After two weeks of needed rest and recovery, Fort Wayne Football Club will be back on the pitch for USL League One action at 7 p.m. Saturday in Portland, Maine, against the Portland Hearts of Pine.
The match will air on ESPN+.
This will be the second ever meeting between Fort Wayne FC (7-7-6) and Portland (5-9-8); on May 6, Fort Wayne FC generated a 3-0 victory in the second match ever held at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
Lilian Ricol, who was transferred to USL Championship-side San Antonio FC earlier this month, began the scoring in that match for Fort Wayne FC in the 54th minute. Ricol completed the brace with another goal 10 minutes later.
Fort Wayne FC’s Taig Healy cemented the victory with a goal in the 70th minute and goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann had four saves to complete the clean sheet, while also assisting on a goal.
It was the third match of Fort Wayne FC’s 11-game unbeaten streak, the second longest ever by a first-year USL League One club.
Fort Wayne FC is looking to return to the club’s winning ways after losing five of the last six matches, and the club made additions to the roster Friday. The last victory for the Autumn Gold & Black came July 18 with a 3-0 victory over Greenville Triumph SC. In Fort Wayne FC’s last match out, Aug. 15, Ryan Becher had the club’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.
Portland will be looking for their first win since July 3, when they defeated FC Naples 3-2 in a thriller that saw two late goals – one in the 88th minute from Diego Gonzalez and one is stoppage time from Mikey Lopez – that secured the comeback for the Hearts of Pine. Since then, the Hearts of Pine have been plagued by draws and losses, resulting in a 0-2-3 record in their last 5 matches.
Gonzalez and Aboubacar Camara are tied for the Portland goal-scoring lead with six apiece in USL League One play. Fort Wayne FC’s Healy, who hails from South Hampton, New Hampshire, a short drive from Portland, has eight goals this season in league play.
Portland goalkeeper Hunter Morse leads the league with 80 saves, though he has only one clean sheet in 20 matches. Fort Wayne’s Schipmann is tied for the league lead in shutouts with seven, and he has 46 saves in 19 matches.
Fort Wayne FC’s press notes are available here. Portland Hearts of Pine’s are here.
The Fort Wayne FC supporters group, the Three Rivers Regiment, will be holding a watch party at Wings Etc. on Illinois Road.
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.