OMAHA, Neb. – Fort Wayne Football Club delivered a statement performance Saturday, defeating league-leading Union Omaha 1-0 and becoming the first visiting team to win at Morrison Stadium in 15 months.
“Union Omaha has been the class of the league all year long, and their home record speaks to that,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “They are talented and very well-coached, and we knew it was going to take something special today to earn all three points. Fortunately, that’s what we got – another big performance by a Fort Wayne team that continues to grow every day.”
Taig Healy scored in the 25th minute and Bernd Schipmann secured his league-leading 10th clean sheet, stopping five shots as Fort Wayne FC (12-9-9) played the final 27 minutes of the match with only 10 men.
“Obviously, a very, very important win for the boys,” Healy said. “I’m proud of everyone. Omaha hadn’t lost at home all year, and it’s a very tough environment, and I thought we played very well in the first half and we got the win.”
Aleksandar Vukovic was ejected in the 70th minute, when he received his second yellow card for a foul on Pato Botello Faz, yet the Autumn Gold & Black went on to extend its unbeaten streak to five matches at 2-0-3.
“Obviously, with the red card, we faced a lot of adversity,” Healy said. “The guys on the field did such a good job of seeing it through and being professional. … We’re that much closer to the playoffs now and I’m very happy.”
The club has won back-to-back matches, including Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Corpus Christi FC.
“We’ve always been able to play an attractive style, but early on this season we lacked some grit and some toughness. Over the past month, we’ve shown a real commitment and resilience that’s a sign of our maturation,” Avery said. “We are excited to get home tomorrow from what has been a long trip, and rest, before we prepare for another big test next weekend against a Sarasota team that has also really come on late in the season.”
Fort Wayne FC, in its first season of professional soccer, had a chance to clinch a playoff berth late Saturday. But Sarasota got a late goal to cement a 3-2 victory over the Richmond Kickers and thwart that opportunity, also making the upcoming match with Fort Wayne FC critically important for both clubs.
With its loss, Union Omaha was leapfrogged at the top of the table by the Charlotte Independence.
The top eight teams in the 17-team USL League One table will qualify for the playoffs. Fort Wayne FC is in eighth place but only one point back of the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, who like Fort Wayne FC have two matches remaining in the season.
It was the third meeting of the season between Fort Wayne FC and Union Omaha (19-7-4), which won a Prinx Tires USL Cup match 4-2 on June 6 in Nebraska and a league match 2-0 on Aug. 1 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
There was a crowd of 5,094 on hand Saturday at Morrison Stadium, where the Owls are 11-1-4 this season. Fort Wayne FC finished its road slate this season with a 7-4-5 record.
Healy opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a strike from 25 yards out, after Clarence Awoudor had left a touch pass for him. For Healy, it was his 12th goal of the year – the first-year pro is the club’s all-time leader in goal scoring – and his 11th goal in USL League Play over 30 league matches. Healy hadn’t scored in the previous eight matches, though he’d assisted on two goals during the stretch.
Schipmann’s day was highlighted by a stop of a blistering Younes Boudadi shot from inside the penalty area in the 49th minute, just after a Union Omaha set piece.
Union Omaha’s goalkeeper, Cole Jensen, stopped three shots.
Fort Wayne FC will complete the regular season with a pair of matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium: Oct. 17 against Sarasota and Oct. 24 against Athletic Club Boise.
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 after the lot opens on match days are reminded that the parking must be prepaid at fortwaynefc.com/parking.
Match photos
Match Video
Box score
FORT WAYNE FC 1-0-1
FORWARD MADISON 0-0-0
October 10, 2026
At Morrison Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska
Attendance: 5,094.
RECORDS: FW 12-9-9; OMA 19-7-4.
GOALS: FW—Taig Healy; OMA—None.
ASSISTS: FW—Clarence Awoudor; OMA–None.
SAVES: FW—Bernd Schipmann 5; OMA—Cole Jensen 3.
POSSESSION: FW—29.2%; OMA—70.8%
YELLOW CARDS: FW—Logan Neidlinger, Aleksander Vukovic 2, Javier Armas, Bernd Schipmann; OMA—Samuel Owusu, Gabriel De Freitas.
RED CARDS: FW— Aleksander Vukovic; OMA—None.
REFEREE: Drew Klemp.
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.