Miami FC bounced back and looked like the team that all their supporters know and love yesterday in Indianapolis. After dropping points in their previous two games against the San Francisco Deltas, which brought the overall first seed in to question, the turnaround was massive for the club. Indy looked outmatched from the start and saw their season officially end after the final whistle.
Miami needed to provide an answer to its critics coming into Saturday’s game against Indy Eleven. Boy, did they ever make a response. After a miserable start to the fall campaign, that includes the end of the cup run, Miami returned with a similar flair that we had gotten used to in the spring.
Miami enters this game against Indy Eleven venturing into uncharted territory. Only once in club history have they dropped four matches in a row. To call the third game of the fall season a must win is hyperbole at best, however, that may be the sentiment inside the locker room tonight for the Blues.
Three weeks ago, The Miami FC was the hottest club in North American soccer. Just coming off a 14-game unbeaten streak, the club defeated second-place San Francisco Deltas 7-0 to claim the NASL Spring Season title and had everything to look forward to in a matchup against FC Cincinnati in which it would be favored. Mother Nature intervened and forced a postponement to Aug. 2. Three weeks isn’t that long, right?
For Miami FC and its fans (10,415 of whom showed up Wednesday night — a club record), it feels like an eternity. The club is officially on a losing streak, capped off with the indignity of a 1-0 home shutout to Cincinnati and an ignoble exit from a memorable U.S. Open Cup run.
The biggest question The Miami FC had to answer coming into the 2017 campaign was “Can this defense hold up?” Boy, have they ever held up their end of the bargain. After allowing 42 goals in 2016, the backline has found the chemistry necessary to shut opponents down. Through 16 league games, the boys at the back have only allowed 11 goals and have helped Mario Daniel Vega hold seven clean sheets. In an extra four games of U.S. Open Cup play, Miami has allowed five goals while keeping a clean sheet against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Let’s take a look at this part of the team’s season so far and their best moments.
The Miami FC weren’t nearly as dominant as they were a week before against the San Francisco Deltas.
However, it’s hard to top a 7-0 scoreline.
Miami FC scored first, benefitted from red cards (plural) and again handled the San Francisco Deltas, 3-1.
Remember when we said that the win against Orlando City SC was the biggest game The Miami FC’s history and had the biggest implications for soccer in this city? Well, we were a bit short sighted with regards to that statement. Tonight’s tilt against Atlanta United has usurped that title as Miami faces its toughest test yet.
In an unexpectedly tight matchup, The Miami FC of the North American Soccer League survived a serious challenge from South Florida Surf of the Premier Development League in order to advance to the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Cobb Stadium on the campus of the University of Miami on Wednesday.