MILFORD, Ohio – Fort Wayne Football Club’s first training camp in professional soccer intensified Saturday with the team’s first preseason match – against FC Cincinnati 2.
The scrimmage was closed to the public and neither the result nor statistics were reported.
“After two weeks of training, it was great to face an opponent and try to build on the principles we’ve been putting in place during our short time together,” said Fort Wayne FC’s head coach, Mike Avery, whose team was finishing the second week of training camp. “We also got to see 10 different trialists in a game situation, which really helps our evaluation process. Overall, it was a valuable day with plenty of good moments to highlight, as well as teachable moments that will help shape our training in the week ahead.”
Fort Wayne FC is preparing for its first season in USL League One. The first regular-season match will be March 7 against FC Naples in Naples, Florida, the first of five straight road matches. The home opener at Fort Wayne FC Park will be May 2 against the Charlotte Independence.
Season tickets are on sale now.
FC Cincinnati 2 competes in MLS Next Pro and is the reserve team of Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati.
“It was a very useful day for us in a lot of ways and we are grateful to FC Cincinnati, and especially their grounds crew, for being such great hosts and preparing the field for us to play,” said Avery, whose club had spent part of the week practicing in snow and deep cold.
Fort Wayne FC has 13 players signed to its roster: Javier Armas, Ryan Becher, Tiago Dias, Jeremy Garay, Taig Healy, Anthony Hernandez, JP Jordan, James Musa, Michael Rempel, Lilian Ricol, Bernd Schipmann, Jayden Smith and Reid Sproat.
The club will next play a preseason match Saturday against Bethel on the Indiana Tech campus. The match will be closed to the public and to media.
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.