• INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Eleven edged the visiting Swope Park Rangers 2-1 on Wednesday night at Lucas Oil Stadium to secure at least one home match in the USL Championship playoffs. A second goal from Dane Kelly un-leveled matters late and the hosts held on to lock up —…
• INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Eleven extended their home unbeaten streak to a club-record 23 games with a narrow 2-1 victory over Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday. A late Dane Kelly dagger, assisted by the head of Tyler Pasher, broke a tie after second-half goals by Indy’s Ilija Ilic and…
• INDIANAPOLIS — A pair of Indy Eleven substitutes linked up in the 83rd minute to give Indy a critical three points against first-place New York Red Bulls II. Dane Kelly headed home Macauley King’s cross at the far post to allow Indy to escape with a 1-0 victory after…
• INDIANAPOLIS — Some second-half changes by Indy Eleven head coach Martin Rennie to both his personnel and tactics guided the Indy Eleven over Saint Louis FC on Sunday evening at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indy attackers Tyler Pasher and Dane Kelly both came off the bench to score in the…
• INDIANAPOLIS — Outside Lucas Oil Stadium during the second half of Sunday’s match between the Indy Eleven and Saint Louis FC, a nasty thunderstorm began spewing down from the heavens. Inside the stadium, a mild tempest of its own formed around the same time. After a nil-nil first half,…
• INDIANAPOLIS — Late strikes by Thomas Enevoldsen and Tyler Pasher lifted the Indy Eleven to a 2-nil win over visiting Loudoun United FC, D.C. United’s reserve side, Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indy hasn’t suffered a home loss since the Fourth of July — in 2018. Follow Robbie…
• INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday was the first home game of the season for the Indy Eleven, playing against the Hartford Athletic. Although a rainy day, it wasn’t enough to deter the record-breaking crowd that attended the match. A total of 20,251 tickets were sold for the game, the most in…
• EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Indy Eleven manager Martin Rennie somewhat prides himself on being cryptic about his lineups and tactics, especially during the preseason. The first time I interviewed him and inquired about his coaching philosophy shortly after he took the job, he told me he didn’t want to give…
• EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the final preseason fixture for both sides ahead of the start of the 2019 USL Championship season, the Indy Eleven and Nashville SC battled to a nil-nil draw Saturday afternoon at Arad McCutchan Stadium on the campus of the University of Evansville. An absurdly choppy…

Image credit: Indy Saints FC

INDIANAPOLIS — The 2018-19 Premier League season is right around the corner. That means, of course, it’s time for some fantasy football.

Join Indy Saints FC‘s Fantasy Premier League group to compete for prizes in the season-long game. A $10 donation to the Indy Saints Soccer Foundation, a nonprofit that operates both the Indy Saints FC men’s and women’s sides, gains you entry into the league. The top three finishers will receive prizes, as will the three “relegated” teams at the very bottom of the table. The season kicks off Aug. 10.

Contributors from Bloody Shambles, Lady Victory and Soc Takes are participating, so get those lineups set to test your Premier League mettle against local soccer media members and the rest of the knowledgeable field. The league is open to anyone, not just Indy Saints FC supporters and Indiana residents.

REGISTRATION

1. CLICK HERE to make a $10 donation to the Indy Saints Soccer Foundation to gain entry to the league.
2. CLICK HERE to sign up or log in at the official Fantasy Premier League website.
3. Select your squad. Note: You can make unlimited changes prior to the start of Week 1.
4. Follow the direct link or manually enter the league code emailed to you by Indy Saints FC after completing Step 1.

Image credit: Fantasy Premier League

PRIZES

First:
Copy of FIFA 2019, Indy Saints FC scarf, shirt, swag pack and all-access 2019 season pass to ISFC events

Second:
Indy Saints FC scarf, shirt, swag pack and all-access 2019 season pass to ISFC events

Third:
Indy Saints FC scarf, swag pack and all-access 2019 season pass to ISFC events

Relegation (bottom three):
Vintage Indy Saints FC fidget spinner

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

Photo credit: Danilo Borges/Portal da Copa

Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas held a clean sheet and was nothing short of brilliant for 90 minutes Friday against powerhouse Brazil. Unfortunately for the Ticos, the beautiful game can be awfully cruel at times, especially that pesky old stoppage time.

In the blink of an eye, the scoreboard read 2-0 Brazil at fulltime. Philippe Coutinho megged Navas in stoppage time give Brazil the lead it craved throughout. And moments later, Neymar netted a second to figuratively twist the knife. Gabriel Jesus and Douglas Costa notched the respective assists.

By any stretch of the imagination, Brazil was the better side and every bit deserving of three points — hence Navas’ excellence to keep it close. The Real Madrid backstop played like a ‘keeper of such pedigree. The Brazilians bombarded the Costa Rica goalmouth with 20 total shots, 10 of which were on frame. Brazil also owned 69 percent of the possession.

The Ticos’ vaunted 5-4-1 formation — the source of so many sleepless nights for opposing coaches during the 2014 World Cup — once again significantly flummoxed a world-class foe for 90-plus minutes. Costa Rica set up tactically the way it always does, cramming bodies in the central part of the pitch and using effective lateral movement to clog passing lanes and block shots, all the while waiting patiently for the right opportunity to strike on the counter.

But because of Brazil’s dominance, the Ticos proved unable to get many numbers forward. They only generated two shots, neither on target, and one corner kick. Navas and Navas alone kept them in the match. Despite getting nutmegged in stoppage time and letting in another dagger shortly thereafter, on the whole it was sublime stuff from the 31-year-old goalkeeper.

As every footballer to grace the pitch has learned at some point or another, sometimes the game is just a cruel, cruel bastard. Navas’ heroic individual display will ultimately go down as just another side note to a well-deserved Brazilian triumph, but it was a performance that his teammates, coaches and Costa Rican supporters won’t soon forget.

The loss, Costa Rica’s second of the tournament, removed any hope the Central American nation had of replicating its 2014 success by advancing out of the Group Phase.

Group E play will wrap up Wednesday with Brazil taking on Serbia and Switzerland facing Costa Rica. With only the Ticos eliminated so far, the Brazilians, Serbs and Swiss are all still vying for a spot in the Round of 16.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

Soc Takes correspondent Aaron Gunyon joins the Feuerstein’s Fire podcast to preview the upcoming 2017 North American Soccer League spring season along with host Daniel Feuerstein and special guests Tommy Hodul, Neil Morris, Steven Sandor, David Kilpatrick and Logan Alexander. Listen:

Thanks to @Hodulbass @AGunyon @ByNeilMorris @stevensandor @ItsLogie @DrDKilpatrick for coming on tonight.

— Daniel Feuerstein (@DFeuerstein) March 22, 2017

Follow Soc Takes on Twitter @SocTakes.

Related

• At a local Afghan-American community soccer tournament in the Bay Area of California, Benno Nagel and Edreece Agrhandiwal met for the first time in what would eventually become a partnership establishing what they hope to be Oakland’s next big soccer club: Oakland Roots Sports Club. Benno Nagel, a former…

Image credit: Old Bhoys SC

While the table may look incomplete, the standings are final in the 2019 UPSL Midwest South Division. Further, as the UPSL spring season playoffs are underway, Milwaukee Bavarians (the 2018 UPSL spring champion) has advanced to represent the conference at the national playoff tournament. Joliet Soccer United were South Division Champs in 2019, as this conference only participates in the spring season. They qualified for the conference playoffs and lost to the Bavs 3-1 in the final. As for how the table looks and feels for the Bhoys, 2019 is a marked improvement over our inaugural season in 2018. Including a season where the Bhoys picked up the first UPSL league win in club history, a solid mid-table finish reflects the work in the offseason as the coaching staff prepared for the work on the pitch. The Bhoys finished the season on June 29 with a heart-breaking loss away to Maritsa; on a blistering hot day in St. Louis, the Bhoys conceded twice late to finish the season with a 2-3 loss to Maritsa, who were keen to repay the 4-0 drubbing the Bhoys put on them at Cardinal Ritter Stadium in May. The UPSL offseason is now upon us, and there is plenty of work, planning and strategizing to be done by the Bhoys leadership. A more thorough season-ending wrap up will be put together in August, with a peek behind the curtain at financials and a recap of the past two years. In short — and in advance of that next post — the Bhoys have come a long way from the November 2017 announcement that they will join the UPSL in the expanding Midwest Conference. A change in name and reaching independence as a club happened in between the two seasons, as well as more than one lesson learned the hard way. With the UPSL season wrapped up, the focus shifts to the CIASA competition, which comes down to this Sunday, July 21, where a champion will be decided.

Image credit: UPSL

Last weekend saw the Bhoys drop points for just the second time this CIASA season, along with their first loss. This Sunday at Cardinal Ritter Stadium, the Old Bhoys take on Boomers; with a win, the Bhoys will clinch first in the division and win the league. A loss or draw, however, will see FC Miller be crowned as title winner of the Premier Division of CIASA. All to play for, and the Bhoys are looking for their first club championship of any kind this weekend in the heat of summer in Indy. A look at the current table shows how tightly contested the league is.

Image credit: CIASA

Want to connect? Drop us a line: [email protected] or via twitter @OldBhoysSC. We’d love to hear from you on how we can continue to build Old Bhoys into 2020 and beyond!

COYOB!

Follow Andy on Twitter: @Andy_H_1980.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

Photo credit: Jamie Smed/Soc Takes

After ending up on the wrong side of a 7-1 shellacking June 29 in St. Paul, FC Cincinnati enters Thursday’s home fixture with D.C. United schlepping a two-match winning streak. D.C. sits third in the Eastern Conference standings, but will be without a notable playmaker Thursday evening. Kickoff at Nippert Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN.

INJURIES/ABSENCES

D.C. United
For the visitors, Luciano Acosta will miss the contest after losing his suspension appeal. Lucho sat a game already from a red card for which MLS handed down a two-match suspension, and now will have to fully serve it out. Chris Odoi-Atsem (hip) is the only United player with a question mark over his status. Oniel Fisher (knee) remains out.

FC Cincinnati
FC Cincy will be without Roland Lamah (hamstring), Fatai Alashe (hamstring) and Greg Garza (calf). Promising youngster Frankie Amaya, the top pick in the 2019 SuperDraft, is listed as questionable and was spotted at training Wednesday. Jimmy McLaughlin (knee) is still out as well.

FORM

D.C. United (8-5-8)Third in Eastern Conference, seventh in Supporters’ Shield

Last five: draw, win, draw, loss, draw

FC Cincinnati (5-13-2)12th in Eastern Conference, 24th in Supporters’ Shield

Last five: loss, loss, loss, win, win

KEY PLAYERS

D.C. United – Paul Arriola
Sans the services of Lucho, can a player like Arriola step up and shoulder some of the playmaking load? That’ll be the lingering question for the visitors if they hope to get Wayne Rooney the necessary touches to impact the match. Arriola, the only player to start every USMNT match so far in the Gregg Berhalter era, has plenty of chance-creating ability, but his exceptional two-way play doesn’t often leave him in position to be the prime orchestrator of an attack. Perhaps he’ll be asked to defend less Thursday night?

FC Cincinnati – Emmanuel Ledesma
It’s been a rough-and-tumble season for Ledesma; he’s mixed in a few solid outings with some not-so brilliant ones. He finally flashed the big-play prowess that earned him the 2018 USL MVP award in FC Cincy’s recent 3-2 win over Houston, dishing out two assists. As a winger, Ledesma is the complete antithesis of Arriola in that he offers little to nothing behind the ball, and all his qualities are going forward. There’s generally space to be exploited behind Ledesma on the flank where he’s stationed, so Arriola might look to fill Lucho’s shoes by doing just that.

Prediction: 2-2 draw

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

Photo credit: Jamie Smed/Soc Takes

CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati’s brutal inaugural MLS campaign recently encountered a spell of positivity with two consecutive victories after going winless in league play in all of June and most of May. But second-half breakdowns in the defensive third Thursday night spoiled the run of good form, as FC Cincy fell 4-1 at home to D.C. United.

A physical match out of the gates saw FC Cincinnati control most of the ball in the first quarter or so of the match. The first real threat from either side came on an FC Cincy corner. Leonardo Bertone found Kendall Waston’s head at the near post, whose header then struck the woodwork.

D.C. United quickly responded with a dangerous chance of their own. Paul Arriola’s header appeared destined for the top corner, but Spencer Richey fully extended to make a difficult save that preserved the blank scoreline.

The back of the net was finally tingled in the 42nd minute by D.C. winger Lucas Rodriguez. Wayne Rooney tapped a short pass to him in the box, and the Argentine bent it past Richey.

An Arriola handball in the box allowed Cincinnati to equalize in the second interval. Emmanuel Ledesma converted from the spot in the 54th via his patented dramatic approach and tap in.

But just 10 minutes later, United found itself back up 3-1 after Rodriguez completed a brace and Rooney added another. Rodriguez’s was a blast from outside the box, assisted by Arriola, that slightly deflected off a defender. Rooney’s came on a calm finish after collecting a pass from Leonardo Jara.

Later, Arriola crept in behind the defense and tacked on one of his own to make it 4-1, effectively sealing the result.

The match statistics were surprisingly relatively even, and the first half especially was played on about level terms. Massive FC Cincy defensive breakdowns in the second stanza among the back four of Alvas Powell, Justin Hoyte, Kendall Waston and Mathieu Deplagne proved to be the hosts’ undoing. Even without focal creator Luciano Acosta, who was suspended for the match, the D.C. trio of Rodriguez, Rooney and Arriola still found enough seams to torment Cincy going forward.

The win propelled United back into second place in the Eastern Conference as they prepare to visit third-place Atlanta United FC on Sunday. FC Cincinnati remains in the cellar, and will look to get back on track at home Sunday versus a resurgent New England Revolution side.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

Image credit: Oakland Roots SC

At a local Afghan-American community soccer tournament in the Bay Area of California, Benno Nagel and Edreece Agrhandiwal met for the first time in what would eventually become a partnership establishing what they hope to be Oakland’s next big soccer club: Oakland Roots Sports Club.

Benno Nagel, a former professional coach in Europe and most recently with Rayo OKC in the NASL, serves as the club president and director of soccer. Edreece Arghandiwal, a business savvy entrepreneur with tons of different marketing experience, will spearhead the club’s brand development and marketing.

The club hopes to begin play in 2019 and is in the unique position of currently still not belonging to a league, although this is something the club is working on while playing the waiting game in a sense, as rumored leagues such as NPSL Pro and NISA are still being established and officially sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“We’re just trying to wait and see how things shake out right now,” said Arghandiwal, referring to the current developments of lower-division American soccer. But Arghandiwal made it clear that going the professional route is not the only option for the Oakland Roots as he mentioned the club is exploring the PDL, UPSL and regular NPSL league options as well.

“We don’t really care which league or level we play in, as long as we field a team that is about Oakland first and always,” he added. “We want to put a team out there for a community that deserves it and that wants a really cool brand to get behind and to build a lifestyle around this thing that transcends soccer.”

The club transcending to more than just soccer is arguably the most important part about this project. When entering the official team website, OaklandRootsSC.com, some of the first words you’ll read are: “More than just a club, more than just soccer.” This statement is crucial to the brand identity that Arghandiwal envisions for the club.

“Oakland Roots is a sports club, so the adaptability of going into a skate park and empowering youth there or going into a fencing club and empowering people there — whatever it is — that’s the ultimate long-term vision,” he explained “We want this to be an all-empowering, all-encompassing brand that does things positively for the community.”

When asked if there were any current American teams that the club drew inspiration from, Arghandiwal was quick to acknowledge NPSL clubs Chattanooga FC and Detroit City FC.

“They have done a freaking fantastic job,” comments Arghandiwal, “(Detroit) is just so committed to the principle and value of being Detroit for Detroit. Chattanooga does the same. It’s something admirable and the Oakland Roots front office looks at them as role models and have referred to them many of times throughout this process.”

The clear goal and large ambition of the founding members and front office of this club make this story an interesting one. An impactful vision is in place, the question is whether Nagel and Arghandiwal’s master plan will come to fruition.

Follow Jack on Twitter: @JackRenwick22.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related

INDIANAPOLIS — La Clave del Barrio, a celebration of Afro-Cuban culture and fundraiser for a special futsal project in Havana, goes down Saturday at Indy Convergence at 2611 West Michigan Street. The party starts at 7 p.m., with salsa lessons set for 7:30 and the show, consisting of dance and musical acts, beginning at 8:30.

“Experience the Afro-Cuban musical and dance stylings of Sancocho, DJ Kyle Long on the 1s and 2s along with Pavel Polanco-Safadit closing out the evening with his lively brand of salsa,” said event organizer Guy-Jo Gordon. “Proceeds will fund the construction of two futsal courts in Havana, Cuba.”

Tickets are $25 in advance online and can be purchased here through Eventbrite. Tickets are $30 at the door.

Image credit: La Clave del Barrio

Authentic Cuban cuisine and Cuba Libres — rum and coke with a splash of lime — will be available, as will wine and local beer offerings.

The seeds of the Havana futsal court project were first planted back in May 2018, when Indiana Futsal visited the city in partnership with Artecorte, La Liga en Cuba and the Peace Learning Center to host Havana’s first-ever city futsal tournament. Watch the video atop to learn more about Indiana Futsal’s mission and experiences in Cuba.

La Clave del Barrio is an all-ages event. Kids under 12 get in free.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.

Related