, has no restrictions going forward.

BROWN JOINS TOP OF THE SCORING CHART

While Indy Eleven has had trouble scoring in 2015, the goals it has tallied have been distributed quite evenly. With his game-tying tally last Saturday at Jacksonville, forward Brian Brown joined Dane Richards, Dylan Mares and Erick Norales atop the team’s scoring chart on three goals.  That quartet sits just one strike ahead of six other players – Wojciech Wojcik, Victor Pineda, Sergio Peña, Don Smart, Duke Lacroix and Zach Steinberger – nipping on their boots for the Eleven’s scoring lead.

Defender Jaime Frias was the 14^th player to add his name to Indy’s scoresheet with his traffic-busting blast that brought Indy Eleven’s Sept. 30 game at Tampa Bay to another 1-1 draw. Indy Eleven’s 14 goal-scorers are the most for an NASL team in 2015.
 

STANDINGS SHUFFLE NEEDED FOR PLAYOFF PUSH

The Boys in Blue remain playoff eligible, but it's going to take some help. While the Eleven must rely on winning out in their last four games, they do have to rely on the rest of the NASL to fall into place as the season winds down. Odds are slim at the bottom of the table, meaning Saturday's match appears to be an elimination game between Indy Eleven and the Scorpions.

In a perfect world for the Eleven: Ottawa Fury FC will beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Minnesota United FC knocks off the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the New York Cosmos will defeat FC Edmonton, while the Carolina RailHawks and Jacksonville Armada FC tie.

Both the Railhawks and Armada have a game in hand on Indy, but with Carolina wrapping up Indy Eleven's season, the closer they stay to the Boys in Blue the better the likelihood Indy can control their own destiny on the final week regular season play.

Below are the full standings:

WHO TO WATCH, INDY ELEVEN EDITION – RIGHT BACK?

With both Marco Franco and Judson McKinney unable to go Saturday against San Antonio, it appears Indy Eleven coach Tim Regan will have to get creative at right back. Macedonian midfielder Dragan Stojkov previously made an appearance at right back, meaning someone will have to play in an unfamiliar role against the defending NASL champions. 

On the back line, Greg Janicki may need to be placed out wide out of necessity while versatile defender Daniel Keller may also get a look depending on the situation of the game and how the Boys in Blue react when being stretched so thin.

WHO TO WATCH, SCORPIONS EDITION – FW KRIS TYRPAK

The third youngest scorer in Scorpions history at age 23, Tyrpak made his mark on the league instantly last week with a wonder goal against Fort Lauderdale that was deemed the NASL's Play of the Week. His first goal for the Scorpions in his debut after bouncing around the MLS, PDL, and USL, the Texas native will be a marked man against Indy Eleven's depleted back line. 

 

QUOTE SHEET: INDY ELEVEN COACH TIM REGAN

With the injuries sustained during the Jacksonville game, what's your mindset going to be in picking a lineup for Saturday?

The lineup choice will come off performance in the road trip we had combined with what we had in training this week. The effort has been good, there are a couple of injuries which dictates some decisions. But, overall, it's still pretty open and I'm looking forward to seeing the guys stepping up, getting some goals and hopefully a victory. 

Everyone would like to turn draws into wins; what would you say the team's attitude has been coming off the road knowing that three straight home games are ahead?

The group's always dissapointed when we don't win. Both games could have gone either way. They're fair results and now we're going to come home and look to capitalize on the energy we get at our stadium and get ourselves three points for the next three games in a row. 

Nothing but wins will do in staying alive for The Championship, does it almost take some of the pressure off? Can you play a little looser knowing the position you're in?

It's still the same as it was over the past few months. The best guys, the guys that are playing the best and ready to beat the opponent, get on the field. 

San Antonio is a familiar team, but they've changed some things since Indy Eleven last played the Scorpions. Are you making any adjustments for this matchup specifically?

Similar to us, they're towards the bottom of the table. Every game is a must win and they've changed a little bit tactically in terms of their defenders. It's a little bit of a different look than a month ago when we played them, so we're not exactly sure what to expect but we know they're going to come out and give it their all to make it a good game. 

 

QUOTE SHEET: INDY ELEVEN DF CORY MILLER

What do you recall of San Antonio's attack from a month ago?

Attack-wise they're pretty organized. Good speed, they've got some technical players in the midfield that can slot passes through. I think it's hard for us defensively to break them down. They sit back sometimes with a five, overall from front to back they're very organized. 

With Marco out there's going to be some changes on the back line. Despite going through that a lot in the Fall Season, does that change the mentality at all?

I don't think so. We've touched on it before but we've got plenty of guys that can fill positions and there are guys on the bench that can start in this league on other teams. I don't think we're going to lose too much switching players in. 

How does playing at home and being able to build a consistent routine over the next three weeks help find some consistency on the defensive end?

Playing in front of our hometown fans, it helps us to play in front of them. I think we play better defensively at home and I think tomorrow we'll show that.

Earning your first NASL Player of the Week nod after playing in a pair of 1-1 draws, what do you make of the past two games and what is your confidence level going into Saturday night?

I think we've gotten a little bit more organized. On the two goals it was just little tiny mistakes that we've been struggling with all season. (Goaltender) Keith (Cardona) has stood up and made a bunch of big saves in those games. You see a 1-1 scoreline but props to Keith, he's made a lot of big time saves in both of those to keep us in the game.