Indy Eleven edge Lexington SC in shootout for bonus point

Indy Eleven did not need a goal to tilt Group 4. A 0-0 draw with Lexington SC turned into a 7-6 shootout win, and Reice Charles-Cook’s two saves delivered the extra point that can decide a USL Cup table by the smallest of margins.

That is the whole edge in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, where tied matches go straight to penalties and the winner gets one extra point while the loser still collects one. With seven group winners and one wild card advancing, and goals scored serving as the first tiebreaker for second-place teams, a single shootout can matter as much as a late winner in regulation. In a group that also includes Louisville City FC, Union Omaha, Forward Madison FC, Fort Wayne FC and Detroit City FC, there is no safe night and no wasted kick.

Lexington had the first swing when Oliver Semmle, who joined on a multi-year deal ahead of the 2026 season after a loan spell with North Carolina FC, denied Jack Blake on Indy’s opening attempt. Semmle had already been recognized by the league as part of an elite shootout group, and he looked the part early. Aaron Molloy put Lexington ahead after the first round, but Indy kept answering, and the shootout stretched deep enough to become a test of nerve rather than routine finishing.

The turning point came in the fifth round when Joe Hafferty was denied, giving Lexington a chance to close it out. Indy survived, then finally seized control in the eighth round when Makel Rasheed scored to move the visitors ahead. Charles-Cook finished it from there, stopping Latif Blessing’s low effort to seal the 7-6 result and send Indy home with the bonus point.

The standing implications are the real story behind the shootout drama. Indy’s Cup record now sat at 1-1-2 with one shootout win, six points and five goals, leaving it one point behind Louisville City at the top of Group 4 after its four group-stage matches. Lexington was at 1-0-1 with one shootout win, five points and five goals, a thinner path after a loss that denied it the cleaner route through the group. In a secondary competition built to reward sharp moments, Indy found one in goal and one at the spot, and that may be enough to shape the rest of the group.