Match Recap & Analysis
Sarasota Paradise came from behind to win 3-1 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, leaving Fort Wayne Football Club waiting on Wednesday’s Naples vs Sarasota result, or a win over Athletic Club Boise, to clinch a playoff place.
Fort Wayne FC 1 – 3 Sarasota Paradise · USL League One 🏟 Ruoff Mortgage Stadium 📅 October 17, 2026 ⚽ Rempel (14’); Bolanos (25’), Rosa (45+1’), McLaughlin (90+7’) 📋 FWFC Record (W-L-D): 12-10-9 · 45 pts · Matchday 31
The Match
Michael Rempel put Fort Wayne FC ahead in the 14th min. with the first professional goal of his career, a left-footed free kick from just outside the box that came off the right post and in. The lead nearly came sooner. Inside the first minute, Taig Healy found Kabiru Gafar in the box, but Sarasota goalkeeper Alex Sutton came off his line to stop him. An early sign Sutton was up for the match.
The lead lasted 11 minutes. James Musa played a poor pass out of the back, just moments after he played a previous poor pass out of the back. On this occurrence, Sarasota striker Sander Røed closed it down, Sarasota midfielder Andres Rodriguez stepped in to intercept, and he squared it for winger Jonathan Bolanos. Bolanos’s first shot was blocked off the line by Tiago Dias, into a sliding JP Jordan. The ball dropped favorably for Bolanos’s rebound and into an empty net in the 25th min.
Later in first-half stoppage time, Sarasota took the lead, and never gave it up again. Winger Romain Gall carried the ball down the right and found fullback Kisa Kiingi on the overlap. Kiingi nutmegged Rempel, Rempel’s clearance fell to Sarasota’s leading goal scorer Anderson Rosa, and Rosa buried it into the bottom left corner. Sarasota 2 - Fort Wayne 1.
After the break we had most of the ball, and Sarasota dropped deeper to protect the lead. They took Bolanos and Rodriguez off just past the hour. Sutton stopped everything else we put on target.
The final dagger came in second-half stoppage time. Bernd Schipmann was sent forward in the 97th min. to see if we could tie the match. Instead the ball was sent in the opposite direction, and with no Fort Wayne goalkeeper in the goal, Sarasota’s Garrett McLaughlin scored on an empty net. Fort Wayne would lose this match 3-1, ending our five-match unbeaten run. We stay at eighth place in the standings. A win over AC Boise on Saturday clinches a playoff place regardless of results from around the league.
The Defender’s Verdict
Playing a full 32-match regular professional season is almost in the books. After 31 games, Fort Wayne Football Club’s playoff fate is yet to be decided, and while the soccer stat gods are still in favor of Fort Wayne FC making the playoffs, it’s a sport. Anything can happen.
The plan is straightforward: win and you’re into the playoffs. Qualification might come sooner, depending on the outcome of Wednesday’s match where FC Naples faces Sarasota Paradise. Any draw in that match eliminates both Florida clubs, and secures Fort Wayne’s place in the playoffs. That makes Wednesday a must-watch if you’re a USL League One and Fort Wayne FC sicko. Fort Wayne will be cheering for a draw.
If one of those clubs wins, the pressure will turn to Fort Wayne to secure points on Saturday against Athletic Club Boise, and anything but a Fort Wayne FC win could be left for chance. The battle for the eighth and final playoff position will be decided this week. In our Opposition Report II against AC Boise, we’ll plan to update you based on the outcome of the Naples vs Sarasota match. Stay tuned.
Now that elimination math is out of the way, let’s look at this specific match against Sarasota Paradise. It was the second time we’ve faced Sarasota, and the second time they have come from behind to secure points. Toss out their third goal, which came from a last-minute attempt to tie this match, and you’re left with a 2-1 defeat. Goals from both Jonathan Bolanos and Anderson Rosa, Sarasota’s top two players on the pitch all season. It is easier said than done to keep these players quiet, even when you know the danger comes from their left side.
Center back James Musa had a poor night, from both the eye test as well as the match stats. Two back-to-back giveaways while playing the ball out from our defense led to the first Sarasota goal and a failure to close down the man versus covering space inside the 18-yard box cost us a second goal. The ripple effect from the red card against Fort Wayne’s Aleksandar Vukovic during the Union Omaha match exposed a thin center back depth chart at the moment. Vukovic’s presence in this lineup provides the team with a bit more athletic ability and physical dimension on both sides of the ball. He’s one you want in the starting XI right now.
Ryan Becher has not scored in a month. He’s cold, heading into the most important stretch of the season. As to why, the data points to service. Becher’s six goals during his previous hot streak came from 6.02 expected goals, a striker converting exactly what he’s given. Since September 20th, he’s gone five games without a goal, with his shot volume more than halved and his share of Fort Wayne’s attack falling from 39% to 24% while the team’s chance creation dropped 38%. He’s a target man in the 98th percentile among League One forwards for aerial duels won. A player built to finish service. Players like Becher typically don’t stay cold for too long, so it would be great to see him impact the match on Saturday against AC Boise. The more dangerous we make Ryan Becher in the box, the more goals he will score. He’s that center of gravity, pulling in both opposing center backs, which opens space for someone like Taig Healy at the top of the box, or Clarence Awoudor or Jack Thomas.
Playing great defense can make up for a quiet offense, and had we kept Sarasota Paradise off the scoreboard like we did away against Union Omaha, Fort Wayne FC would have been celebrating a win and securing a playoff position. We have to wait until Wednesday to see if we’re playoff bound.
Always FWD