Fort Wayne Football Club’s beloved mascot, Friendly the Goalrilla, was able to realize a lifelong dream on Saturday night when he faced DaMarcus Beasley in a penalty kick at halftime. Friendly, who fancies himself quite a goalkeeper, was bested on the shot by Beasley, Fort Wayne FC’s Co-owner and Director of Football Operations, who is the only American man to play in four World Cups.
Beasley sent the shot into the lower-left corner of the net. While Friendly guessed the shot’s direction correctly, the ball sailed just underneath his dive at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, where a crowd of 3,491 was on hand to see Fort Wayne FC face the Sarasota Paradise.
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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.