The Opposition Report: Corpus Christi FC
Last in the Table, on a Short Week, With a Long Way to Travel.
The Opposition Report — MD8 vs Corpus Christi FC
Fort Wayne Football Club hosts USL League One’s last-place side on a four-day turnaround at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, the final home fixture before Saturday’s long trip to Idaho, to face a hot Athletic Club Boise.
Wednesday, May 20 | 7:30 PM ET | Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, Fort Wayne, IN | ESPN+
The Profile
This is Éamon Zayed’s fourth season as a USL League One head coach, but his first season coaching Corpus Christi FC. His history with the league goes back to its 2019 launch, when he played the inaugural and 2020 seasons at Chattanooga Red Wolves. He became Northern Colorado Hailstorm’s first head coach in 2022 and won the inaugural USL Cup with them in 2024. Whether his Corpus Christi squad has caught up to League One is the open question of their inaugural season. Similar to Fort Wayne, they played in USL League Two last season.
The marquee piece is Christian Chaney, the veteran striker Corpus Christi pulled from Charlotte Independence over the offseason. He arrived as the second-leading scorer in USL League One history with 38 career goals, including 13 last season. He hasn’t scored yet this season, though the chances have been there.
Blake Bowen is the more dangerous threat in the moment. The 25-year-old left back gets his number called as the corner-taker, and his service produced their only home goal in club history, a back-post finish from captain Patrick Langlois in their last home League One match against Charlotte.
The seasoned voice on the back line is Jack Keaney. The 27-year-old Donegal, Ireland native arrived in January after winning the Northern Ireland Football League Cup with Cliftonville and qualifying them for the UEFA Conference League. Zayed had been tracking him for a number of years. Both Irish natives.
Seven League One matches in: three points from three draws, no wins, last place. They’re conceding two goals a match and looking for any sign that the foundation is laid.
The Matchup
Corpus Christi FC and Fort Wayne FC played Saturday, entering Wednesday’s matchup on four days’ rest. We’ll have the benefit of an extra day of practice, whereas Corpus Christi has to use that day on travel from south Texas. In a fixture where the table difference is already considerable, the extra day is a meaningful edge that gives us a home field advantage before kickoff.
And speaking of home field advantage, Ruoff Mortgage Stadium is becoming a difficult venue for visitors. Across all competitions, we haven’t lost in regulation, with seven League One points from three matches and clean sheets in both wins. If Corpus Christi has travel legs, it’ll make it that much harder to pick up points in Fort Wayne, who haven’t been giving visiting teams many points to take home.
Both clubs entered USL League One together in March. Three months later, we sit seventh with a strong core of players, unbeaten in league play since the end of March, and a clear vision of what we’re building. Corpus Christi sits last, with a goalkeeping situation still settling and a marquee striker looking for his first goal this season. At this point, Year One as a professional club looks very different for these two former USL League Two teams.
Fort Wayne FC needs to focus on winning Wednesday. In this league, any team can beat you on any given day, and we don’t want to be the team that gives Corpus Christi their first 3 points of the season. Saturday’s trip to Idaho to face Athletic Club Boise will be the harder fixture: a packed Stadium at Expo Idaho, an unbeaten home record, a side fresh off a 4-3 comeback win over a USL Championship opponent. Three points Wednesday is worth more than two ties. Play for the win on Wednesday, and accept a tougher road battle away on Saturday.
Always FWD
Must win if we want to make the playoffs by finishing top 8. Cannot lose to a winless team at home. Need to start fast like we did vs Charlotte. Cannot come out flat-footed and give them any confidence. Great write-up!