Getting back on track to Saturday’s soccer match, North Carolina FC will be hoping that revenge will be as sweet as freshly brewed Carolina sweet tea. Last weekend, NCFC traveled to Indiana, and suffered a painfully ill-afforded loss, slipping down the Spring standings to fifth place, and handing Indy Eleven their first victory of the Spring season.

To be perfectly fair to NCFC, they were coming off of a 120-minute loss against MLS’s Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup only a few days prior. Emotionally and physically drained, NCFC had little left in the tank against Indy, but still managed to battle hard against the Eleven until the fat lady victory of Indy Eleven sung her triumphant tune.

After a week removed from North Carolina FC’s loss, what has NCFC learned, and what should fans expect to see on Saturday? It is important to point out that Indy Eleven played their strongest line-up of all season last week, and it took a little NCFC misfortune and tired NCFC legs for Indy to squeak out a late victory. Essentially, a depleted NCFC squad almost drew Indy on the road until running out of steam… so with proper rest and an edge of motivational revenge, NCFC should come out in better form and compete at a higher level this weekend.

After seeing Indy Eleven at their best, it was clear last week that Indy’s offense runs through Justin Braun’s physical play up front, which is complemented by a dynamic midfield playing wide to create space for Braun. Also, do not discount Indy Eleven’s size, which consistently gives them an advantage on corners and set pieces close to goal.

In NCFC’s loss, the Oaks were exploited in the midfield with a high volume of out-of-sync passes. The likely reason for this was a few stop-gap players filling roles of starters who needed the rest after the U.S. Open Cup. Brian Shriver, who has played limited minutes this season, has mostly split time as a late game sub with a much-improved Billy Schuler from last season. Last week, Shriver got the starting nod, and was slotted to play behind Matt Fondy, but ended up being a black hole on NCFC’s offensive game.

No one will ever question Shriver’s work ethic on the pitch, or what he has meant to the team historically, but unable to find touches in his attacking central midfield position, Shriver often drifted to the wings, only to mis-time runs and passes from Naz Albadawi and Austin Da Luz.

Another glaring weakness that will likely be rectified this weekend is reinforcing the lack of a physical defensive presence. Suring up the defensive strength should be a combination of James Marcelin returning to his defensive midfield position as well as Conner Tobin returning to his central defensive position. Both players have not only provided a spark through their spirited physicality, but both have fortuitously found the back of the net with memorable (and honestly unexpected) goals.

North Carolina FC cannot afford to drop another three points, especially at home, if they want to have momentum going into the Fall season. For the most part, NCFC has been quite formidable at WakeMed, only losing to the San Francisco Deltas and the New York Cosmos (both top four teams).

This week, when Pride has been highly celebrated, is the perfect time for North Carolina FC and their loyal fans to Rise Up and give Indy Eleven all they have. With revenge on their minds, and having a more match ready squad, anything but three points for NCFC will be an unexpected failure.

Prediction: NCFC 3, Indy Eleven 0