Indy Eleven is striving for history this season, as this would be the first year the team has made it to the playoffs three years in a row.
The Eleven finished last season with 14 wins, 11 losses and nine draws in 34 matches, placing them fourth out of 12 teams in the Eastern Conference, according to the United Soccer League Championship.
“We need to win a trophy and be successful in the playoffs,” Head Coach Sean McAuley said. “… And obviously, to win the trophy in the USL, we’ve got to get into the playoffs. So, it’s a big, important year for us ….”
The team is heavily focused on training and making sure the group’s mentality is positive. McAuley said they are trying to “get on the map” as a playoff team in the league, but it will take a lot more than focus and mentality to do that.
“I’m really excited about, probably just as much as playing and all the success that the team’s had, is the stuff that we do off the field within the community,” McAuley said. “I feel as though, when I came, that wasn’t as strong as what it should have been, and we need to make sure that our relationship with the supporters and the local community is really strong, and our players do a fantastic job getting out into the community.”
Having played a 15-year professional career in the United States, Scotland and England, according to Indy Eleven’s website, McAuley said how fortunate he was throughout his career to work with great people that have influenced his coaching style. Throughout his time as a player, he said he took little bits of former teammates’s and coaches’s philosophies and identities, especially the aspect of “strong attacking football” that is entertaining to watch.
Last season, Indy Eleven set a USL Championship team franchise record of 49 goals in regular-season play, according to the team’s website. McAuley said it is the team’s responsibility to their supporters because they want to see “attacking football.” The supporters want to see the ball moving forward and plenty of goals. The team has quite a few young players this year who are new to the squad, and the experienced players who have been at the club a while now have been phenomenal resources for them, McAuley said.
“I think everybody is the key difference maker for us,” McAuley said. “It will be the team’s strength, not individuals’.”
Central midfielder James Murphy, who wears number five on his back, had nothing but good things to say about “the gaffer,” McAuley. Murphy said he has had plenty of good conversations with him, and the gaffer has “been class,” or excellent, with him.
“All he wants us to do is play well and win games,” Murphy said. “He wants to be exciting and get fans on their feet. He wants us to give back to the fans what they give us with good performances and wins.”
Murphy said that as the team gets to know each other better as a group, the performances will keep getting better. He also complemented McAuley’s team mindset and the importance of working together as a unit.
“I think it’s a huge thing for the gaffer to have good characters in the team and guys that get along, he doesn’t want any bad eggs, so to speak,” Murphy said. “He wants guys that will fight for each other and keep it competitive in training … that’s really good for the camaraderie of the group.”
Individually, Murphy said he cares most about whatever he can do best to help the team. He said he would love to score some goals and get some assists to contribute that way, but also to win tackles, battle for the team and be a leader.
“Team comes first, you know,” Murphy said. “… We want to reach a Jagermeister Cup final, come top three, top two, top one in the Eastern Conference, get another home playoff game and then go and try and win the whole thing, you know. So it’s all about winning for us, getting the results and seeing ourselves as close to the top of this league as we can.”
Indy Eleven is playing tonight at 7:30 p.m. against Miami FC at home at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in the U.S Open Cup, according to the schedule on the team’s website. Their next home league game will be this Saturday, April 19, against Charleston Battery at 7 p.m.
