Kevin Johnston

IndyStar correspondent

It generally takes years to develop a sports rivalry, even among teams in the same league. But for the North American Soccer League’s Indy Eleven and United Soccer League’s Louisville City FC, it only took two.

The Eleven rallied Wednesday night for a 2-1 third-round U.S. Open Cup victory at Carroll Stadium, making up for a defeat to Louisville in last year’s tournament.

As many clubs do in non-season tournaments and friendlies, Indy featured a starting 11 of mostly backups with a few regular starters sprinkled in.

Louisville took advantage early when forward Chandler Hoffman collected a pass from midfielder George Davis IV and buried a shot past Indy goalkeeper Keith Cardona in the 21st minute.

Some confusion arose in the 31st minute when Louisville City thought they had earned a penalty. Instead, the referee whistled for a rare dangerous play call inside the 18-yard box on Indy defender Cory Miller, which resulted in an indirect free kick inside the box for City that they couldn’t convert.

The Eleven leveled it in the 58th minute when winger Omar Gordon dribbled by his defender and struck a low shot out of the reach of City goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh. Ten minutes later, substitute forward Eamon Zayed – normally a starter – gave Indy a 2-1 lead when he finished a pass from Duke Lacroix.

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Indy has a date with Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire in the fourth round on June 15 in Chicago.

“Chicago is something for after our spring season’s over,” said Indy coach Tim Hankinson.

The best part about the win for Indy? It’s a quality one; Louisville City FC is no slouch.

Atop the USL Eastern Conference standings and three points clear of second place, Louisville City brought a dangerous combination to town: a potent offense and a stingy defense. They average more than two goals a game in the 2016 USL regular season, while conceding less than one goal per match.

Adding fuel to the mini-rivalry was that City also defeated Indy twice in preseason matches, once in 2015 and again in 2016.

Indy travels to play Miami FC on Saturday with crucial NASL spring season points on the line.