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PREVIEW | Indy Looks To Slow Down United's In-Form Attack

Minnesota United Staff | Sep 2, 2015

It’s the final third of the season, and the teams with ambition on reaching The Championship are working their way up the Combined Standings and positioning themselves for a deep run in this season’s postseason competition. Despite playing five of the last six matches on the road, the Loons are sitting in third position and carrying momentum forward and up the table.

"We're excited to enter this phase of the season, after some tough road games, to get back in front of our fans,” Minnesota United head coach Manny Lagos said. “The guys are looking forward to improving on our last couple of games."

The Loons have scored in 17 straight games, which has equaled a Modern Era record. Minnesota has wavered defensively recently, with the last clean sheet coming in early July and in early May before that. That will be something United focuses on this Wednesday, when Indy Eleven comes to town for the midweek match.

OPPONENT

Indy Eleven plays a conservative brand of soccer, lining up in a 4-4-2 with two strikers that work hard going forward as well as getting back to help on defense. Indy works the ball around with short passes through the midfield, but will occasionally knock a long ball around the midfield to both Dane Richards and Charlie Rugg, who act as target men for the Eleven.

Everything went wrong for Indy Eleven this past Saturday against Fort Lauderdale. The Strikers defeated Indy in every aspect of the game, tallying seven goals in a 7-1 shelling. It will be a match to forget for Indy. The club’s defenders get forward and attack, which leaves them exposed on the counter.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Christian Ramirez – The second-year striker has found his form early in the Fall Season. Ramirez scored in seven straight matches for the Loons and has tallied eight goals in 2015. The 2014 Golden Boot winner will be looking to get back on the scoresheet and earn three points for his club at home this Wednesday.

Dane Richards – The Jamaican international has scored a goal in three straight games for Indy. Richards is starting to hit top form after being loaned to the Boys in Blue from the New York Red Bulls, providing the abuility to get in behind defenders with his pace and taking his opportunites to score when they arrive.

MATCH PREVIEW – MINNESOTA UNITED VS. INDY ELEVEN

Minnesota matched up against Indy Eleven in May and defeated Indy away from home by a final score of 3-1. The Loons scored early, with Kalif Alhassan notching his first goal of the season with a nicely placed free kick. Sergio Peña struck back for the home team, set up from a corner kick by Dylan Mares. From then on, United was in top gear, pressuring the Eleven and forcing mistakes. Goals from Justin Davis and Juliano Vicentini led to Minnesota taking all three points from the night.

It has been a tale of two very different weeks for Indy Eleven and Minnesota United. The Loons had a bye week, sitting out Saturday while the rest of the clubs in the league had matches. The rest comes at a good point in the season for Minnesota, entering the final third of the season and coming after a difficult and long trip away from home.

"Getting back into our routine and rhythm, with the weekend off, we're making sure we are prepared for a difficult matchup midweek," Lagos said.

Coming into the match with a good result against Tampa Bay the week before, and a nice midweek match against Atlanta, Indy Eleven was moving in the right direction prior to kickoff last weekend. But the Strikers had other plans for Indy. Scoring early and often, the Strikers took no pity on Indy Eleven and dismantled them in a 7-1 victory.

It was the largest loss in franchise history for Indy Eleven. The club will have to have a short memory as it travels to Minnesota this Wednesday for its fourth match in one and a half weeks.

"We recognize that Indy is a team that has had some very positive results,” Lagos said. “They got road points against Tampa Bay and Atlanta the weekend before last, they are a team that represents some quality players and they have some speed on the field. We just have to be ready to decide to be sharp at home.”

Minnesota is just three points away from second position in the overall standings. A win on Wednesday and United will draw even in points with Ottawa heading into a weekend match against FC Edmonton. Every point is crucial in this late stage of the season.

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