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Indy Eleven Holds On To Make History By Beating Atlanta United

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Indy Eleven players celebrate with fans after beating Atlanta United FC 2-1 in the 2024 US Open Cup quarterfinals. Photo: Wade Wimberly | TheCup.us

The 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup took place in Kennesaw, Georgia on Tuesday night with a quarterfinal match between Atlanta United FC and visiting Indy Eleven.

Indy Eleven took advantage of a first-half goal from Augustine Williams and a second-half own goal to take the lead against a host team that applied late pressure. The result was Indy Eleven’s first Open Cup win against an MLS opponent and the first time the franchise has advanced to the Open Cup semifinals.

The win marks just the second time in the tournament’s 109-year history that an Indiana team has reached the semifinals. They join the 1992 Indianapolis Inferno as the only Hoosier state semifinalists.

Indy Eleven will play the winner of Wednesday’s match between FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City in the semifinals. Indy will play this match on the road and will take place the week of August 27-28.

It was a night that reflected the fortunes of the two teams on the pitch who seemed to be moving in opposite directions.

Atlanta United are currently just below the MLS playoff line, in the midst of a mid-season restructuring with numerous transfers and an interim manager. This season of change has again seen the hosts out of rhythm and simply not fluid in all phases of the game.

Indy Eleven currently sit third in their USL Championship campaign and have enjoyed plenty of success away from home with a stable and solid squad of proven USL players. The commitment and energy was there from whistle to whistle as they took full advantage of the opportunities presented during the match.

The first half of the game was hectic due to numerous fouls committed by both teams. The main difference was that Atlanta’s fouls provided dangerous free-kick opportunities in Indy’s attacking third, which allowed the visitors to control the pace of the game and launch opportunistic attacks to probe Atlanta’s defense.

The decisive moment came in the 31st minute for Indy when Douglas Martinez made a lightning run down the right flank and sent a low ball to the penalty spot that Augustine Williams slotted under Josh Cohen into the Atlanta net to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead. The team mobbed Williams at the corner flag right in front of the very loud and very happy group of Indy supporters.

Atlanta seemed to pull themselves together at halftime and started the second half strongly, but once again, the errant passes, mistimed support runs, and off-the-ball movements just weren’t in sync for the hosts. As Atlanta began to substitute players and become more urgent and direct against the run of play, Indy sent a ball from the right flank into the Atlanta box where it was deflected for an own goal in the 83rd minute.

Atlanta missed a goal seconds after their own goal, sending the loose ball into the side netting in the box, leaving United fans wondering what could have been.

Atlanta’s Nic Firmino recovered a loose ball in the Indy box to score a goal in second-half injury time. It was the first goal conceded by the Indy Eleven in the 2024 US Open Cup, ending a nearly 360-minute clean sheet. But in the end, it was too little, too late, as the Five Stripes were eliminated from the Open Cup at Fifth Third Bank Stadium by a USL champion team for the second straight year.

Indy Eleven head coach Sean McAuley congratulated his team after the game.

“We had to show confidence and if you have a negative mindset you might find yourself just wanting to defend,” McAuley said. “We wanted to show a really strong attitude to get the goal. I wanted them to recognize that we could defend in that environment and we knew Atlanta was going to come out strong in the second half.”

“I remember a lot of our players throwing their bodies in front of the ball, the goalkeeper coming in and taking crosses at critical moments which calmed things down, and everyone, a lot of players running so hard to keep what we had and get us to the semi-final,” McAuley added.

Indy Eleven’s victory marks just the 15th time since MLS joined the tournament in 1996 that a lower-division team has reached the semifinals. They are the 10th different lower-division club to reach the final four in that span.

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