Indy Eleven beats Atlanta United to advance to US Open Cup semifinals

Source: Indy Eleven / indy eleven

ATLANTA — It’s been a memorable year for Indy Eleven in more ways than one. They set a franchise record for most consecutive wins earlier in the USL Championship season and now they can say they beat a Major League Soccer team.

On Tuesday, in front of a small but mighty crowd at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Kennesaw State’s home turf, the red-clad “Boys in Blue” beat Atlanta United 2-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The tournament was launched in 1913, but has been dominated by Major League Soccer teams since the mid-1990s. It is a tournament in which soccer teams from all levels of American soccer can compete for a top-tier championship.

Indy Eleven is the first Indiana team to make it this far in the event since the now-defunct Indianapolis Inferno reached the semifinals in 1992.

The score was led by Augustine Williams for Indy who managed to find the back of the net in the 31st minute of the first half. Williams was found by a nice forward pass from Douglas Martinez who was credited with the assist.

The score remained 1-0 until the 83rd minute of the second half, when Williams looked for Elliott Colliar in the box. Instead, the ball found the foot of an Atlanta defender who tapped the ball into the Atlanta net for an own goal. 2-0 Indy Eleven.

Nick Firmino then scored two minutes into added time for Atlanta but it was too little, too late as Indy were ahead when the final whistle blew and victory was assured.

The question is who Indianapolis will face in the semifinals. They will have to face another MLS team to stay alive in the tournament. They will face either Sporting Kansas City or FC Dallas in August.