MATTHEWS, N.C. – Fort Wayne Football Club captain Tiago Dias scored in a second straight match and the Autumn Gold & Black became only the second team in the league this year to visit the area and depart with anything other than a loss.
Charlotte Independence SC’s Stéfano Pinho scored the equalizer from the center of the box in the 89th minute, as a potential playoff preview ended in a 1-all draw at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex, where a crowd of 708 was on hand Saturday.
Bernd Schipmann made four saves for Fort Wayne FC (10-9-8), which improved its hopes of qualifying for the postseason in its first year of professional soccer. With five matches remaining in the regular season, the club is in the eighth and final playoff spot with a five-point lead over Corpus Christi SC, which plays later tonight.
Charlotte (17-5-6) is in second place in the 17-team USL League One table with a 13-1-1 record at its two home venues. Fort Wayne FC is 5-5-4 on the road.
“Coming into the match, we knew we would need a top performance to get anything out of this game,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “Charlotte is a very dangerous team and they’ve been very, very good at home. I thought we put in a really good shift today and while we are all frustrated we didn’t take all three points, we also know we are becoming the kind of team that can play with anyone, anywhere.”
This was the second meeting between the clubs, who opened Ruoff Mortgage Stadium in Fort Wayne with a 2-all draw May 2.
Dias’ goal Saturday came on a header in the 82nd minute, after Ryan Becher headed a pass to him. The sequence began with a high, arcing cross from Fort Wayne FC’s Taig Healy. Charlotte was playing a man down; Christpher Jaime had been sent off in the 63rd minute for receiving his second yellow card after bowling over Fort Wayne FC’s James Musa.
“With a young group, the final phase is learning how to close things out,” Avery said. “That will come, and experiences like today – painful as they are in the moment – help us grow. Bottom line, it’s a good point on the road and we move on to the next one.”
Schipmann day included big stops of Souaibou Marou in the 18th and 75th minutes. Charlotte goalkeeper Matt Levy also stopped four shots in the match, including one on Clarence Awoudor in the 80th minute. Charlotte’s Javen Romero also prevented a Kabiru Gafar shot from crossing the line – barely – in the 48th minute.
Fort Wayne FC next plays 7:30 p.m. this Saturday at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium against Forward Madison. It’ll be Hospice/Healthcare Night, presented by D.O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes. Those with hospice/healthcare identification can take advantage of a BOGO (buy one, get one free) ticket offer at the Ruoff Mortgage Stadium Ticket Office only: 12:30-5 p.m. Oct. 2, 12:30 p.m-end of match Oct. 3.
Fort Wayne FC played Forward Madison to a 1-all draw in Wisconsin on June 17.
Match photos
Video
Box score
FORT WAYNE FC 0-1-1
CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE 0-1-1
September 26, 2026
At Mecklenburg County Sportsplex, Matthews, NC
Attendance: 708
RECORDS: FW 10-9-8; CLT 17-5-6
GOALS: FW—Tiago Dias; CLT—Stéfano Pinho.
ASSISTS: FW—Ryan Becher; CLT–None
SAVES: FW—Bernd Schipmann 4; CLT— Matt Levy 4.
POSSESSION: FW—45.1%; CLT—54.9%
YELLOW CARDS: FW—Emerson Nieto, Tiago Dias; CLT—Christopher Jaime
RED CARDS: FW—None; CLT—Christopher Jaime.
REFEREE: Erick Lezama.
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.