Fort Wayne FC’s final match at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium was an absolute masterpiece.
The club secured a 4-0 victory Saturday night over Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati – propelled by two Muslim Umar goals – and captured the Valley Division championship for a third straight season. Fort Wayne FC clinched the lone division playoff spot and will compete in the USL League Two postseason with its first match in Flint, Michigan, the date, time and opponent soon to be announced by the league.
“It’s an amazing feeling for everybody,” said Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery, whose club is 9-2-1. “We worked very hard. It was a hard year. The level of competition in this (division), in particular, it was raised from years past. We’re excited about what we’ve done tonight and we’re excited it allows us to keep playing. That’s my favorite part, that we get to keep playing.”
Umar scored in the 17th and 87th minutes. Teammate Venton Evans made it 3-0 in the 89th minute and Andrew Gerber scored in stoppage time. Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe stopped three shots for his seventh clean sheet of the USL League Two season.
Fort Wayne FC, which will move to the professional ranks of USL League One in 2026 at Fort Wayne FC Park, being built at Bass Road and I-69, was 21-6-1 all-time at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, including a 15-2-1 record in regular-season league play, 6-3-0 in friendlies and 0-1 in the postseason.
The largest crowd of the season, 1,712, was on hand to see Saturday’s victory and team captain Tiago Dias said it was special to share the night with the club’s devoted fans.
“Very special, very special,” he said, “especially with it being the third (Division title) in a row. Bringing it again to Fort Wayne is special. I know the fans love this game like we do. It was very important to bring this to them.”
Fort Wayne FC came into the night needing to win or tie to clinch the Valley Division title, or needed second-place Lexington SC to fail to defeat West Virginia United. About the time Umar scored the first of his goals, news spread throughout Bishop D’Arcy Stadium that Lexington SC and West Virginia United played to a 1-1 draw, but still Fort Wayne FC left nothing to chance with its rousing victory.
“We didn’t even know (what Lexington SC) did. Our goal was just to get the three points and I’m really glad we did,” Umar said. “The team played really well and we were just focused on getting the win tonight.”
Last year, Fort Wayne FC won a postseason match for the first time, defeating Midwest United FC in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. The club then lost 2-1 to the Flint City Bucks in the Central Conference semifinals.
Fort Wayne FC is focused on leaving USL League Two with a playoff championship this time around.
“This was a great night to celebrate in front of the fans,” Briscoe said. “I’m glad that we had a packed house and I’m glad that we had a 4-nil dominant victory to go along with it and gave the fans what they wanted and accomplished a very difficult goal.”
Fort Wayne FC will begin accepting deposits on 2026 season tickets for Fort Wayne FC Park on Monday at 10 a.m.
Make sure to visit our photo page for much more from this match and other matches throughout the season.
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.