Forward Madison FC secured its third win in eight days on Saturday night, knocking off FC Tucson 1-0 in front of 4,350 at Breese Stevens Field. Don Smart, the USL League One Midseason MVP, scored his seventh goal of the season, while the Flamingos’ defense shut down the opposition, earning its third clean sheet of the year.
The victory was FMFC’s third in a row, making it the club’s longest-ever winning streak. According to Smart, his goal Saturday was only a small part of a complete team effort during the run.
“We’ve just got to keep the momentum, keep grinding with the team and just keep the same spirit,” Smart said. [If] we play like this day-in and day-out, I guarantee a win every single day. Credit to the whole team to put it into the shift. It’s not easy, but everyone has worked hard and we came up with a few wins.”
Coming off victories the previous Saturday and Wednesday, Head Coach Daryl Shore opted to make only one change to his lineups from those games, swapping out goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for Brian Sylvestre. Although Shore risked injuring already-weary legs, his gamble paid off in the end.
“I mean, they’ve won three in a row,” Shore said. “My dad always told me if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So listen, we’ve got guys that can start and we’ve got guys that can come off the bench, but you know, we aren’t going to change much if it’s going well.”
The first half of the game was uneventful for the most part, with neither side seeming capable of creating clear-cut opportunities. With the clock winding down, though, Smart, the King from Kingston, took hold of the match and found the mark again.
Smart scored his goal in the 44th minute, driving a curling ball from the right side of the penalty area that flummoxed goalkeeper Carlos Merancio and dipped into the far corner of the net. Smart later admitted that he had meant it as a cross rather than a shot, but he’d take it all the same.
“We definitely needed that, we were a little bit on our heels because the game wasn’t going our way,” Smart said. “That goal, or actually cross that I did, went into the goal [and was] kind of huge for the team, and as you see it became the game-winner.”
With rain coming down hard in the second half, Forward Madison’s defense tightened up, braving the storm to pick up its third USL League One clean sheet. After struggling to keep goals out early in the season, FMFC has now allowed only one opposition tally in its last three matches.
With its win, FMFC stays in the playoff spots and is now just five points away from second place – the required position to host a first-round League One playoff game.
The Flamingos return home next Saturday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. to take on ninth-place Richmond Kickers at Breese Stevens Field. With nine matches left to play, Shore said the Flamingos can’t afford to take their foot off the pedal.
We survived, and credit to our guys for sticking it out,” Shore said. “We’ve got to get some rest, but now we’ve got to keep it going next week.”
Forward Madison FC secured its third win in eight days on Saturday night, knocking off FC Tucson 1-0 in front of 4,350 at Breese Stevens Field. Don Smart, the USL League One Midseason MVP, scored his seventh goal of the season, while the Flamingos’ defense shut down the opposition, earning its third clean sheet of the year.
The victory was FMFC’s third in a row, making it the club’s longest-ever winning streak. According to Smart, his goal Saturday was only a small part of a complete team effort during the run.
“We’ve just got to keep the momentum, keep grinding with the team and just keep the same spirit,” Smart said. [If] we play like this day-in and day-out, I guarantee a win every single day. Credit to the whole team to put it into the shift. It’s not easy, but everyone has worked hard and we came up with a few wins.”
Coming off victories the previous Saturday and Wednesday, Head Coach Daryl Shore opted to make only one change to his lineups from those games, swapping out goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for Brian Sylvestre. Although Shore risked injuring already-weary legs, his gamble paid off in the end.
“I mean, they’ve won three in a row,” Shore said. “My dad always told me if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So listen, we’ve got guys that can start and we’ve got guys that can come off the bench, but you know, we aren’t going to change much if it’s going well.”
The first half of the game was uneventful for the most part, with neither side seeming capable of creating clear-cut opportunities. With the clock winding down, though, Smart, the King from Kingston, took hold of the match and found the mark again.
Smart scored his goal in the 44th minute, driving a curling ball from the right side of the penalty area that flummoxed goalkeeper Carlos Merancio and dipped into the far corner of the net. Smart later admitted that he had meant it as a cross rather than a shot, but he’d take it all the same.
“We definitely needed that, we were a little bit on our heels because the game wasn’t going our way,” Smart said. “That goal, or actually cross that I did, went into the goal [and was] kind of huge for the team, and as you see it became the game-winner.”
With rain coming down hard in the second half, Forward Madison’s defense tightened up, braving the storm to pick up its third USL League One clean sheet. After struggling to keep goals out early in the season, FMFC has now allowed only one opposition tally in its last three matches.
With its win, FMFC stays in the playoff spots and is now just five points away from second place – the required position to host a first-round League One playoff game.
The Flamingos return home next Saturday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. to take on ninth-place Richmond Kickers at Breese Stevens Field. With nine matches left to play, Shore said the Flamingos can’t afford to take their foot off the pedal.
We survived, and credit to our guys for sticking it out,” Shore said. “We’ve got to get some rest, but now we’ve got to keep it going next week.”
Forward Madison FC
Head Coach: Daryl Shore
Goalkeeper- Brian Sylvestre #92
Defender- Christian Diaz #27
Defender- Wyatt Omsberg #22
Defender – Connor Tobin #13 (captain)
Defender- Carter Manley #2
Midfielder – J.C. Banks #29 YC
Midfielder – Eric Leonard #3 YC
Midfielder – Josiel Nunez #70 YC
Forward- Don Smart #7 ⚽
Forward- Paulo Jr. #11 (80’ – #17 Zaire Bartley)
Forward – Oliver White #20 YC (70’ – #77 Jiro Barriga Toyama)
Substitutes
G- Ryan Coulter #1
D- Shaun Russell #15
D- Jiro Barriga Toyama #77
M- Ally Hamis Ng’Anzi #12
M- Louis Bennett #21
F- Zaire Bartley #17
F- Danny Tenorio #10
FC Tuscon
Head Coach: Darren Sawatzky
Goalkeeper – Carlos Merancio #18
Defender- Jose Carlos Terron #3
Defender- Lamar Batista #22
Defender- Kyle Venter #12 (captain)
Defender – Luke Hauswirth #13
Midfielder – Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu #28
Midfielder- Erik Virgen #50
Midfielder – Ramone Havell #95
Forward- Devyn Jambga #16 (80’ – #19 Zach wright)
Forward – Etiandro Tavares #8 (55’ – #11 Jamael Cox)
Forward- Ben Spencer #25 YC (67’ – #9 Guillermo Delgado
Substitutes
GK- Rafael Guerrero #30
D- Kody Wakasa #33
D- Scott Devoss #26
M- Colin Stripling #14
M- Jamael Cox #11
M- Zach Wright #19
F- Guillermo Delgado #9
Goals
Forward Madison FC
44’- #7 Don Smart (#70 Josiel Nunez)
Yellow Cards
Forward Madison FC
19’ Eric Leonard
46’ Oliver White
75’ Josiel Nunez
90+4’ J.C. Banks
FC Tuscon
59’ Ben Spencer
Referees
J.J. Bilinski
Zach Gaidar
Eric Del Rosario
Adam Behrens
Venue
Breese Stevens Field – Madison, WI
Attendance
4,350
Forward Madison FC’s inaugural season is here! The team will play its next home game on August 10 vs Richmond Kickers. Get tickets to see Forward Madison’s inaugural season at: https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/forwardmadisonfc/tickets.
Forward Madison FC
Head Coach: Daryl Shore
Goalkeeper- Brian Sylvestre #92
Defender- Christian Diaz #27
Defender- Wyatt Omsberg #22
Defender – Connor Tobin #13 (captain)
Defender- Carter Manley #2
Midfielder – J.C. Banks #29 YC
Midfielder – Eric Leonard #3 YC
Midfielder – Josiel Nunez #70 YC
Forward- Don Smart #7 â½
Forward- Paulo Jr. #11 (80’ – #17 Zaire Bartley)
Forward – Oliver White #20 YC (70’ – #77 Jiro Barriga Toyama)
Substitutes
G- Ryan Coulter #1
D- Shaun Russell #15
D- Jiro Barriga Toyama #77
M- Ally Hamis Ng’Anzi #12
M- Louis Bennett #21
F- Zaire Bartley #17
F- Danny Tenorio #10
FC Tuscon
Head Coach: Darren Sawatzky
Goalkeeper – Carlos Merancio #18
Defender- Jose Carlos Terron #3
Defender- Lamar Batista #22
Defender- Kyle Venter #12 (captain)
Defender – Luke Hauswirth #13
Midfielder – Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu #28
Midfielder- Erik Virgen #50
Midfielder – Ramone Havell #95
Forward- Devyn Jambga #16 (80’ – #19 Zach wright)
Forward – Etiandro Tavares #8 (55’ – #11 Jamael Cox)
Forward- Ben Spencer #25 YC (67’ – #9 Guillermo Delgado
Substitutes
GK- Rafael Guerrero #30
D- Kody Wakasa #33
D- Scott Devoss #26
M- Colin Stripling #14
M- Jamael Cox #11
M- Zach Wright #19
F- Guillermo Delgado #9
Goals
Forward Madison FC
44’- #7 Don Smart (#70 Josiel Nunez)
Yellow Cards
Forward Madison FC
19’ Eric Leonard
46’ Oliver White
75’ Josiel Nunez
90+4’ J.C. Banks
FC Tuscon
59’ Ben Spencer
Referees
J.J. Bilinski
Zach Gaidar
Eric Del Rosario
Adam Behrens
Venue
Breese Stevens Field – Madison, WI
Attendance
4,350
Forward Madison FC’s inaugural season is here! The team will play its next home game on August 10 vs Richmond Kickers. Get tickets to see Forward Madison’s inaugural season at: https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/forwardmadisonfc/tickets.
