Fort Wayne Football Club is headed to Lancaster, California, for a late-night match against AV Alta FC. The Autumn Gold & Black are looking to bounce back after losing back-to-back matches, and they’re chasing a playoff spot as they reach the Antelope Valley for an 11 p.m. match on ESPN+.
This will be the second meeting between Fort Wayne FC (7-5-6) and AV Alta FC (7-6-8). The clubs played to a scoreless draw at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on May 30, when Fort Wayne FC’s Tiago Dias-led defense held AV Alta FC to zero shots on goal, an impressive feat against an attack that has scored 29 goals in 21 matches this season.
Fort Wayne FC had six shots on goal, and heavily controlled possession May 30, but AV Alta FC’s Denzil Smith was solid in net and stopped them all.
Check out Fort Wayne FC’s media notes. Here are AV Alta FC’s.
Recently on the pitch
Fort Wayne FC recently had an 11-game undefeated streak, the longest in USL League One this season, and it was capped off by a 3-0 victory at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium over Spokane Velocity FC. Since then, Fort Wayne FC has lost 3 of 4 league matches, but against some of the top teams in the league, including last Saturday’s closely contested 2-0 loss to league-leading Union Omaha.
Fort Wayne FC remains in ninth place among the league’s 17 teams and just one slot out of playoff position with 14 matches remaining in the regular season.
AV Alta FC is on its worst run of the season – with a 1-3-1 record in its last five matches – and is seventh in the standings.
Fort Wayne FC has two of the league’s top goal-scoring threats in Taig Healy and Lilian Ricol, who have eight and seven goals, respectively. Healy is tied for fourth in USL League One scoring behind Charlotte’s Luis Alvarez and Souaibou Marou, and Westchester’s Conor McGlynn, who have nine goals apiece.
Ricol was announced Thursday as a finalist for USL League One Player of the Month, after he recorded three goals and one assist across all competitions, averaging a goal contribution every 79 minutes in five appearances. Ricol also notched nine shots and four chances created overall.
The Autumn Gold & Black have also shown their incredible depth on offense with the likes of Kabiru Gafar, Jack Thomas and Ryan Becher, though Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said the league’s youngest club is still working on polishing its performances.
“We must be more clinical in critical moments. That comes on both sides of the field,” Avery said. “We have shown we can play at the top of the table with any team. Now we must produce results.”
Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann leads the league in clean sheets with seven this season, and he’s tied for second in league history with 34 for his career – 13 behind Union Omaha’s Rashid Nuhu. Schipmann is also 10th in all-time saves with 214, 19 behind Sean Lewis (Spokane) and Amal Knight (Greenville) for eighth place. The all-time lead of 362 is held by Akira Fitzgerald.
Schipmann is in pursuit of the single-season league record for shutouts, which is 13, set by Dallas Jaye of Greenville Triumph SC in 2019 and then tied by Lalo Delgado of the Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC in 2023. Schipmann had 12 clean sheets for Forward Madison in 2023.
When asked about what needs to be done to win Saturday, Fort Wayne FC midfielder Jeremy Garay said: “We need to be ourselves and go play Fort Wayne Football. If we do that, we will earn the three points.”
About the opponent
Ten players have scored for AV Alta FC this season, led by Jerry Desundes and Adam Aoumaich, who have seven goals apiece.
Desundes also has created 48 scoring chances this season, tops in the league by nine.
Smith, the goalkeeper, has totaled 57 saves – fifth most in the league – and five clean sheets.
Fort Wayne FC returns to Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on Aug. 15 for a match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Tickets are on sale now. The Autumn Gold and Black are back at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on Saturday, August 15 at 7:30pm. Tickets are available here.
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.