USL Championship: Indy Eleven 1 : 1 Memphis 901 FC

July 24, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Indy Eleven News Release

INDIANAPOLIS – Indy Eleven secured a point for the first time in the month of July via a 1-1 draw against Memphis 901 FC at IUPUI Carroll Stadium. Forward Solomon Asante notched his first goal for the Boys in Blue in the 9th minute of the draw, while goalkeeper Sean Lewis equaled a club season-high with seven saves in his debut for the Boys in Blue.

Indy Eleven remains in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with the result, which snapped a club-record six game losing streak. The Eleven still sits seven points out of playoff position on 22 points, but also still holds two games in hand on both seventh place Miami FC and eighth place FC Tulsa.

After 459 scoreless minutes, the Boys in Blue finally found the back of the net thanks to the goal by Asante that was assisted by midfielder Alex McQueen. The two-time USL Championship Most Valuable Player launched a shot from inside the box while falling backwards, putting his squad on the board for the first time in over a month and giving the Ghanaian a 50th regular season goal in his four seasons of USL Championship play.

While Indiana’s Team finally had the ball bounce its way to start the match, it was a story of bad luck on good opportunities for 901 FC to start the match. In the first half of the opening stanza, Memphis had two shots that went off of the post and one stopped on a miraculous kick save by Lewis, who tied the league mark for most saves in a half this season with six in the first 45 minutes. The visitors also had a goal disallowed due to an offside flag in the 22nd minute.

Just a minute after the disallowed goal for 901 FC, Memphis broke through in the 23rd on a goal from Phillip Goodrum, his Eastern Conference-leading 12th of the season. While it appeared the offside flag could also have been raised on Goodrum’s chance, it indeed stayed down and the goal tied things up at Carroll Stadium.

In a second half with much fewer looks for both sides, the Boys in Blue fought hard on several chances to regain the lead, but could not convert. In the 84th minute, Asante looked to have found a brace and the go-ahead goal, only to see another offside call go against the Boys in Blue. In stoppage time, the Eleven came oh-so close to leaving with three points when Manuel Arteaga found Jared Timmer’s cross with a diving header at the six, but he was denied by former IU goalkeeper Trey Muse, who secured the ball after it…