The Legion got off to a slow start once again but picked up the pace in the second half and came away with the first road win of the season. This was against a strong Miami team and vaulted the Three Sparks into the playoff spots. Indy Eleven’s wild 4-4 draw with Hartford Athletic Wednesday night ensured that they will stay there until next Wednesday at least.
GK: MATT VAN OEKEL – 7. MVO perhaps chose the wrong spot on the corner that led to Franciso Bonfiglio’s goal but was solid otherwise, racking up 4 saves. Passing was about on par for him at 71.4% accuracy on 35 attempts. He got a late yellow for time-wasting but that’s part of the game and no black mark will be applied here.
LB: MOSES MENSAH – N/A. Moses was forced out by a leg injury after just 12 minutes and hadn’t done much up to that point. 1 tackle and 1 for 2 in duels.
CB: TIAGO SUAREZ – 7.5. Tiago built on his excellent performance against Detroit City, going the full 90 again. 2 tackles and a whopping 13 clearances. 49 of 52 in passing and he won 9 of 12 duels. He did get a yellow for a clear foul though.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. Phanny made 6 clearances but no other defensive actions, and won 2 of 4 duels. He was uninvolved in the attack and converted 87.2% of 39 passes.
RB: ERIK CENTENO – 8. Pulled immediately into the starting lineup Erik was impressive, especially given that he had to move to left back and fought a cramp late in the game. 1 unsuccessful cross, which counted as a chance creation, 5 clearances and 2 interceptions, along with 4 of 7 dduels won. A decent 77.8% accuracy rate on 36 passes.
DM: EDWIN LASZO – 8. Edwin’s size and strength are definitely a boost to the Legion lineup. 4 tackles, 1 clearance and 4 interceptions. He was in a total of 16 duels, winning half of them. He made 62 passes, connecting on a relatively modest 47, but did get a shot off target and created a scoring chance.
LW: DANNY TREJO – 7. Danny only managed 1 shot in the game—it was blocked—and his only cross was unsuccessful. However, he contributed to the defensive effort, putting up 1 tackle, 3 clearances and 1 block. He did play the entire game though for once.
CM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 8. A true captain’s outing. 1 shot on frame, 1 shot off. 3 tackles, 2 clearances and 1 block. 6 for 14 in duels was a tad weak, perhaps, but Enzo is there as much ofr his energy and emotion as anything else.
CM: KOBE HERNANDEZ-FOSTER – 7. Kobe played 68 minutes and was relatively invisible for most of that time. He did send in a cross (without hitting a target) and create a scoring chance, but not much else. An untypical game.
RW: TYLER PASHER – 8. Man of the Match, without question, his Team of the Week bench selection was a bit of an insult. 2 shots on target, 1 goal, 2 chance creations. His movement is a joy to watch. Unless you are the opposing team, that is.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS – 7. The goal was pretty easy, but on top of that Ronaldo had another shot blocked and one more off target. He also blocked a shot in defense. 82 minutes played and he is clearly beginning to really fit in here.
SUB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – 7. Dawson was more or less the starter due to Moses’ early exit. He only played 55 minutes himself before having to leave as well. 1 tackle and 1 clearance, but he lost 7 of 9 duels. But there’s the small matter of his assist on Tyler’s goal…
SUB: JAKE RUFE – 7. Jake came on for Dawson in the 67th minute, taking over at right back. He got the job done. 1 tackle and 3 clearances together with winning 3 of 5 duels.
SUB: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 7. Preston got just short time in this game, replacing Tyler in the 82nd minute. He did manage a shot, which was blocked, and blocked one himself.
SUB: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – 7. Seba came on for Kobe in the 68th minute. He created a scoring chance and was good on 3 of 6 passes. He was not active much else.
SUB: SAM MCILLHATTON – 7. Sam subbed in for Ronaldo in the 82nd minute to close out the game. He made 1 clearance and won all 4 of his duels and even created a scoring chance.
HEAD COACH: MARK BRIGGS – 7.5. I’m not sure if the yellow card issued to the bench was for Mark, but if so, that’s already his second. A gutsy call starting Erik Centeno, but it panned out and the team is beginning to look how he wants it to. His half-time adjustments were excellent, of course.
