Michael Rempel scored the first goal of his professional career, sending a free kick from just outside the penalty area off the right post and into the net during the 14th minute on Saturday night.
But the rest of the scoring was done by the Sarasota Paradise, who completed a 3-1 victory over the Autumn Gold & Black in front of a crowd of 3,491 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
The top eight teams in 17-team USL League One will qualify for the playoffs, and Fort Wayne is in eighth place with one match remaining on the regular-season schedule – Oct. 24 against Athletic Club Boise at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
“The most important thing is going to be to forget about this game now and focus on the next one,” Rempel said. “We know we (may) have to win if we want in the playoffs. It’s going to be same as always – we’re going to prepare ourselves in practice with high intensity and all the effort.”
Fort Wayne FC (12-10-9) has a five-point lead over FC Naples, which has two matches remaining, and a six-point lead over Sarasota (11-13-6), which also has two matches remaining.
Sarasota and Naples play Wednesday and for either team to stay mathematically alive, they’d have to win it
Meanwhile a Fort Wayne FC victory over AC Boise would guarantee a playoff berth for the Autumn Gold & Black regardless of what happens elsewhere.
“I thought (Sarasota) were really good tonight, but I also thought we had plenty of chances to make the game go in a different direction,” Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. “We just weren’t quite sharp enough in front of goal and we gave up some soft goals, which is not like us lately. But it is what it is and we still control our own destiny.”
Sarasota got goals from Jonathan Bolanos (25th minute), Anderson Rosa (first half stoppage time) and Garrett McLaughlin (second half stoppage time). Sarasota’s goalkeeper, Alexander Sutton, stopped seven shots as his club improved to 6-1-3 in its last 10 matches.
Fort Wayne FC, which had a five-match unbeaten streak snapped, got two saves from goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann.
It was Teacher Appreciation Night on Saturday and there was a special halftime event in which mascot Friendly the Goalrilla achieved his lifelong dream and face Fort Wayne FC’s Co-owner, DaMarcus Beasley, in a penalty kick for bragging rights. Beasley, a four-time member of the U.S. World Cup team, scored on Friendly with a shot to the lower-left corner of the net that slipped just underneath the diving mascot.
The match against AC Boise will be Report Card Night: Kids who bring their report card to the Ruoff Mortgage Stadium Ticket Office will get a complimentary ticket. The Tick Office will be open 12:30-5 p.m. Friday and 12:30 p.m. through the end of the match on Oct. 24.
Match photos
Match video
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.