Fort Wayne FC suffered its first loss of the season, in front of a crowd of 1,468 at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, where West Virginia United pulled off a 2-0 upset on Saturday night.
Fort Wayne FC (7-1-1), chasing a third straight Valley Division title, remains atop the division standings with a five-point lead over second-place Lexington SC.
Fort Wayne FC has three remaining matches in USL League Two play, beginning Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, against Kings Hammer FC Columbus (1-5-1).
West Virginia United (2-4-1) got goals from Gian-Carlo Kama, who netted a first-half penalty kick, and João Ferreira, who found the back of the net from beyond midfield.
“First things first, we’ve got to put this one behind us, learn from it as quick as we can, get a few guys back healthy,” Fort Wayne FC defender Reid Sproat said. “It’s a quick turnaround on the road Wednesday and it’s going to be a tough game.”
Lexington SC (5-1-2) has four remaining matches, but Fort Wayne FC remains in the driver’s seat to get a playoff berth for a third straight year; only one team from the Valley Division will qualify for the postseason.
“We had a cushion, and we still have a cushion, but now it’s a smaller one,” said Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery, whose club went 1-0-1 this season against Lexington SC, including a 2-0 victory Wednesday at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium.
Next Saturday, June 28, Fort Wayne FC will host an international friendly at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium at 7 p.m. against Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23 team – which figures to be one of the must-see matches of the year.
Atlas FC is a professional club based in Guadalajara, Mexico, that plays in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football.
Nicknamed “Los Rojinegros,” or “The Red and Blacks,” and also called “Los Zorros,” or “The Foxes,” Atlas FC was founded in 1916 and has won three league titles and four domestic cups.
The Atlas FC academy system is renowned for developing talented players for the National Team such as Rafael Márquez, Jared Borgetti, Daniel Osorno, José de Jesús Corona, Pável Pardo, Juan Carlos Medina, Jorge Hernández, Mario Méndez, Édgar Pacheco and Jeremy Márquez.
Atlas FC’s fans are known as “La Fiel,” or “The Faithful,” while the supporters group called “La Barra 51” is a reference to Atlas’ first championship in the Primera División de México, which took place in 1951.
But Fort Wayne FC remains also focused on USL League Two play, even if the result against West Virginia United was disappointing.
Fort Wayne FC’s Aboubacar Traore narrowly missed scoring from 4 yards out in the 22nd minute, following a Mamadou Diarra centering pass, as West Virginia United goalkeeper Thomas Macauley barely got a hand on the ball.
Just over a minute later, Diarra had a chance to score after teammate Rood Schnaider Beaubrun used his speed down the sideline and set him up, but again Macauley was there to grab the ball before a shot could be unleashed.
West Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute, after Fort Wayne FC’s Alsadiq Hasan brought down Ferreira in the box. On the ensuing penalty kick, Kama put a shot past Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe.
There was plenty more action in the first half, including a Traore shot from 25 yards out that ricocheted off the crossbar and a Briscoe save on a Louis Crofts shot that kept the deficit 1-0 heading into halftime.
In the 52nd minute, Ferreira gave West Virginia a 2-0 lead with a shot that came from beyond midfield and sailed above the head of Briscoe, and Fort Wayne FC suffered another heartbreak a minute later when a close-range shot by its Caio Oliveira caromed off the crossbar at the other end of the field.
Fort Wayne FC continued to have chances – both teams’ goalkeepers finished with three saves, including one by Briscoe in the 85th minute on Samuel Montes from close range.
“We can’t play like that again, but I don’t think that we will,” Avery said.
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.
