The Sports Inquirer

The Silverbacks host NASL newcomers Indy Eleven at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, which will serve as their second of three straight games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

Indy Eleven (0-3-5) comes to Atlanta hoping to avoid posting a winless NASL Spring Season. Head coach Juergen Sommer’s side has only collected three points in eight games. Five of the team’s six losses have been of the one-goal variety. Sommer’s side actually possesses a better goal differential than the Silverbacks (3-0-5), who sit six points clear of them in the standings.

Both team’s enter Saturday’s game on the heels of 2-1 home losses. The Silverbacks fell to league-leading Minnesota United FC last weekend, while Indy Eleven ended up on the wrong end of a heartbreaking result against the San Antonio Scorpions.

“We say it every week, but it’s true – every game matters and every point matters,” said Silverbacks Technical Director Eric Wynalda. “Last week’s home loss was devastating because we could have won and instead we walked away with nothing. At some point we have to make our own luck.”

Silverbacks forward Deon McCaulay has been among the league’s best in terms of putting himself in good scoring spots, but the Belizean national team’s top scorer has only been able to finish a pair of his many opportunities in league play this season.  The Silverbacks looked to have maybe solved their finishing issues when they trounced Chattanooga FC, 5-0, in the third round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 28, but the team was only able to put away one of its countless scoring chances against Minnesota last Saturday.

Finishing hasn’t been the only problem for the Silverbacks. In fact, both the Silverbacks and Indy Eleven have had defensive issues all season long, conceding a league-high 17 goals apiece.

The Silverbacks may be playing Indy Eleven for the first time ever this Saturday, but that doesn’t mean Wynalda’s club doesn’t know a thing or two about some of the players on the visitors’ roster. Forward Pedro Mendes played two seasons for the Silverbacks before signing with Indy Eleven in the offseason. Mendes scored 12 league goals during his time in Atlanta, but has yet to score for his new club. Midfielder Walter Ramirez, formerly of the San Antonio Scorpions, and forward Mike Ambersley, ex-Tampa Bay Rowdies and Minnesota United FC man, are both familiar foes from the Silverbacks’ point of view.

Saturday’s game will give both teams the opportunity to go into their fourth-round Cup matches with some momentum next week. The Silverbacks host Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake on June 14, while Indy Eleven travels to play another MLS opponent, the Columbus Crew, on June 17. Indy Eleven clinched that date with the Crew after trouncing USL Pro side Dayton Dutch Lions, 5-2, for their first ever franchise victory.