It’s time to hit the road again, as the Hounds travel westward for the first of two matches this week when they meet Indy Eleven at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The match will be televised nationally on ESPN Deportes, while both an English and Spanish broadcast will be streamed on ESPN+.
Like the Hounds, Indy has struggled to get results consistently, losing their past two matches after picking up some early wins. Here are some of the things to watch as both sides try to pick up some points in the inter-divisional matchup.
1.) Those dangerous Canadians
Indy has given the Hounds fits the past two seasons, particularly former Hound and Canadian youth international Tyler Pasher, who scored the game-winning goal in three of the last four meetings between the clubs; the Hounds won the other in shutout fashion.
But Pasher is now gone, having signed with the Houston Dynamo, and in his place, Indy signed another Canadian with international and MLS experience, Jordan Hamilton.
Hamilton leads Indy with three goals on the young season, though two of those have come from the penalty spot. He also doesn’t have a long scoring history against the Hounds, bagging a goal as an 18-year-old with the Wilmington Hammerheads in 2014 and none since with the Hammerheads or Toronto FC II.
Indy has struggled to find the net with just seven goal in seven games, and keeping the clamps on Hamilton will be important for the Hounds, as he seems likely to head the line again and be a target for midfield/wing playmakers like Nick Moon and Gordon Wild.
2.) If not Russell, who?
Russell Cicerone’s early scoring run has been arguably the biggest bright spot for the team, with four of the Hounds’ eight goals to his credit.
While riding the hot hand (or is it boot?) is great while it lasts, eventually teams will focus more of their defensive attention on the emerging top target. That will make it even more essential for the other target men, whether it’s Albert Dikwa, Tommy Williamson or a runner coming through from midfield, to assert themselves and take advantage of the additional space they get because of Cicerone’s success.
The chances have been coming, whether it is through Alex Dixon creating down the wing or Kenardo Forbes distributing from midfield, but for the Hounds to really hit their stride, they will need more than one consistent finisher.
3.) Familiar faces
Though the first time was only a preseason match, Indy Eleven is the first side the Hounds will see for a second time this year.
The preseason meeting was a 1-1 draw, with — stop us if you’ve heard this one before — Cicerone scoring on an assist from Dixon. Manuel Arteaga, another player who could feature in the Indy side Tuesday, scored their goal, while Danny Vitiello stopped a penalty by Hamilton in the match.
Obviously, the teams now are more match fit and will not be rotating players quite as much in the second half, but it will be interesting to see if Bob Lilley and Indy coach Martin Rennie adjust their tactics based on what took place on April 24.
