Indy Eleven Is Getting Over Its ‘Rough Patch’

Photo credit: Indy Eleven/Matt Schlotzhauer

Few people are aware of the semi-exalted position Colin Falvey holds in the folklore of his native Ireland. As the seventh son of a seventh son he is assumed to be a gifted, even charmed individual.

“Yeah I’m supposed to be very lucky,” Falvey told NASL.com. “Maybe it’s true. I've now played 50 games in the NASL and only lost six!”

Last year, Falvey went to The Championship Final with Ottawa Fury FC and this year the Eleven won the NASL Spring Season title without losing a game. Now, as Indy prepares for Sunday afternoon’s game at FC Edmonton, Falvey believes the club is ready to round into postseason form after a “rough patch” that saw the team go five games without a victory. The Spring Season title will yield a semifinal match in The Championship, the league’s four-team tournament, come early November.

“The most important thing for us is to go into the postseason with momentum, not go in on a rocky, rough patch,” he said. “Right now, we’re feeling good about ourselves. We have that home semifinal and I think we just had a reminder that we need to stay on our toes. When you switch off in this league you have a habit of getting kicked in the backside.”

The goal is to peak at the right time. After Indy’s 2-1 loss at Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 10, Falvey said the team held a meeting ahead of its game against red-hot Miami FC.

“We had a little bit of a group meeting the week of the Miami game to just kind of get everyone on the same page,” he said. “Just to jog into people’s heads that we needed to get back to basics, being hungry, and maybe give that little bit of a kick to restart the season. It seems like we have. I used those words – and a few others. The good thing about this team is that we’ve got many voices.”

After that “little bit” of a team chat, the Eleven defeated Miami FC, 2-1, then avenged a 3-0 loss at New York by turning the tables and trouncing the Cosmos, 3-0, last weekend at Carroll Stadium. After Wednesday night’s games, Indy finds itself in third place in the Fall Season Standings, one point behind Miami FC and seven behind the Cosmos On the trip to Alberta, Indy will encounter an FC Edmonton squad that did not win a game in the month of September and is currently on a seven-game streak without a victory. In that span, the Eddies – the league’s lowest-scoring team with only 11 goals in the Fall and just 20 in 26 games overall – has played to three 0-0 draws, including Wednesday night’s at Jacksonville.

“Obviously it’s another big one for us,” Falvey said. “Here are two teams doing really well, I think we’re the two surprise packages of the league this year. If either of us wants to win the Fall Season a point is not going to be good for either team. Three points are a must if you want to catch New York.

“But I think we’re in a good place now, two good performances and full of confidence. We’re chasing all three points.”