Indy's Experienced Roster Building Momentum

Photo credit: Indy Eleven/Matt Schlotzhauer

The signing of 12 new players has brought some age equality to the roster of Indy Eleven, but like the club’s coach Tim Hankinson, with age and experience come different challenges.

“I’m still not over injuries from 40 years ago!” Hankinson, 61, told NASL.com, perhaps remembering his days playing physical pickup games in Manhattan’s Central Park.

For Hankinson’s club, which is heading into Week 6 of the NASL Spring Season as the only unbeaten team in the league, a roster revamped with some veteran players is making the difference. Indy Eleven, whose roster has an average age of 28.27 years, third-oldest in the league, has won two straight games and is tied (on points) with Tampa Bay in fourth place in the standings, one point behind the New York Cosmos and Minnesota United, and four adrift of first-place Carolina.

“I think you can look at the team as old or experienced, but what this club lacked its first two years was a roster with enough experience to win games,” Hankinson said. “You can always find young guys to come in and do the hard work and supply energy. Guys like Dylan Mares and Duke Lacroix. These are energy guys that buzz up and down the field. But you need guidance from players around them who know what needs to be done.”

By no means is Indy, which hosts FC Edmonton on Saturday night at Carroll Stadium, a collection of over-the-hill guys merely taking up space in the locker room and practice field. So far this season, all five of the goals scored by the Eleven have come from players 30 years old or older.

Defender Nemanja Vukovic, 32, has two goals, including last week’s game-winner at Rayo OKC after a highlight-reel goal by Jair Reinoso, 30, gave Indy the early lead. Striker Eamon Zayed, 32, provided the two late goals that gave Indy its first victory over the Cosmos and launched the club’s players and fans into the stratosphere. Not to be forgotten in the veteran category is Jon Busch, the team’s 39-year-old goalkeeper.

“As my assistant Tim Regan keeps reminding us, we were losing for 89 minutes,” Hankinson said. “It’s great to be a team that can counterpunch at crucial moments and believe that it can still get a result, but we’ve also talked about the issue of being a counterpunching team, about allowing a goal and trying to get back in it. That’s the benefit of the Rayo game, getting over that hump. We scored early [in the game’s seventh minute] and the fact that they tied it up and then we got the winner is important.

“The Rayo game was important because suddenly we beat the Cosmos, which was a great accomplishment, the club’s biggest victory. But what do you get if next you lose to Rayo? The people start to look at us as a one-game wonder. Now some people are put on notice, and we start to look at ourselves differently.”

The visiting Eddies have won back-to-back games and sit just behind the Boys in Blue in the standings. Coach Hankinson is hoping the team can continue to improve as the Spring Season rolls on.

“We’re just trying to keep things on an even keel,” he said. “I see things in our game that need hard work, but we’re improving. Even in a victory we’re still learning and working on things. We’re focused on what can work on and improve.

“If we can get a result at home against Edmonton, we’re at the halfway point and everything is there for the taking for a team with momentum.”