To be declared the best, you’ve got to overcome the best. And Fort Wayne FC is welcoming the challenges ahead as it pursues a championship in its final USL League Two season.
Fort Wayne FC, which captured its third consecutive Valley Division Championship last weekend, opens the 2025 USL League Two Playoffs presented by VensureHR at 3 p.m. Friday in Flint, Michigan, against Midwest United FC. The match is in the Central Conference Quarterfinals.
“We’re a competitive group and we have a lot of ambition,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “We’re always going to chase whatever is in front of us. I hope that we play the five hardest teams in the country. I hope they stack them one right after another in front of us because I think we’re a good side and I’d like to take this group out there and see what we can do.”
Whatever happens, this will be Fort Wayne FC’s final season in USL League Two before moving to USL League One, a professional league, and opens play at Fort Wayne FC Park – the new soccer-specific stadium being built at Bass Road and I-69. The club began accepting deposits on 2026 season tickets this week and fans are encouraged to place deposits early to reserve a spot in line for what will be a state-of-the-art stadium.
On Tuesday, Fort Wayne FC announced the hire of Oliver Gage as Sporting Director, a pivotal move as the club gears up for the ascension to the pros.
The lone playoff victory in Fort Wayne FC’s history came last year in Flint against the same opponent they’ll face Friday – Midwest United FC. At Atwood Stadium, the clubs played to a scoreless draw before Fort Wayne FC won 5-4 in penalty kicks. Fort Wayne FC outscored Midwest United FC 5-4 in PKs, getting two big saves from goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe. It was the first time Fort Wayne FC had ever participated in penalty kicks.
In the next match, Fort Wayne FC lost 2-1 to the Flint City Bucks, and there’s potential for a rematch in Sunday’s 7 p.m. Central Conference semifinals, should Flint City defeat Steel City FC in the late match this Friday.
Fort Wayne FC’s record is 9-2-1 and has outscored USL League Two opponents 24-8. Midwest United FC, the second-place team in the Great Lakes Division, is 8-3-1 and outscored opponents 27-10.
Flint City, the Great Lakes Division champion, is 9-3-0 and outscored its opponents 30-11. Steel City FC, which won the Great Forest Division, is 8-1-3 and outscored opponents 26-12.
This season has been full of thrills – including winning the final match at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium 4-0 last weekend over Kings Hammer FC Cincinnati – and an audition for players hoping to remain with the club when it moves to USL League One. As a group, they’d love to finish the 2025 season as the USL League Two champions.
“It would be amazing. We’re focused now on the first playoff game. We’ll go game by game and we’ll be successful,” team captain Tiago Dias said, adding that this is a special group of players.
“Everyone who Mike brings in is special,” he said. “They’re special as a player and that says it all, and the culture of the club helps to bring all the special players together in everything.”
Culture is something mentioned often by the Fort Wayne FC players and staff, especially since everyone has contributed – from everyday starters to players who had to bide their time until they got a chance in the lineup.
“What makes this team so special, honestly, is what we’ve been through over the years,” Briscoe said. “We’ve had a system that works and everybody buys into it. If you have the system and everybody is willing to buy into it, then you get the results.”
Tickets for Friday’s match can be purchased on the tickets tab at FlintCityBucks.com. The match will also be streamed on SportsEngine Play.
JK O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House will host a watch party for the match 3 p.m. Friday.
Make sure to check out the Fort Wayne FC photo page for action from throughout the season so far.
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.
