Indy Eleven Edge FC Edmonton to Advance to NASL Final
The stage for the NASL Championship Final is set as Indy Eleven edged FC Edmonton on Saturday afternoon in the first semifinal matchup of the day. Indy will take on the New York Cosmos at Belson Stadium this Sunday as the NASL season comes to a close.
NASL Soccer News: Indy Eleven will travel to New York to take on the Cosmos in The Championship Final on Sunday, November 13th, for the right to hoist the Soccer Bowl Trophy. Indy defeated FC Edmonton, 1-0, in a semifinal matchup before a sellout crowd of 9,702 fans at Carroll Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 2 seed has gone 19 matches without a loss at Carroll Stadium dating back to last season and is 14W-3D-0L at home in NASL play in 2016, outscoring the opposition, 38-11. The Eddies entered the contest having lost three of their last four matches, but boasted the league’s best defense, having allowed only 21 goals all season. Edmonton also had the least productive attacking side, scoring just 25 goals combined across both the Spring and Fall Seasons.
Indy had the game’s first opportunity two minutes in when Sinisa Ubiparipovic found Don Smart with a pass to the top of FC Edmonton’s penalty area. Smart’s left-footed strike forced goalkeeper Matt VanOekel, who had 16 shutouts this season, to dive to his left to block the shot.
In the 29th minute, Nemanja Vukovic and Dylan Mares worked a clean give-and-go with Vukovic floating in a cross that VanOekel let pass as it hit the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. Two minutes later, Mares unleashed a left-footed strike from the top of the area that forced VanOekel to push the ball out for a corner kick.
Ten minutes into the second half, Mares had another chance on goal after he chested down a cross and slid a pass to Smart for a right-footed shot that sailed over the crossbar.
The host’s efforts finally paid off when Ubiparipovic scored his first goal in an Indy Eleven uniform, giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute. Eamon Zayed held up the ball at the top box and rolled a pass to Mares, and with his back to the goal Mares touched a pass to Ubiparipovic for a curling, right-footed shot that escaped the grips of VanOekel high to the far post.
“I was praying to God that the ball would fall to me, and once it left my foot I knew it was destined to hit the net. I obviously didn’t know it would hit the top corner the way it did, but that definitely made the goal extra special,” explained Ubiparipovic. “I’m extremely happy and proud of my teammates and really the entire organization. With this being our first postseason appearance, to win at home in front of our crowd is tremendous.”
Indy Eleven nearly put the match to bed in the 83rd minute as Vukovic struck a free kick inside the Eddies goal box where Justin Braun slid for a shot but sent it wide.
The win in Indy Eleven’s playoff debut secured another first during the team’s historic 2016 campaign – a first appearance in The Championship Final in the club’s third year of play.
Photo Credit: Matt Schlotzhauer
