Fort Wayne Football Club is in its first season of professional soccer and in the thick of the race for a playoff spot. With eight matches remaining in the regular season, the Autumn Gold & Black (10-8-6) are nestled in the eighth and final playoff spot amid the 17-team USL League One table.
But there is plenty of time for Fort Wayne FC to improve its position because only eight points separate the teams in fourth and eighth place.
The quest to move up continues 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, when Fort Wayne FC will host defending-champion One Knoxville SC (12-5-8) at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium. It’ll be the second ever meeting between the teams following One Knoxville’s 2-1 victory July 15 in Tennessee.
The first meeting between the clubs was one of the wildest games in recently league memory:
- Fort Wayne FC lost Javier Armas to a controversial red card for a foul on Denis Krioutchenkov on the opening kickoff, and it set a league record for fastest red card at 1:04 into the match. Fort Wayne FC played the remainder of the match with only 10 men.
- Fort Wayne FC’s James Musa also suffered an injury in the 15th minute and had to be replaced.
- One Knoxville’s Krioutchenkov got a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time and was therefore ejected, forcing the defending champions to play a man short the remainder of the match.
- After One Knoxville’s Scott McLeod scored in the 47th minute following a corner kick, Fort Wayne FC’s Kabiru Gafar tied it in the 73rd minute for his first goal in professional soccer, after he split the One Knoxville defense. In the 81st minute, One Knoxville’s Abel Caputo scored on a volley from just outside the penalty area that caromed off Fort Wayne FC’s Taig Healy.
- Fort Wayne FC had some premium opportunities to tie the match late but couldn’t solve goalkeeper Johan Garibay, and the loss ended Fort Wayne FC’s unbeaten streak at the time at 11 matches, the second longest run ever by a first-year USL League One team.
After the match, Fort Wayne FC was in seventh place in the USL League One table. Since then, the club has gone 4-5-0 but it has won three of its last four, including Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Greenville Triumph SC in a rain-soaked affair on the road.
One Knoxville is 2-3-5 since squeaking past Fort Wayne FC. Click here to view Fort Wayne FC’s media kit. One Knoxville’s media kit is available by clicking here.
Last Saturday, Fort Wayne FC got two goals from Ryan Becher and the other goal came on an own goal by Greenville Triumph, a direct result of a shot by Fort Wayne FC’s Michael Rempel that caromed off Connor Evans and into the net.
Gafar assisted on one of the Becher goals, giving him six this season – regardless of competition – and tying him with Alberto Anaya for the Fort Wayne FC’s all-time record.
The match was the first of three in the span of eight days for Fort Wayne FC, which hosts FC Naples this Saturday at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium. It’ll be the Birthday Bash for mascot Friendly the Goalrilla and the club has surprised planned for the event.
Fort Wayne FC needs to be mindful of the teams chasing it in the standings, too, as AV Alta FC is four points back (though it’s played three more matches than Fort Wayne FC) and Corpus Christi FC is six points back (with one more match played than Fort Wayne FC).
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 plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue. 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.