PREVIEW: INDY ELEVEN AT RAYO OKC

"Boys in Blue" look to stay undefeated heading into first meeting with expansion side

GAMEDAY: #OKCVIND

Indy Eleven Gameday & Match Preview
Indy Eleven at Rayo OKC
Saturday, April 30, 2016 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Miller Stadium – Yukon, OK

TEAM RECORDS:
Indy Eleven - 1W-2D-0L, 5 pts., 4th place in NASL Spring standings
Rayo OKC - 1W-1D-1L, 4 pts., 6th place in NASL Spring standings
Click here for the complete NASL Spring Season standings

WATCH LIVE:

• Local TV: None
• National TV: beIN Sports
• Online: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (subscription necessary)
• Watch Parties: Union Jack Pub, Chatham Tap (Mass Ave & Fishers), St. Joseph’s Brewery
• Click here to see how to watch the complete NASL Spring Season Week 5 slate

LISTEN LIVE:

• Local Radio:None
• Online: None

FOLLOW LIVE:

• In-game updates: Follow @IndyElevenLive on Twitter
• Live stats: Visit the NASL.com MatchCenter for in-depth Opta statistics

MEDIA GAME NOTES:

• Indy Eleven notes 

Expanding the Fold

Indy Eleven face their first expansion test of the 2016 season when they face Rayo OKC on Saturday night. The newly-formed side has taken four points from three games and is coming off of their first win of the year, a 3-2 victory away against its expansion brethren, Miami FC.

Being one of the relatively new kids on the block, Indy Eleven has only had the opportunity to face two expansion sides – its “Class of 2014” mate Ottawa Fury FC and 2015’s NASL newcomer Jacksonville Armada FC. Both of those first meetings were ones Indy wouldn’t mind forgetting, as Ottawa (4-2) and Jacksonville (1-0) took the opening encounters in their series.

In a fun schedule quirk, Indy Eleven will face all three 2016 expansion teams – Rayo OKC (Saturday), Miami FC (June 4) and Puerto Rico FC (July 2) – for the first time on the road.

Last Time Out – Indy 2 : 1 New York

The late match drama followed Indy Eleven from week two against Ottawa into week three against New York at “The Mike,” as Eamon Zayed’s six-minute brace secured three points for the first time in 2016.

After a scoreless first 45 minutes, the Cosmos leapt into a second half lead when Sebastian Guenzatti was brought down under the challenge of Greg Janicki, leading to a penalty. Midfielder Niko Kranjcar stepped up to face Eleven ‘keeper Jon Busch and beat the MLS veteran to his right to put the visitors one-nil up.

Consistent pressure and a few attacking swaps saw “Indiana’s Team” claw its way into the Cosmos half on multiple occasions, but the needle finally budged in favor of the home side when the Eleven were awarded a penalty of their own following Don Smart’s corner. The Jamaican whipped in a driven ball that Janicki was tracking, only to have his progress impeded by Cosmos defender Hunter Freeman, resulting in the whistle from referee Geoff Gamble. The Irishman Zayed stepped up to the spot and coolly put the Eleven back level.

Though it was Nemanja Vukovic who equalized last-gasp against Ottawa the week before, Zayed was not to be outdone. In the final minute of stoppage, Justin Braun produced a brilliant flick into the path of Dylan Mares, who found himself seven yards out in the left side of the area. The midfielder fired a hard effort towards Cosmos netminder Kyle Zobeck, who did well to save but couldn’t parry the danger clear. In stepped Zayed to tap-in the sure winner before jumping into the west end to celebrate with the Brickyard Battalion. The full-time whistle blew and what had been six straight draws with NASL foes from “The Big Apple” was finally capped off with a victory for the “Boys in Blue.”

Bye Week Strategy

Earlier this week, coach Tim Hankinson noted that most teams on a good run of form would be disappointed to meet a bye week, especially so early on in the season. However, Hankinson said that this team welcomed the week as an opportunity to recover ahead of the road test.

“There are two theories to it – one is you’re winning therefore you don’t like the bye week, but in our particular case, we were still getting over injuries and still trying to get some of our recovered players up to 90-minute fitness, so for me it came at a perfect time. Now we have 20 field players on the park and everyone is healthy and working hard in a positive direction,” said the veteran coach.

With a full squad available after two weeks away from a match, three points and a full 90 minutes remains the target.

Defense Continues to Rule

Jon Busch and the rest of the back line have put on an impressive display of performances through three games, leading to a 0.67 goals against average that places them second only to Minnesota United FC’s 0.50 conceded rate.

In front of Busch, Greg Janicki and Colin Falvey have formed an incredibly strong centerback partnership with Lovel Palmer and Nemanja Vukovic as solid fullbacks. Together, the four have posted a high total of 57 interceptions while winning over 76% of their tackles. With individual standout performances acting in conjunction with collective team displays, the defense has allowed just one goal from open play in their 270 minutes of action. Indy Eleven is also the only team through four rounds of play to not concede multiple goals in a contest.

Rayo OKC have posted the second-best goal conversion rate (19%) in the league, only behind the league leaders the Carolina Railhawks, and have scored five goals in their last two matches. Indy Eleven may be facing another battle of thrilling attack against profound defense on Saturday.

Who to Watch, Indy Eleven edition: FW Eamon Zayed

Coming off of his first pair of goals for the Eleven against New York, Eamon Zayed will again highlight the attack against Rayo OKC this Saturday. However, the question may be whether Zayed again has a partner up top in a 4-4-2 formation, or whether that experience was short-lived and Hankinson goes back to having him spearhead a 4-2-3-1 line-up now that the coach has all his tools at his disposal.

Zayed rescued all three points against the Cosmos with his brace and the No.9 is hungry for more success having putting his capabilities on display. The Irishman is showing his skill with the ball at his feet and remains an ideal option for holding up play into the attack, no matter what the formation.

Who to Watch, Rayo OKC edition: DF Michel

The club’s first captain Michel also doubles as an attacking threat out of the defense, as the rampaging left back has buried two goals on seven chances to lead Rayo OKC in scoring through three games.

The 34-year-old Brazilian arrived in Oklahoma by way of FC Dallas, where he spent three seasons and netted 12 times as a free kick specialist in 74 total appearances. Now at Rayo OKC, he opened his account with a bullet of an effort in a 3-2 loss at Carolina before scoring from the penalty spot last week in a 3-2 win over Miami FC.

Match-up to Mark: Indy DF's Lovel Palmer/Nemanja Vukovic v. Rayo OKC FW Billy Forbes

Despite Rayo OKC being a new side, the “Boys in Blue” are plenty familiar with attacker Billy Forbes from his last two season in San Antonio. In four starts against the Eleven, the Turks and Caicos international scored once and registered two assists on separate occasions, and he has already hit the scoring column in 2016 with a goal against Miami FC last weekend.

Depending on what side Forbes is fielded on, he faces the challenge of going against one of Lovel Palmer or Nemanja Vukovic, both veterans who are used to dealing with players that possess the remarkable pace of Forbes. While he can get to the endline, Forbes has been more interested in getting straight to goal thus far in 2016, as evidenced by him having more shots (5) than crosses (3) in Rayo’s first three games.