FLINT, Mich. – Amari Fowlkes’ overtime goal capped a furious Fort Wayne FC comeback and a 3-2 victory over Midwest United FC on Friday, as Fort Wayne FC advanced to the Central Conference Semifinals of the USL League Two Playoffs presented by VensureHR.
Fort Wayne FC will face the Flint City Bucks 7 p.m. Sunday at Atwood Stadium in Flint in the single-elimination tournament.
Fowlkes’ goal Friday came after teammate Aboubacar Traore stole the ball and delivered a pass across the box in the 117th minute of an intense, physical match at Atwood Stadium.
“I just ran into the box and Bouba beat his guy one-on-one,” Fowlkes said. “It took a couple deflections to find me at the back post, but I was there, took a touch, and I just hit it and it went in. It bounced off two people, but it went in and it was a great feeling.”
A year after the teams played a memorable match at the same site in the same round of the playoffs – with Fort Wayne FC winning in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw – this may have delivered even better drama.
Despite strong play in the first 30 minutes, Fort Wayne FC, winner of three straight Valley Division championships, trailed 2-0 at halftime. Then the club came out reinvigorated and got a goal from captain Tiago Dias on a header in the 51st minute, after Gaku Nishimura delivered an assist on a set piece from 22 yards out.
“You go into halftime and you’re down two goals, that’s a tricky place to be,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “But I was really proud of our group because we said, ‘If we can just keep fighting to the end, we can make this thing happen.’ And we did.”
With time running out on Fort Wayne FC – focused on winning a USL League Two Championship before it moves to the professional ranks of USL League One next year at new Fort Wayne FC Park – Caio Oliveira scored on a free kick from 21 yards out. His high, curving strike went into the top-right of the net four minutes into extra time.
It was Oliveira’s seventh goal of the USL League Two season, a single-season Fort Wayne FC record. He trails only Gjis Hovius and Maxwell Amoaka in all-time goals; they both had eight.
Fort Wayne FC (10-2-1) dominated possession in overtime, and got the only four shots on frame in the first 15 minutes, before Traore’s steal set up Fowlkes’ heroic moment and the victory over a disgruntled Midwest United FC (8-4-1), which was the second-place team in the Great Lakes Division.
Fort Wayne FC will next face Flint City (10-3-0), the Great Lakes Division champion; it defeated Steel City FC (8-2-3), the Great Forest Division champion, 4-3 on Friday night.
For Fort Wayne FC, it’s a chance for revenge against the club that ousted it from the playoffs in 2023 and 2024 – last year’s match also coming in the Round of 16 of the USL League Two Playoffs.
If Fort Wayne FC wins Sunday, it will play in the Central Conference Finals at a site not yet announced by USL League Two.
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.
