Saturday brings the dawn of a new season for the North American Soccer League, and the beginning of the second spring season for the Boys in Blue as Indy Eleven travels down to Hotlanta to take on the Atlanta Silverbacks. Both teams are confident and ready to hit the ground running as the ball will drop at Atlanta Silverbacks park.
Indy fans are excited to see what the club will bring as they continue growing into their place in the NASL. One storyline that played out during the off season was the clean out of the forwards. For a large portion of the offseason, when you would load up indyeleven.com and click on the roster page you would be met with a host of names that were retained like Pedro Norales and Brad Ring but the clear missing spot was any forwards.
Many fans spent the entire winter drumming up explanations for the house cleaning of forwards, but now as the team can see Saturday on the horizon, the team sits comfortably with 21 players on the rosters with three forwards, Charlie Rugg of LA Galaxy, Brian Brown of the Harbour View FC in the Jamaican first division. Both players join the team on loan from their respective clubs. The final addition to the arsenal of forwards is a player by the name of Wojciech Wojcik (don’t worry, I can’t pronounce it either). Each player was brought in for their specific skills.
Now, as we sit on the cusp of the new NASL spring season, all three players will need to fire off from the first whistle.
Saturday will be an important date for Indy Eleven. Not just due to the start of a season, but the need to show that they aren’t just a normal expansion squad that is still growing. Saturday will call on the three players to play well, and they will be the keys to victory.
Wojciech Wojcik:
Woj was originally supposed to join the club during its freshman season. Sitting and watching video tape, you see an athletic, mobile forward who can get behind backlines even with the best defense. The role that Woj will play is using that athletic ability to get into specific positions. During his time at Bradley University, Woj could get into a great position to have the ball crossed to him and headed in, which is what his main role will be.
Charlie Rugg:
Although only able to play for Indy during the last five games of the fall season, Rugg moving from the west coast to the mid west brought experience of being at a big club, but also a keen sense of leadership. While the midfield might play a larger role of pumping the ball up to the forwards, Rugg was the point man of the squad. He could move, create space, use his size to work in the box, and set other players up in order to get the best chance to score. I believe Rugg, as long as his fitness is in order, will start on Saturday and be in that role of leading the attack as long as he is with the Boys in Blue.
Brian Brown:
Like a tiger being let out of his cage, Brown brings speed, acceleration, and general heading ability to the table. Having played with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer the season before, Brown led the Jamaican First Division in goals with 18 during the season before his loan to the Union. Brown brings speed as well as playmaking ability that will allow for him to score quick, often, and as much as he likes.
Here is my guess for a starting eleven for Saturday:
Each portion of Indy Eleven’s team breaks down with key leaders in each section. With Pedro Norales and Greg Janicki holding down the central defensive area, Brad Ring and Jose Kleberson playing midfield, the attack will be the most looked on portion of the Eleven’s spring campaign. With leaders in the midfield and backline, and work to correct the errors each section had last season, the way that Indy does better in the spring season comes down to how Charlie Rugg, Wojciech Wojcik, and Brian Brown play.
Indy Eleven play Saturday, April 4th 2015 live on ESPN 3 at 7:30 pm.
Main Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski/Indy Eleven
