LOUSIVILLE, Ky. – Fort Wayne Football Club’s first ever match in the Prinx Tires USL Cup was a thriller, one that saw the Autumn Gold & Black go toe-to-toe with the first-place team in USL Championship for much of the night.
Ultimately, though, host Louisville City FC emerged with the 3-1 victory, thanks to a pair of goals in the second half in front of an announced crowd of 8,876 at Lynn Family Stadium.
“I’m proud of our guys tonight,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “It was a challenging environment in another road game against the top team in the league above us, and yet we still came in and looked like Fort Wayne. We didn’t earn the result, but I feel like we earned some respect. Most importantly, we learned a lot more about ourselves. We are a work in progress and experiences like this one will help us grow.”
Next up for Fort Wayne FC is its long-awaited home opener at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, 7:30 p.m. this Saturday against the Charlotte Independence.
“As we look now at the home opener next week, I know the players are really excited to finally play in front of the Fort Wayne faithful,” Avery said. “It’s going to be an exciting milestone for the club and for the city, and we will do our best to be at our best.”
Lilian Ricol had Fort Wayne FC’s goal to give his club a 1-0 lead, and Louisville City FC got tallies from Zach Duncan, Ray Serrano and Kyle Adams.
The teams are in Group 4 of the USL Cup and each have three matches remaining in group play, Fort Wayne FC’s next Cup match being May 16 against USL Championship’s Indy Eleven at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
Fort Wayne FC has a 1-2-1 record in USL League One play. Louisville City FC is 5-1-1 in USL Championship and also defeated a Major League Soccer Club, Austin FC, in the US Open Cup.
Ricol’s goal in the fifth minute came after a restart deep in Fort Wayne FC territory, where Javier Armas sent a high pass above the entirety of the Louisville City defense to spring Ricol, who sent a skipping shot past goalkeeper Daniel Faundez.
Louisville City’s Duncan answered in the eighth minute, however, after an intercepting a pass in front of the Fort Wayne FC goal.
The score remained tied at 1 at halftime. Clearly looking to try and change the direction of the match, Louisville City FC’s interim head coach, Simon Bird, made three substitutions before play restarted.
Fort Wayne FC barely escaped a dangerous situation in the 64th minute, when Louisville City FC’s Manny Perez raced toward the net for a volley that sailed over the net, keeping the score at 1-all. Fort Wayne FC’s Ian Abbey’s turn to pursue the go-ahead goal came in the 66th minute, when he drove a shot from just outside the penalty area that was deflected away by Faundez. Another great Fort Wayne FC chance came in the 75th minute, when Daniel Oyetunde, who’d just checked into the match, barely missed on a chance to redirect a Jayden Smith cross.
Louisville City FC’s Serrano was able to convert on a similar chance at the other end of the field in the 76th minute, set up by Perez, for a 2-1 lead.
And in the 81st minute, Louisville City’s Adams – the reigning USL Championships Defensive Player of the Year – redirected a Jansen Wilson free kick from the sideline.
Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann and Faundez both finished the night with two saves.
Notes: Fort Wayne FC’s Starting XI were Ian Abbey, Javier Armas, Tiago Dias, Jeremy Garay, Taig Healy, JP Jordan, Michael Rempel, Lilian Ricol, Bernd Schipmann, Juan Solis and Jack Thomas. … Jayden Smith and Daniel Oyetunde also played in the second half. … Fort Wayne FC was without injured players Aurie Briscoe, James Musa, Ryan Becher and Clarence Awoudor.
Match photos
Match highlights
Box score
PRINX TIRES USL CUP
GROUP PLAY
FORT WAYNE FC 1-0—1
LOUISVILLE CITY FC 1-2—3
April 11, 2026
At Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 8,876
RECORDS: FW 1-2-1 (USL League One), 0-1-0 Group 4 play; LOU 5-1-1 (USL Championship), 1-0-0 Group 4 play
GOALS: FW—Lilian Ricol; LOU—Zach Duncan, Ray Serrano, Kyle Adams.
ASSISTS: FW—Javier Armas; LOU–Manny Perez, Jansen Wilson.
SAVES: FW—Bernd Schipmann, 2; LOU— Daniel Faundez, 2.
POSSESSION: FW—50.5%; LOU—49.5%.
YELLOW CARDS: FW—Michael Rempel, JP Jordan, Tiago Dias; LOU—Quenzi Huerman, Amadou Dia.
RED CARDS: FW—None; LOU—None.
REFEREE: Thomas Snyder
About Fort Wayne Football Club
Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is a professional soccer club playing its first season in USL League One in 2026. The club is building a state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium, Fort Wayne FC Park, that will open at Bass Road and I-69 in 2026. In pre-professional USL League Two, Fort Wayne Football Club won division titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For more information, visit 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.