After Slow Start, Indy Eleven Looks Ready For Fall Season Run

Indianapolis is known for a lot of things. From a storied NFL franchise to a legendary racetrack, the city is bustling with activity, history, and a seemingly unquenchable thirst for professional sports. Since 2013, the Crossroads of America has been home to arguably the hottest ticket in the NASL.

Indy Eleven continues to be one of the league’s showcase clubs, with the Brickyard Batallion and thousands of other supporters finding their way to Carroll Stadium week in and week out. The club once again leads the league in attendance – a distinction that they have proudly held in two other seasons (2014, 2015) - pulling in just over 8,100 fans per game so far in 2017.

Looking back on the Spring Season, which just concluded on July 15, Indy’s on-field performance so far this year can be separated into two categories: how it started the season and how it finished it.

Following its best season in club history in 2016, when the club endured a season-long battle for supremacy with the New York Cosmos, the team had high hopes for this year. After all, the Boys in Blue won the 2016 Spring Season and advanced all the way to The Championship Final last year. With so many players returning in 2017, a repeat of the club’s success seemed likely.

The season started off decent enough, with the Boys in Blue netting six goals in their first six games and picking up points along the way. The only problem was that their opponents were playing well too, which led to Indy starting the season off with six consecutive draws. But after its string of stalemates, the consistency of play seemed to go begging, and with both goalkeeper Jon Busch and the back line under pressure, the club was left without a win until mid-June.

Despite the results, the club’s performances were still largely entertaining, and in fact, Indy gave its home fans one of the most exciting games of the Spring Season just two weeks into the year. Ben Speas and Justin Braun starred in a back-and-forth 3-3 draw against Puerto Rico FC that had just about everything you would look for in an exciting game.

It took until June 17 for Indy to get its first win, which came against North Carolina FC, but since then Tim Hankinson’s side has been on a tear. The club closed out the Spring Season undefeated in their last five games – a stretch that included four wins. Braun, Speas, and Eamon Zayed have stepped up their game in the attack, combining for 13 goals and putting themselves among some of the league’s best in categories like assists and shots. Braun in particular is sitting third in goals (seven) and second in assists (four).

Busch’s game has continued to improve as well. While he initially led the league in goals conceded, both his play and the defense around him has now helped him rise to the top of another list - most saves - where he sits in second with 47.

In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, Indy’s best performances this year have come against the defending champion Cosmos - the same club that beat them in last year’s title game. The Boys in Blue outscored New York, 3-1, over two Spring Season contests – one of which was a thrilling Independence Day matchup at Coney Island’s MCU Park. 

Indy’s torrid run of form to end the Spring Season may have been too little, too late, but it helps give the fourth-year club significant momentum going into the Fall Season - and some footing in the eventual playoff race.