By RICHIE HALL
The Indianapolis AlleyCats may have lost their AUDL game this week, but they are still in control of their own destiny.
The AlleyCats hosted the Minnesota Wind Chill Saturday afternoon at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium, falling 24-21 in a game that was more defensive-oriented than the score makes it out to be. The ‘Cats were playing the game away from their usual setting at Grand Park Events Center, doing so in conjunction with the Indy Eleven’s Saturday night game with Memphis.
The AlleyCats were holding their own with the Wind Chill in the first quarter, at one point taking a 6-4 lead. Jeremy Keusch was on fire during that run, scoring three of Indianapolis’ goals.
But the ‘Cats ran into trouble in the last third of the period, when Minnesota got three straight goals to take a 7-6 lead into the second quarter. Xavier Payne threw to Brett Matzuka to open the second period, tying the game at 7-7.
Both teams traded goals after that, with Cameron Brock finding Carter Rae. That made the score 8-8. The Wind Chill then went on a big run after that, scoring four straight times for a 12-8 lead. Minnesota stayed in front from that point forward.
“They shifted their defense early in the second quarter,” said AlleyCats coach Will Drumright. The ‘Cats got a score back during the last minute of the period when Matzuka caught a throw from Rae with 47 seconds left, but the Wind Chill answered just 22 seconds later, and went into halftime with a 13-9 advantage.
The teams traded goals for much of the third quarter, but the ‘Cats were able to get consecutive goals late in the period. Keusch passed to Levi Jacobs to cut Minnesota’s lead to 18-15. Then Payne got an immediate block, and the AlleyCats were able to eventually turn that into a score. Payne sent a 23-yard scoring toss to Matzuka, and Indianapolis was within 18-16.
“Our offense started to pick it up a little bit more,” said Drumright. “Some of the guys started to hit their stride. We were battling some of the elements, with some cramping and things going on, but we were able to work the disc quickly and rotate some personnel to be able to allow us to do that.”
While the temperatures never got into the 90s, as they were initially forecast to do, they stayed in the upper 80s throughout the game. In addition, there was enough humidity in the air to justify water breaks, which the teams took during the game. But Drumright said the heat didn’t change the AlleyCats’ tactics.
Levi Jacobs had three goals and three assists for the AlleyCats. (Mike Gross/144Photos.com)
“We played outdoors last week against Madison when it’s hot as this,” said Drumright. The coach said his team’s tactics were based on “what we need to be able to do against their defense.”
“We knew it was going to be hot, but we practice in this,” said the coach. “So we were ready for it.”
Both teams scored in the final few seconds of the third quarter, with the ‘Cats getting the last word: Rae found Jacobs to keep Indianapolis within 19-17. Minnesota opened the fourth period with a goal, getting back up 20-17.
The AlleyCats then scored back-to-back goals again, closing the gap to 20-19 with 7:52 left. Jacobs threw to Brock for the first goal, then a Wind Chill throwaway led to a 46-yard scoring pass from Keegan North to Rae.
Minnesota got consecutive goals to push its lead back up to 22-19, and the Wind Chill were able to stay comfortably in front for the remainder of the game. Keusch threw to Jacobs for the AlleyCats’ 20th goal, then Payne found Jeffrey Burris for the contest’s final goal.
Keusch led the scoring with four goals, while four more players (Matzuka, Rae, Jacobs and Brock) added three goals. North dished out five assists, while Rae, Payne and Jacobs each handed out three assists.
Despite the loss, the ‘Cats are still in contention for the third playoff spot in the AUDL Central division. Indianapolis is 6-5, and needs only to beat Atlanta next Saturday in its regular-season finale in order to clinch a place in the playoffs.
“We wanted to get it done today, but we know that there’s a lot that can happen next week,” said Drumright. “We understand what we need to do next week against Atlanta and it’s going to present its own challenge because we haven’t seen them yet. But we’re already focusing on what we need to do to win and get in.”