COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fort Wayne FC came into Wednesday night with hopes of capturing the Valley Division title. The club is still in prime position to win it for a third straight season, but things got a smidge more complicated with a 2-1 loss to Kings Hammer FC Columbus in Columbus, Ohio.
Caio Oliveira had the lone Fort Wayne FC goal on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, and neither team scored after that as Fort Wayne FC lost a second straight match – something that hadn’t happened since 2021.
Oliveira has six goals in his first Fort Wayne FC season, tying him for third in club history for all-time goals with Riley Lynch, who played in 2022. The club-record of eight goals belongs to Gjis Hovius (2023 and 2024) and Maxwell Amoako (2021 and 2022).
Fort Wayne FC, which lost 2-0 to West Virginia United on Saturday at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, is 7-2-1 with two remaining matches in USL League Two play – 7 p.m. July 9 at the Dayton Dutch Lions and 7 p.m. July 12 at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium against Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati.
Fort Wayne FC’s magic number for clinching the only Valley Division playoff spot is four; any combination of four points gained by the club, or failed to gain by second-place Lexington SC, will put FWFC into the postseason. Lexington, which also has two league matches remaining, is two points back of Fort Wayne FC, which holds the tiebreaker.
“We started the game slow. I don’t know if it’s just (being) the end of a four-game stretch in a short period of time, or what reason. There’s no reason for it. Whatever reason we come up with, it would be an excuse,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “But we started with low energy. (Kings Hammer FC Columbus was) deservedly up 1-0 at halftime. I thought after halftime, we raised our energy, which helped us raise the level. I thought we put in a good showing to try and pull the goal back, but we’d just dug too big of a hole.”
Christian Herluf, Fort Wayne FC’s goalkeeper, stopped six shots but was scored on by Caleb Borneo in the first half and Jack Kossoudji in the second.
It was the second meeting of the season between Fort Wayne FC and Kings Hammer FC Columbus (3-4-1); Fort Wayne FC won 2-0 on May 28 at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium.
Herluf came up with a big save on a header from inside the box in the 26th minute, shortly after another significant play in which Kings Hammer FC Columbus used a long ball in offensive attack and Herluf came far from his area to boot the ball away.
Herluf had another big moment in the 34th minute, when he stopped a Kossoudji shot with his chest, but Herluf was unable to prevent the 12-yard Borneo shot 5 minutes later that slipped just inside the far goalpost for a 1-0 Kings Hammer FC Columbus lead.
In the 53rd minute, Fort Wayne FC’s Muslim Umar had a tough-angled shot stopped by the Kings Hammer FC Columbus goalkeeper, Gavin Krenecki, preserving the hosts’ 1-0 lead.
Kings Hammer FC Columbus elevated its lead to 2-0 when Kossoudji intercepted a Fort Wayne FC pass and scored from close range in the 61st minute.
Oliveira scored on his penalty kick – his second such goal this season – after Umar was tackled in the box. Fort Wayne FC is 3 for 3 on PKs this season; Venton Evans also scored on one.
Umar had a chance for the equalizing goal in the 83rd minute from close range, but the opportunity was blocked by a defender. In the 92nd minute, Fort Wayne FC had more chances, including a Mamadou Diarra shot from 20 yards out, but couldn’t capitalize.
Fort Wayne FC is back at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday for an International Friendly against Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23 team.
On July 5, at 6 p.m., Fort Wayne FC hosts Lansing City Football and that will be Military Appreciation Night – active duty military and veterans get in free with ID or validation of service.
Then, the USL League Two schedule resumes as Fort Wayne FC looks to win a championship before it moves to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026, when the club will open a new soccer-specific stadium at Bass Road and I-69.
“We have a little bit of a break with about 10 days between league games,” Avery said. “We still have exhibitions to play, and a chance to play some of the guys we haven’t featured as much. Some of the guys have been playing a lot of minutes. They need a break and we’re going to get a chance to give them that. Hopefully it re-energizes them. “But it’s also a gut check of how are we going to finish this thing and are we going to have some resolve to finish strong? We obviously have the quality, but quality alone isn’t going to get it done. You have to be able to fight sometimes, too, and show some grit. I think it’s in there and hopefully we can find it there before the end.”
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.