NAPLES, Fla. – Fort Wayne Football Club’s first match in professional soccer culminated with a 2-0 loss to FC Naples at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex on Saturday night.
The first match of the season for both clubs was a competitive one but FC Naples, which finished fourth in the table and secured a playoff berth last season, pulled away in front of an announced crowd of 4,072.
“Although not the result we would have hoped for, it is nice to get this first game out of the way,” said Fort Wayne FC’s head coach, Mike Avery, who also coached the club during its entire tenure in the pre-professional level of USL League Two. “There’s been a lot of buildup toward the debut for the club in USL League One, and I’m glad we can now have that behind us and can just focus on getting better.”
FC Naples got goals from Christopher Garcia and Dominick Bachstein, on their club’s only two shots on target of the match. Fort Wayne FC had a handful of chances to score but only put one shot on target.
“Overall, I was satisfied with the performance,” Avery said. “There were some very good moments, and we created three or four really good chances that we need to capitalize on as we move forward.
“There were also some naive defending moments and, unfortunately, we were punished on them. We will learn, and we will grow. That’s the level. You have to be locked in the whole time, and you have to win the moments. Credit to Naples on a good night for them, and now we move forward.”
Garcia opened the scoring in the 45th minute with a shot from the top corner of the penalty area that beat goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe on the far side. Bachstein got the insurance goal in the 88th minute by chipping the ball high on the keeper from just outside the box, at the end of a quick transition play.
FC Naples was 13-9-8 last season. Fort Wayne FC was 10-3-1 in USL League Two, winning a division title and reaching the conference semifinals.
Fort Wayne FC’s next match will be 7:30 p.m. Saturday against the Sarasota Paradise at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
The first five matches of the Fort Wayne FC season are on the road before the May 2 home opener against the Charlotte Independence at Fort Wayne FC Park, the soccer-specific stadium being built at Bass Road and I-69.
Season tickets are on sale. Six-match Mini Plans are also available.
Notes: The first starting XI in Fort Wayne FC history included Tiago Dias, Reid Sproat, JP Jordan, Lilian Ricol, Taig Healy, Michael Rempel, Ryan Becher, Anthony Hernandez, James Musa, Javier Armas and Briscoe. … Dias wore the captain’s armband for the Fort Wayne FC opener. The club has formed a leadership group that currently includes Dias, Musa, Bernd Schipmann, Becher, and Armas. … Goalkeeper Taner Akin was added to the Fort Wayne FC roster prior to the match. A goalkeeper, he backed up Briscoe. Schipmann, also goalkeeper, wasn’t yet available for action.
Match photos
Match highlights
Box score
FORT WAYNE FC 0-0—0
FC NAPLES 1-1—2
March 7, 2026
At Paradise Coast Sports Complex, Naples, Florida
Attendance: 4,072.
GOALS: FW—None; NAP—Christopher Garcia, Dominick Bachstein.
ASSISTS: FW—None; NAP—Marc Torrellas.
SAVES: FW—Aurie Briscoe, 1; NAP-Edward Delgado, 1.
POSSESSION: FW—50.6%; NAP—49.4%.
YELLOW CARDS: FW—Anthony Hernandez, JP Jordan; NAP—Marc Torrellas
RED CARDS: None
REFEREE: Edson Carvajal
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.