MADISON, Wis. – Ryan Becher’s second-half goal helped propel Fort Wayne Football Club to a 1-all draw in the club’s first ever meeting with Forward Madison on Wednesday night.
Fort Wayne FC (4-2-6) extended its unbeaten streak to nine matches (4-0-5), which is tied for the third longest run by a first-year club in USL League One history. The Autumn Gold & Black are in seventh place in the 17-team table.
“Obviously frustrated to not come away with all three points tonight,” Becher said, “but in this league road points are tough to come by. So, being able to get one point against a team in good form after trailing at the half is still positive.”
An announced crowd of 3,170 was on hand at Breese Stevens Field for the match, televised nationally on ESPN2, and Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann had five saves in his return to the grounds he called home from 2023 to 2025.
Schipmann now has 203 saves in his USL League One career, becoming only the 10th goalkeeper in league history to reach the 200-save milestone.
The match, originally slated to begin at 9 p.m. Fort Wayne time, was delayed 30 minutes due to inclement weather.
Forward Madison’s head coach, Matt Glaeser, was assessed a red card and ejected in the 15th minute for verbal abuse of the officials. Patrick Nyarko coached Forward Madison (5-4-2) in his absence.
Forward Madison’s Joshua Bolma opened the scoring in the 28th minute, accepting a Ryan Carmichael centering pass and one-timing it into the top of the net from close range.
Becher evened the score in the 60th minute after a high, arcing pass from Javier Armas, who had just checked into the match for Jeremy Garay. Armas had missed the previous three matches due to injury.
“It was an exciting game, maybe too exciting from my coaching seat because I felt we were too open at times in the back,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “But we created a number of really good chances and we showed the resilience that has become a part of this group’s identity.”
Fort Wayne FC outshot Forward Madison 17-15 overall but was outdone 6-3 in shots on target. Forward Madison’s goalkeeper, John Harms, made two saves.
Fort Wayne FC will look to continue its unbeaten streak Saturday, when it faces the Richmond Kickers in Richmond, Virginia, at 7 p.m. Then, the Autumn Gold & Black will return to Ruoff Mortgage Stadium for a July 4 match against the Spokane Velocity that will feature fireworks, giveaways and lots of surprises.
AV Alta FC and the Chattanooga Red Wolves also had nine-match unbeaten streaks in their first USL League One seasons, 2025 and 2019 respectively, and FC Naples had a 10-match run in 2025. The record for a first-year club is 12 matches by the Lansing Ignite in 2019.
Note: Congratulations to Fort Wayne FC assistant coach Keelan Barker. He and his wife, Lizzie, welcomed a baby girl to the world Wednesday.
Match photos
Match highlights
Box score
FORT WAYNE FC 0-1-1
FORWARD MADISON 1-0-1
June 17, 2026
At Breese Stevens Field, Madison, Wis.
Attendance: 3,170
RECORDS: FW 4-2-6; MAD 5-4-2
GOALS: FW—Ryan Becher; MAD—Joshua Bolma.
ASSISTS: FW—None; MAD–Ryan Carmichael.
SAVES: FW—Bernd Schipmann 5; MAD—John Harms 2.
POSSESSION: FW—53.6%; MAD—46.4%.
YELLOW CARDS: FW—Lilian Ricol, JP Jordan, Kabiru Gafar; MAD—Matt Glaeser (coach), Kerfalla Toure, Roman Torres.
RED CARDS: FW—None; MAD—Matt Glaeser (coach).
REFEREE: JC Griggs
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 plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue. 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.