Fort Wayne FC remained unbeaten and took sole possession of first place in the Valley Division with a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions, in front of a crowd of 1,629 – the largest of the season thus far – at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium on Saturday night.
Venton Evans, who joined Fort Wayne FC earlier in the week, scored on penalty kick in the 96th minute to give the club the 3-2 lead and Hugo Garcia added an insurance goal in the 98th minute.
“Venton really struck it well, too, and I was very happy with him and how he stepped up,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “That shows a lot of maturity. It’s not easy, in that moment, to step up and take that shot.”
Fort Wayne FC improved to 5-0-1 in the USL League Two season and Dayton dropped to 0-4-1.
Tiago Dias and Rood Schnaider Beaubrun also scored for Fort Wayne FC, which improved to 10-0-2 all-time against the Dutch Lions.
Evans’ penalty kick was set up by a tackle in the box, and the teams jawed at each other for a bit, but Evans said he shrugged it off and focused on the task at hand.
“Guys were trying to get in my head,” said Evans, who has experience at the professional level of USL League One and with the Jamaican National Team. “I used my experience to get myself through the PK. I just used my experience to sink it and get my team the victory. … It was a great moment. The fans are amazing, the team’s amazing. It was a great atmosphere to play in and I’m happy to be here.”
Fort Wayne FC opened the scoring in the 26th minute, when a Gaku Nishimura corner kick resulted in a Dias header that found the back of the net.
Just after big news elsewhere – Lexington SC, which came into the day tied for first in the Valley Division, played Kings Hammer FC Columbus to a 2-2 draw – Fort Wayne FC took a 2-0 lead. A Matthew Catavolo cross landed on the foot of Beaubrun, who buried it in the 47th minute.
Dayton, however, got a goal in the 52nd minute from Felix Ezekwuka – Dayton’s first goal of the season – and Ezekwuka added another goal in the 82nd minute to set up the exciting conclusion.
“We had mistakes that we shouldn’t have, and we need to improve on that next week (for our next match), so we’ll just start working during the week to get better,” said Dias, Fort Wayne FC’s captain. “The three points are good, but overall our performance was not good enough.”
Fort Wayne FC next plays 7 p.m. Saturday at Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati before returning to Bishop D’Arcy Stadium for a 7 p.m. match June 18 against Lexington SC.
Only one team from the division will qualify for the USL League Two postseason. Fort Wayne FC won the division in 2023 and 2024.
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.