Kevin Johnston

IndyStar correspondent

Something seems to have drained the life force out of the Indy Eleven this season. Well, some things – plural.

What’s wrong with the Eleven? Inconsistent play, cost-cutting and a brutal rash of injuries have left the team reeling in sixth place in the eight-team North American Soccer League (NASL) standings.

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Jekyll and Hyde

The Eleven are unbeaten in their last 21 games at IUPUI’s Michael A. Carroll Stadium. But they haven’t won a meaningful match – home or away – since downing FC Edmonton 2-1 in the NASL playoff semifinal on Nov. 5, 2016.

After drawing in their first six matches of season, the Eleven lost at Miami FC last weekend, 3-2. A Miami own goal and a blatant miscue in the back that gifted Indy forward Justin Braun a goal skewed the final score.

Of course, there’s no shame in losing to what looks like the best team in the NASL on the road. Then Wednesday happened, when things went from bad to embarrassing for Indy in its U.S. Open Cup opener.

Indy fell 1-0 on the road to the Michigan Bucks, an amateur team in the Premier Development League (PDL). While the PDL isn’t sanctioned by U.S. Soccer, it’s unofficially the fourth or fifth division on the domestic pyramid and consists mostly of college players.

To summarize: Professionals lost to college players in a tournament that’s supposed to have meaning. Indy remains winless on the season, which started March 25.

Cutbacks

The Eleven had a higher player budget last season, according to sources. Indy started with suitable depth in 2016 and signed Gerardo Torrado and Souleymane Youla midseason, players with high-level club and international experience. This year, the club started with a thinner roster and turned to less-experienced value signings like Adrian Ables, Jason Plumhoff and Brandon Poltronieri when injuries struck.

. Former midfielder Dylan Mares, who enjoyed a breakout 2016 season, signed with Miami FC for an amount Indy simply wouldn’t match.

“They have really spent on transfer fees,” Eleven coach Tim Hankinson said of Miami in an interview with Greg Rakestraw on 1070 The Fan’s Soccer Saturday. “And I’m not talking about $15,000 or $50,000 transfer fees, but $100,000 and $300,000 transfer fees to get the team they want – including picking up Dylan Mares, one of our players who was a free agent last year, and practically tripling his salary. So they’re not afraid to spend.”

To additionally trim costs, the Eleven tightened up their team operations budget this season beyond just the player budget. They also ditched their National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) outfit, Indy Eleven NPSL.

Teams don’t have to splurge to win in the NASL, but offseason cost-cutting measures have become increasingly noteworthy as on-field performance declines.

Medic!

Indy players Colin Favley, Nemanja Vukovic, Eamon Zayed, Don Smart, Jon Busch, Marco Franco, Ben Speas, Tanner Thompson, Craig Henderson and Anthony Manning have all missed at least one game due to injury this season.

It’s a built-in excuse, but enough veterans have been healthy for Indy to still produce better results. Carroll Stadium was an impenetrable fortress last season, but so far the Eleven have delivered three underwhelming draws at home.

Indy (0 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss; 6 points) will attempt to right the ship and keep its home unbeaten streak alive Saturday night in a rematch against first-place Miami FC (4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss; 14 points). Keep an eye on that Mares fellow, who leads the NASL with 20 chances created.