Indy Eleven Defeat Cincinnati Dutch Lions in First Round of U.S. Open Cup
Indy Eleven are set to play FC Cincinnati of the USL following a win versus the Cincinnati Dutch Lions in the First Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Indy Eleven’s NPSL side tallied its first ever win in the U.S. Open Cup as they look to the next round on the road.
Soccer News: Indy Eleven NPSL would fend off a scrappy Cincinnati Dutch Lions side and the elements to post a 1-0 win in the First Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Grand Park’s Championship Field. Vincent Mitchell’s 17th minute tally would stand tall through regulation – and a nearly two-hour weather delay – to give Indy Eleven’s National Premier Soccer League affiliate a win in its first-ever match in the U.S. Open Cup, U.S. Soccer’s national championship tournament.
With the victory, Indy Eleven NPSL advances to face off with another Queen City-based squad, FC Cincinnati of the USL, next Wednesday, May 18. This time the NPSL side will take to the road, with the Second Round affair at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus set to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Dutch Lions, representing the USL’s Premier Development League (PDL), would get the first clear look of the game five minutes in, when midfielder Brett Elder found some space from 10 yards out and fired a side-winding shot over frame. End-to-end play would start to see the chances fall more on the side of Indy Eleven NPSL, and the home team would cash in just past the quarter-hour mark.
A minute after Travis Wannemuehler’s nice diagonal ball towards the arc to Nago Mbengue was nullified for offside, the attack-minded right back would hit paydirt on a similar pass to Vincent Mitchell, who collected in the left side of the area and pushed a low shot to the far post past Dutch Lions goalkeeper Dane Wilson to put Indy Eleven NPSL up 1-0 early on. Mbengue and Mitchell would continue to be a handful throughout the rest of the first half by running onto through balls and carrying into the area themselves, but they would create no further chances to test Wilson before the halftime break.
Cincinnati would see its best chance come through Elder on the left flank, with two particularly good chances sandwiched around the half hour mark being thwarted thanks to aggressive plays by Indy Eleven NPSL ‘keeper Cody Schweitzer coming off his line. The Dutch Lions had a dangerous free kick opportunity set up in the 40th minute, but Chris Dupont would send the 22-yard chance over the Eleven NPSL goal on a shot that Schweitzer looked to have covered regardless.
It was Elder again causing problems in the 44th minute, but after shaking two defenders at the top of the area the midfielder would drag his low shot just wide of the right post, a chance that marked the last good look of the first 45 minutes.
The second half opened with Mitchell looking to double up, but his glancing header off a cross from the right would flash past the left post. Cincinnati had its best look of the match come in the 52nd minute when Ryan Melink’s free kick from the right flank took two hops through the Indy area, the ball just missing the far post run of substitute left back R.J. Best and the left post itself.
Just after the hour mark Indy Eleven NPSL had another fine chance to go 2-nil up when a shot from the edge of the area beat Wilson, only to see a back-tracking Christian Hay clear the ball off the line to keep Cincinnati within a goal. That would be the final play before approaching storms would force the referee to delay the match, the break lasting an hour and 58 minutes.
After having plenty of time to think about getting an equalizer, it was no surprise Cincinnati would come out the aggressor after the delay. The Dutch Lions had a pair of chances in the 65th minute, but Austin Smythe saw his shot blocked by a sliding Nick Strack out for a corner, and the restart ended with Dupont pushing the ball through traffic but just wide of the left post.
Indy Eleven NPSL would begin to stem the tide across the final quarter-hour, but FC Cincinnati would get one more look in the first minute of stoppage time when Jake Meyer put Smythe behind the Eleven NPSL center backs and in on Schweitzer. However, the Dutch Lions attacker would rush his shot and send it high, and sending the visitor’s hopes of advancing along with it over the crossbar.
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – First Round
Indy Eleven NPSL (NPSL) 1 : 0 Cincinnati Dutch Lions (USL PDL)
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Grand Park Championship Field – Westfield, IN
Attendance: 383
Scoring Summary:
IEN – Vincent Mitchell (Travis Wannemuehler) 17’
Discipline Summary:
IEN – Jeffrey McClure (caution) 31’
CDL – R.J. Best (caution) 41’
CDL – Jake Stovall (caution) 72’
IEN – Thomas Schmitt (caution) 90+
CDL – Nick Merhaut (caution) 90+
Indy Eleven NPSL line-up (4-4-2, L–>R): Cody Schweitzer; Jeffrey McClure, Nick Strack, Noah Zorniger, Travis Wannemuehler; Lamine Balde (Koyah Bleah 61’), Colton Tanner, Vincent Mitchell, Lukeman Ahmed-Shaibu (Christian Soto 76’); Thomas Schmitt, Nago Mbengue (capt) (Jordan Kleyn 83’)
Indy Eleven NPSL bench: Johann Bittner, Jose Rodriguez, Michael Galullo, Christian Lomeli (GK)
Cincinnati Dutch Lions line-up (4-2-3-1): Dane Wilson; Nick Merhaut, Jake Stovall, Christian Hay, Josh Grant (R.J. Best 29’); Chris Dupont, Walker Androit; Brett Elder (Jake Meyer 55’), Jack Clark, Ryan Melink (Martyn Sayer 72’); Austin Smythe
Cincinnati Dutch Lions bench: Scott Lamont, Josh Weinzapfel, Isaiah Chapman, Pedro Diaz Gutierrez (GK)
Source/Photo Credit: Indy Eleven
