Fort Wayne Football Club, in its first season of professional soccer, faces a tough task Saturday with a road match at Union Omaha.
The potential rewards are significant.
The Autumn Gold & Black could clinch a playoff berth as soon as Saturday if it wins and two matches elsewhere fall particular ways. Meanwhile, Union Omaha is also hungry for a win that would lock up a top-two seed in the upcoming USL League One playoffs.
The match at Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, will kick off at 5 p.m. and air on ESPN+.
Fort Wayne FC, coming off crucial 3-1 victory Wednesday at Corpus Christi FC, has greatly improved its chances of qualifying for the postseason – and even got back into striking distance of seventh place – with three matches remaining in the regular season.
The top eight teams among the league’s 17 teams will make the playoffs. Fort Wayne FC (11-9-9) is four points back of seventh-place Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, which has only two matches left, and five points ahead of ninth-place FC Naples, which has three matches remaining.
Union Omaha (19-6-4) is on a five-match winning streak.
Fort Wayne FC’s media guide for this match is here. Click here to see Union Omaha’s.
This season, Union Omaha has defeated Fort Wayne FC twice – 4-2 in a June 6 match in Nebraska during the Prinx Tires USL Cup competition, and 2-0 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on Aug. 1.
At home, Union Omaha is 9-3-3. Fort Wayne FC is 6-4-5 on the road.
Fort Wayne FC’s captain, Tiago Dias, who scored at Corpus Christi, has goals in three of the last four matches. Ryan Becher, who was runner-up for USL Player of the Month of September, has six goals and an assist in the last 10 matches. Taig Healy is tied for seventh in league play with 10 goals.
Union Omaha’s Sergio Ors has 11 goals, tied for fifth in the league, and Diego Gutiérrez has nine goals.
Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann has a league-leading nine clean sheets this season, and the club has allowed 37 goals this season – fifth fewest in the league. Union Omaha has allowed 31, second fewest, though it has only five shutouts.
For Fort Wayne FC to qualify for the postseason Saturday, it would need to win; FC Naples and Corpus Christi to play to a draw; and for the Sarasota Paradise to draw or lose to the Richmond Kickers.
Dias could become Fort Wayne FC’s all-time leader in matches played Saturday with 69 over four seasons, including three seasons in the pre-professional level of USL League Two. Dias tied longtime teammate Reid Sproat at 68 matches on Wednesday, when Sproat was not in the matchday lineup.
The final two matches of the regular season for Fort Wayne FC will be home at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
The Oct. 17 match will be Teacher Appreciation Night, presented by Manchester University, and educators and other school employees who provide identification can receive a complimentary ticket at the Ruoff Mortgage Stadium Ticket Office. Mascot Friendly the Goalrilla will face DaMarcus Beasley in a penalty kick for braggging rights during halftime, and the first 1,000 fans will receive Friendly the Goalrilla trading cards, courtesy of Midwest Box Breaks.
The Oct. 24 match will be Report Card Night, presented by Parkview Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics Northeast, and kids who bring a report card to the Ticket Office can receive a complimentary ticket.
The Ticket Office is open 12:30-5 p.m. the day before a match, and 12:30 p.m.-end of match on game days.
Fans purchasing at the Ticket Office are reminded that the parking lot requires prepayment at fortwaynefc.com/parking.
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.