Time flies, doesn’t it? Seems like yesterday that we cooked up the idea to give away an award to our Club of the Year. Since 2018, when Inocentes FC from Ft. Worth, Texas won our first Club of the Year, we’ve done this five times. The WPSL’s Pensacola FC won the second year, while Maryland Bobcats took home the third award in 2020. In 2021, KC Courage was chosen as the Club of the Year and last year Tormenta FC, after winning championships in both USL League One and W League, took home our 5th Club of the Year.

We haven’t changed our approach over the years. As we near the end of the year, we discuss our candidates, take submissions from the public, and narrow it down to four or five clubs we think deserving. Then we put together our best argument as to why each club deserves your vote. We put those out as articles over the course of a week, then let our readers decide by voting. On January 1, we announce the Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year. So let’s celebrate an amazing year of lower league soccer by highlighting four tremendous clubs who deserve your vote. Here’s the second nominee, Indy Eleven.

Indy Eleven was founded 10 years ago and after four seasons in the NASL, joined the USL system, launching into USL Championship in 2019. I’d love to tell you that the team has won championships and glory, but the team has always been a middling club in the USLC. It’s best finish was in 2019, where it topped out in the semifinals, but since then, the team has been a mostly middle-of-the-table type club. And there’s nothing wrong with that, for the record.

In fact, the best part of that story is that the men’s team has drawn tremendous support from the community, regardless of its lack of championships. Fans of Indy show up, consistently year-to-year. It’s awesome to see. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. According to Soccer Stadium Digest, the team drew almost 10,000 a match last season. A season where the men’s side finished 6th in the East and lost in the opening round of the playoffs 5-0. That’s fandom and support of a type we rarely see in the United States. It’s glorious and should be the model for any Division 2 club.

Indy fans bring it. *Image courtesy of Indy Eleven*

Two seasons ago, the club launched a USL W League women’s side and, if the men’s side has been middling, the women’s has been nothing short of spectacular. In the team’s opening season, the Indy Eleven women finished the regular season undefeated and first in their division. They exited the playoffs in the quarterfinals, but there was every reason to believe that they would be back. Oh, and they came back with a vengeance.

While the 2023 version of the Indy Eleven women’s side didn’t finish the season undefeated, they ran roughshod over their division, still finishing first. Their goal differential was a whopping +37 in 10 matches. They gave up 3 goals in 10 matches. Absolute dominance. But could regular season dominance translate into the playoffs?

In the playoffs, Indy continued to roll, beating Flint City AFC 3-0, advancing to play Minnesota Aurora, which they beat 1-0 to win the conference. In the semifinals, they played the San Francisco Glens who also had an amazing regular season run. That match was a barnburner, with each team trading goals until Alia Martin scored the winner in stoppage time, 3-2. In the W League Championship match, facing North Carolina Courage U23, Indy would again trade goals back and forth before winning on another Alia Martin goal, this time in extra time. The match finished 2-1 and the Indy Eleven faithful finally had a championship to celebrate.

Hal Hershfelt takes a shot for Indy Eleven. *Image courtesy of Indy Eleven*

Maybe it’s perfect that Indy Eleven’s first championship would come from a women’s side only two years old. The men’s side has long been supported regardless of finish, so the women’s side being so good, so quick is the perfect irony. Indy Eleven is a wonderful club, rooted in its community, and, after this season, delivered a championship to their fans. It’s hard not to love that story and this club. This club has earned your vote for Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year.

- Dan Vaughn