WHO:

Indy Eleven, 3W-1D-2L, 10 points, 7th place, Eastern Conference. Coulda been 11 or 13 points, but nooooooo, they had to lose to Cincinnati on Wednesday at home.

WHAT:

A USL regular season match

WHEN:

Saturday, Cinco de Mayo, Derby Day, 2018, 12:00 p.m. EDT, or between races 4 through 7 at Churchill Downs. They run a looooot of races on Derby Day.

WHERE:

Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46225. It’s a 20 story brick and glass barn in the middle of the city, you can’t miss it.

WATCH:

If you’re looking to get out of town on Derby Day, this is a great option! Indianapolis has a deserved reputation of being boring and vanilla, but they do have a pretty nice beer scene and the Children’s Museum there is a lot of fun if you have kids. It’s fun even if you don’t!

For those of you who are going to the races, you’ll probably miss it unless you’re rich or have rich friends who have a suite with a TV in it. If you’re having a party or going to a party, or if you don’t have any friends and are home alone by yourself like usual, you can watch the game on WDRB 41, listen on 790 WKRD, or stream it on ESPN+.

WHO, AGAIN?

Indy Eleven. I’ve made jokes about naming yourself after a number before. They didn’t land that well, so I won’t do it again. THIS TIME. Except for this one storyline from Charlie Brown in the 70s where some kid’s parents named him 5. Not spelled out, just the number. Poor guy!

So: Indy. They’re kind of like an expansion team in that they’ve got a new coach and a totally new roster, and thusly haven’t quite put it all together yet. They’re like FCC but with a better excuse, or like Nashville but with actual history. The 11 are managed by Martin Rennie, who has coached in the NASL, MLS, K-League, and now USL to some decent but not overwhelming results. As I mentioned earlier, this was a team that had zero players in January, but has since made some good moves. Jack McInerney, Soony Saad, and Tyler Pasher all have starting MLS experience, and Justin Braun, Brad Ring, Brad Rusin, and Karl Ouimette are all names we know from other USL or NASL teams LouCity’s played before. It’s a good collection of talent.

It’s not quite a team yet, however. Until Wednesday night against Cincinnati, Indy had only scored four goals, and that’s against competition that isn’t exactly known for their defensive chops: Richmond, Cincinnati, Nashville, Charlotte, and North Carolina. They scored twice against Cincy on Wednesday, one of those being a penalty kick. The Eleven’s lack of goal production isn’t for lack of chances, as they’ve created more than 50 on the season, led by Saad and McInerney. They just aren’t particularly good at scoring them. The Eleven aren’t leaky, though. Or, at least they weren’t until Wednesday when they gave up three goals (including a very early penalty) to Attendance FC.

Indy sets up in a 4-2-3-1 with McInerney as the lone striker. They seem like a team that wants to play up the middle when they have the ball, but I’m not sure how good they are at getting into the 18 that way. They aren’t necessarily a possession-oriented team, but instead prefer to play more direct. Over 40% of their passes are forward, which seems like a lot. Maybe it isn’t.

In any event, a team that hasn’t quite come together yet will probably spell good things for Louisville City. City, of course, is dealing with several injuries still. Richard Ballard is still out. Shaun Francis is listed as questionable, which translates to “he’s missing half of a leg,” I think. No word on Pat McMahon or Paco. I’m taking that to mean we’ll see a back three of Totsch, Souahy and Kyle Smith until proven otherwise. That’s suboptimal from an attacking standpoint. We’ll see how it goes.

VAMOS LOS MORADOS, VAMOS A GANAR!