PREVIEW | Armada FC vs. Indy

With both teams sitting with six points in the NASL Spring Season standings, the winning club could put itself in striking distance of the New York Cosmos, who play on Sunday, and land in second place.

The Armada FC leads the league in total goals scored (eight) and goals per match average (2.0). With the reward of that attack-heavy mindset also comes some risk, as late goals allowed by breakdowns in the defensive third cost the Armada FC points in losses to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies.

But the soccer gods returned the favor to Jacksonville last Saturday when young Jamaican forward Akeil Barrett, who subbed on for Lucas Rodriguez in the 82nd minute, stole the ball at midfield, juked a defender, and fed forward Alhassane Keita with a gliding through ball that Keita guided into the bottom right corner of the goal in the 93rd minute, proving to be the game-winner. In the match’s waning seconds, Armada FC goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo preserved the lead with two heroic saves.

Indy Eleven has proven to be a steady team thus far with one win (San Antonio) and three draws (New York, Carolina, and Atlanta). The Eleven, Cosmos and Silverbacks are the only undefeated teams in the NASL. Indy also has a nine-game undefeated streak (4W-5D-0L) dating back to last October.

The Eleven played to a draw in their last league contest with the RailHawks in Indianapolis after Carolina’s Blake Wagner put home a goal and knotted the score at 1-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jacksonville: Keita was named NASL Player of the Week after his stellar performance against San Antonio. He was also named to the NASL Team of the Week along with attacking midfielder Marcos Flores, who notched an assist against the Scorpions. Both Keita and Flores are the Armada FC’s leaders in points with two goals and an assist each.

Indy Eleven: Forward Charlie Rugg, a former draft pick of Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, has notched a goal and assist while playing the majority of minutes during the team’s current unbeaten run.

NOTABLES

• So far this season, the Armada FC have been unstoppable at home and have done so by getting ahead early. Four of the five goals the team has scored at home have occurred in the first half, including two within the first four minutes.
• Midfielder Jaime Castrillon will miss his second straight match with an injury to his right foot. He is out approximately two to four weeks recovering from a bone bruise.
• Indy Eleven has not yet won in the state of Florida, posting a record of 0W-1D-2L over the 2014 Fall and Spring Seasons. The Eleven has lost twice to the Strikers in Fort Lauderdale – once in the Fall and one in the Spring – and drew with the Rowdies in St. Petersburg last Spring.
• Three matches into the Spring Season, 17 of the 24 active players on the Armada FC roster have seen action. Players who have not yet seen the pitch are defenders Jordan Gafa, Ramak Safi and Joseph Toby, midfielder Nico Zaldana, backup goalkeepers David Sierra and Sebastian Evers and forward Tyler Williams.