Kevin Johnston

IndyStar correspondent

Apparently the seventh time’s a charm for the Indy Eleven and New York Cosmos. The previous six meetings between them ended in draws, but Saturday’s match at Carroll Stadium finally yielded a victor, with Indy winning 2-1 in dramatic fashion.

Two late goals from forward Eamon Zayed brought the home side back from a 1-0 deficit to give the Eleven a crucial three points as they try to keep pace in the NASL spring season. Both goals came right in front of the raucous Brickyard Battalion section, much to the thrill of Zayed. Call it a premonition.

“All week, it came into my head a few times about scoring on that end in particular (in front of The BYB section),” Zayed said.

“We were sick and tired of draws. We wanted a win. We wanted more than one goal in a game as well,” he added.

With regular starter Sinisa Ubiparipovic nursing a hamstring injury, Indy coach Tim Hankinson switched from his staunch 4-2-3-1 formation to a traditional 4-4-2. Justin Braun moved up top beside Zayed, while Dylan Mares started in place of Ubiparipovic and slid over to right midfielder.

The change paid dividends offensively. The Cosmos out-possessed Indy before the break, but the Eleven generated 13 first-half crosses to New York’s one.

Things remained level until the 50th minute when the Cosmos were awarded a penalty for a foul inside the box by Eleven defender Greg Janicki. Midfielder Niko Kranjcar calmly converted the penalty for a 1-0 lead.

Hankinson made tactical adjustments to try to equalize by swapping defense for offense late, and by the 90th minute he reaped the rewards of his decision. Cosmos defender Hunter Freeman committed a foul in the box, and Zayed scored his first goal as a member of the Eleven with the penalty kick.

Kickin' It With The BYB: Eleven, Cosmos quite the draw

Then, in the final minute of stoppage time, Zayed again produced some magic by scoring an unassisted goal after a rebounded shot by Mares to seal the victory.

For Hankinson, the win was the first of his Indy Eleven tenure, and he didn’t hesitate to place the victory among the best of his career.

“I’ve been coaching at a pretty high level for 36 years now. This was the best night of my soccer life, beating the Cosmos here in front of these fans. It was fantastic,” he said.

Indy supporters again turned out en masse, packing Carroll Stadium with 9,067 fans.

The Eleven (1 win, 2 draws, 0 losses, five points) will be off next weekend before traveling to Oklahoma to take on NASL newcomers Rayo OKC (0-1-1, one point) on April 30 in Yukon, Okla.