Fort Wayne FC played another exhilarating second half and remained undefeated with a 3-1 victory over Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium.
Fort Wayne FC scored three unanswered goals – by Caio Oliveira, Hugo Garcia and Tiago Campos – in front of a crowd of 1,615, the largest of the season so far.
After a scoreless first half, in which each team had one shot on goal, Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati took the lead in the first minute of the second half when Bennett Painter maneuvered himself past the Fort Wayne FC defense and sent a 25-yard shot just inside the goalpost.
But Fort Wayne FC was not to be contained.
Oliveira evened the score in the 54th minute with a shot from 15 yards out, after Tavio D’Almeida sent him an arcing 40-yard pass down the sideline.
Garcia gave Fort Wayne FC the lead for good in the 86th minute after a flurry of passes, including a header from Namik Mehic that set up the Garcia header in the box for the goal.
“I’m very happy,” said Garcia, who scored only 9 minutes after checking into the match. “It’s been tough to get minutes here, but I’m trying to take every minute as if it was the last. Today it went good and I’m happy to help the team get another three points.”
In stoppage time, Campos put the icing on the night with a shot from 20 yards out as he fell to the turf, cementing the 3-1 victory that improved the club to 3-0-1, including a 2-0-0 record at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium.
“Tiago Campos had a great game all the way through, and for him to get the goal that iced the game, that was really exciting for us,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said.
(Check out photos from the match on our photo page.)
Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati fell to 1-1-1, as Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Christian Herluf, seeing his first action of the season, made two saves and got the victory.
Fort Wayne FC next plays 6 p.m. Wednesday in Charleston, West Virginia, against West Virginia United. The next home match at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium will be 7 p.m. June 7 against the Dayton Dutch Lions.
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.
