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Five Reasons to Watch #INDvNC

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/14/18, 5:37PM EDT

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Playoff implications and attacking combinations on show at Lucas Oil Stadium


North Carolina FC forward Daniel Rios will be one of the players to watch as his side visits Indy Eleven on Wednesday night. | Photo courtesy Rob Kinnan / North Carolina FC

INDIANAPOLIS – Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC square off for the second time this season with plenty at stake in the USL Eastern Conference clash in addition to the fascinating storylines that featured in the matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium. Here are five things to watch for on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+).

1. PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS: The drive to the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs is well and truly on for both clubs, who are separated by two points and two positions in the Eastern Conference standings. Indy (9-7-5, 32pts) is just the right side of the line in eighth place and would create a nice cushion to the chasing pack with a victory. North Carolina (8-8-6, 30pts) is in 10th place, but is on its best run of form this season having gone six games undefeated after Saturday’s win on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. If the visitors make it seven with a win on Wednesday, it would throw another twist into what has become a compelling race for postseason berths.

2. BEKKER TO RIOS: North Carolina’s attack has been led by Daniel Rios, with the loanee from Chivas Guadalajara sitting one back in the race for the USL Golden Boot with 12 goals going into Wednesday night, but he’s received consistent service from Canadian international Kyle Bekker, who is tied for the league-lead with 10 assists. Bekker has delivered four of his assists this season to Rios, with the latest coming this past Saturday night in the club’s victory against the Rowdies. The visitors will be hoping that connection strikes again to help pick up three points on the road.

3. JACK’S BACK: While Rios has been among the league’s leaders this season, Indy striker Jack McInerney’s year has come along in fits and starts, but the past two games have provided reason to believe the former Philadelphia Union forward is getting close to his best again. With three goals over the past two games, including the winner in the Eleven’s last outing against Bethlehem Steel FC, McInerney has doubled his goal total for the season and should prove a handful for Connor Tobin and the North Carolina defense should he be in the starting lineup again.

4. STANDOUT SHOT-STOPPERS: If you’ve been paying attention to the USL Save of the Week and Save of the Month competitions this season, you’ll have seen plenty of standout moments from North Carolina’s Alex Tambakis and Indy’s Owain Fôn Williams, and both have the potential to produce more on Wednesday. Fôn Williams was the pivotal figure the first time the sides met, in fact, keeping out a stoppage-time penalty kick by NCFC’s Kyle Bekker to preserve a 1-0 victory, while Tambakis hasn’t only made spectacular saves, he’s made a lot of saves, period, sitting fourth in the league with 67 stops on the year.

5. RENNIE VS. CLARKE: Indy Head Coach Martin Rennie got a happy return to Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in that first meeting of the season, having been the Head Coach in Cary, N.C. for three seasons between 2009-11 before making the move to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, following which Colin Clarke has been the Head Coach at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. As Rennie goes up against his former club for a second time, though, the rivalry is nothing but friendly.

“I really enjoyed coaching there and still got a lot of friends there,” said Rennie. “It’s a good rivalry, but there’s nothing malicious in it. We want to win every game we can; We want to make sure we’re really getting competitive and building up for the second half of the season. They’re the next team that we play and we just got to do our best to beat them.”

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