FLINT, Mich. – Fort Wayne FC lost in heartbreaking fashion, 2-0 in overtime to the Flint City Bucks, in the Central Conference Semifinals round of the USL League Two Playoffs presented by VensureHR on Sunday night.
Flint City’s Donavan Phillip scored for a 1-0 lead in the 117th minute on the rebound of a Dominic Ayella penalty kick that had been stopped by Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe.
Ayella added the insurance goal in the 124th minute, as Fort Wayne FC was pressing hard to gain offense at the other end of the pitch at Atwood Stadium.
“They played very well, they played bravely,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said of his roster, which finished the season 10-3-1. “And when you give up a penalty kick in the second overtime, it’s a gut-punch for sure. But so much to be proud of. We’re not going to judge this season over three minutes, we’re going to judge it over the course of the whole season. I think we accomplished a lot of things this year.”
It was the final match of Fort Wayne FC’s time in USL League Two as the club is moving up to the professional ranks of USL League One next season at a new stadium, Fort Wayne FC Park, being built at Bass Road and I-69.
“If we pull up 10,000 feet and look down on (this season), we took so many strides,” Avery said. “The play on the field was very good. We won another Valley Division championship, second round of the playoffs, last 16 in the country left. You go to our games, and the environment has gotten stronger and the bond with the fans has gotten stronger.
“There’s a lot of exciting things that are happening. Great hires in the front-office space, the build for the next season – you can feel the momentum.”
Fort Wayne FC is accepting deposits on 2026 season tickets at Fort Wayne FC Park.
The club, which won Valley Division championships in each of the last three season, saw their playoff runs end at the hands of the Flint City Bucks each time – 3-2 in overtime at Fort Wayne’s Bishop D’Arcy Stadium in 2023 in the Central Conference Quarterfinals; and 2-1 in the Central Conference Semifinals in 2024 at Atwood Stadium.
The Flint City Bucks (11-3-0), which won the Great Lakes Division, advanced to the Conference Finals in Seattle, Washington, which will be hosted by Ballard FC. Flint City will face Minneapolis City SC.
“It was a tough game,” Fort Wayne FC player Hideto Gondo said. “We worked very hard for this game, because we lost to this team last year, too. We worked hard in practice and off the field, everything. It is what it is. It happens.”
Fort Wayne FC had advanced to the Central Conference Semifinals with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Midwest United FC on Friday night at Atwood Stadium, cemented by an Amari Fowlkes overtime goal.
With no sign of fatigue, Fort Wayne FC and the Flint City Bucks played even throughout Sunday’s match, but things turned when a tackle gave Flint City a free kick 22 yards out in the 115th minute. Ayella’s shot caromed off a wall of Fort Wayne FC players, but Flint City sent the ball back into the box and Caio Oliveira was called for a foul to set up the decisive penalty kick. Briscoe dove to his right to stop the penalty kick, but Briscoe was defenseless to prevent the winning shot by Phillip.
“It was a very good game and I thought there were long stretches in both halves in which we played very well,” Avery said. “In the first half, I would argue it was one of our best halves of soccer all year. The fact that you’re coming off a really long, 120-minute game Friday night, had to travel back and forth, and now you’re on the road in front of a big crowd and against a good team – it’s a tough turnaround. I thought our guys were really up for the challenge.
Gondo, amid an emotional group of his teammates, thanked the Fort Wayne FC fans who made the trip to Flint to see the club’s final match at this level.
“Everything they’ve done for us, we thank them so much,” he said. “Even though this game didn’t go our way, they came out to watch this game. We had a lot of support and it means a lot.”
About Fort Wayne FC
Fort Wayne FC, founded in 2019, is currently a pre-professional club in USL League Two’s Valley Division in the Central Conference. The club won Valley Division championships in 2023 and 2024. Fort Wayne FC is moving to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026 at a new state-of-the-art stadium. www.fortwaynefc.com
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.
