The Opposition Report II — MD32 vs Athletic Club Boise
Fort Wayne Football Club hosts USL Championship-bound Athletic Club Boise in its regular-season finale, where only a win guarantees a playoff place.
Saturday, October 24 | 7:30 PM ET | Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, Fort Wayne, IN | ESPN+
Prior Proceedings
All-Time vs Athletic Club Boise (W-L-D): 1-0-0
The Opposition Report
MD9 Recap & Analysis
The first meeting went to Fort Wayne, 3-1 in Boise on May 23, handing Boise its first home loss of the season. Lilian Ricol scored twice: the opener in the 9th min. off a Kabiru Gafar cutback, and the dagger in the 83rd, when Emerson Nieto sprang him from halfway on a counter. Taig Healy added the second. Boise’s midfield substitute Dominic Gasso pulled one back from 30 yards. Boise had most of the ball, outshot us four to one, and lost anyway. Ricol has since been sold to San Antonio FC in the USL Championship, beating AC Boise to the division above. More on that below.
In May we framed this fixture as a contest between two roster philosophies. Boise built from in-prime professionals with USL Championship and League One miles. We built from League Two and the college ranks. Boise has spent the months since doubling down. Most of its regulars have USL Championship experience, and head coach Nate Miller coached in that league at San Diego Loyal SC, first as Landon Donovan’s associate head coach and then as head coach in 2023. Boise’s midseason additions came from MLS. Center back Josh Yaro arrived on loan from St. Louis CITY SC, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, who played for Miller in San Diego. He has started nearly every match since June, and Boise has given up fewer chances with him in the back three. Forward Jesús Barea arrived on loan from MLS side Real Salt Lake, a 2025 first-round pick who knows Miller from his days as an RSL assistant. Only Denys Kostyshyn and Tumi Moshobane have been involved in more Boise goals, and Barea didn’t arrive until July.
Saturday is the last time these clubs meet as USL League One sides. On September 9, Boise accepted an invitation to the USL Championship, which means they will be playing in the division above next season. AC Boise has succeeded on and off the field this season, and it was the off-the-field success that earned the invitation. More than 6,000 season tickets were sold before a ball was kicked. The club says every home match has sold out, and the 7,247 at the Expo on June 20 set a League One regular-season attendance record. The club is expanding the stadium by another 3,000 seats to accommodate the demand for next season. On the pitch, they have already secured a playoff place in their first year. AC Boise is the type of soccer story in the US where all of the right ingredients came together to be a success. The league will be looking for their next Boise as the sport and the USL continue to grow in this country.
A move to a higher division typically means roster casualties, so I’d expect Boise to have some turnover. That means experienced League One players looking for new homes this offseason. Boise built a team with a win-now mentality, so most of their veteran squad sits outside the profile Fort Wayne FC would recruit. Two areas fit what we’ll be looking for this offseason, and they’re our ones to watch.
In midfield, Dominic Gasso is 23 with real professional minutes behind him: a Detroit City FC academy product who played in the USL Championship before Boise. Think Logan Neidlinger, who came up through Indy Eleven’s academy. Gasso is at an age and position that make him worth tracking for Fort Wayne FC.
At the back, Boise’s center backs are the least experienced part of the squad built with USL Championship and MLS experience. Neither Jake Crull nor Jake Dengler has played regularly above USL League One, and I’d expect the back line to be where Boise looks to upgrade. Both have spent recent seasons with good League One clubs and know this league well. Moussa Ndiaye is another one to watch: the 2025 USL League Two Defender of the Year and Vermont Green FC captain, now a rookie with a full season of professional minutes behind him.
While we say goodbye to AC Boise in USL League One, they might still impact the league next season depending on where their roster lands.
The Matchup II
Three teams are left for the final two playoff spots: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, FC Naples and Fort Wayne FC. One club plays its last match of the season this weekend. Naples won in Sarasota on Wednesday, and that changed the playoff math. A tie, and we would have been in. The last 10 minutes of that match were wild (go watch the highlights). Because of the playoff tiebreaker rules, if Naples finishes level with us on points, they advance to the playoffs. If Naples doesn’t beat Spokane, we’re in regardless. What that means for Fort Wayne FC is that the only way to control our own playoff destiny is to win against AC Boise. A tie is about as good as a loss IF Naples wins. That match will start 30 minutes before our kickoff, so with roughly half an hour left at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, everyone will know exactly what’s required. Mike Avery and his staff will need that score in their ear, but it shouldn’t change the plan. Our approach to this match is to win it, and there’s home field advantage on the line for AC Boise, who have already secured a playoff spot. Both teams will be playing for a win.
Boise defends with three center backs and two wingbacks who push high. It’s a shape our 4-2-3-1 can hurt, as long as we’re happy to let Boise have the ball. Ryan Becher’s best work comes with his back to goal and in the air, and his job Saturday is to occupy the middle center back. We don’t know who Miller will put there yet, and it matters less than what happens around them. Pin the middle, and the outside center backs have a decision to make. That space is where Taig Healy thrives. Healy working in the seams between the central and outside center backs, collecting the loose balls the way he did for our second goal in May, is something to watch for on Saturday. Becher hasn’t scored since September. He doesn’t need to for this to work, although a goal would help. If he can create the space for others to thrive, he’s done the job.
The space behind Boise’s wingbacks decided the first meeting. When Nick Moon, a wingback who scores like a forward, pushes high with his partner on the other side, the outside center backs are left defending the channels alone. Before Javier Armas came off for injury, he found Gafar down our right channel for the May opener, and Gafar’s cutback did the rest. Healy’s movement inside should hold those center backs narrow and keep that ball available in wide positions. Boise should have more of the ball again. When the opportunity arises and we have the ball, look for Armas or Nieto to spring Gafar quickly again. If it’s not there, Clarence Awoudor should be available. He’s good at finding the ball, which allows left back Michael Rempel to overlap and provide the width. That develops more slowly than what Gafar offers, so depending on how this match unfolds, I’d like to see Mamadi Jiana attack that space around the hour mark, once AC Boise starts tiring.
The concern is at the other end. Thomas Amang, the Cameroonian striker signed from New Mexico United, has become a regular since May and one of the most effective forwards in the league. Jesús Barea gives Miller a second attacker who scores and creates. He’s been their most dangerous attacker for the second half of the season. Behind them, Denys Kostyshyn, April’s League One Player of the Month, still drifts into the pockets between our midfield and back line. Our defense conceded three against Sarasota, the first from a giveaway out of the back. Aleksandar Vukovic returns from a red card suspension, and his size and athleticism matter against a front line this interchangeable and mobile.
This is it. It all comes down to the final regular-season match to secure a playoff spot. We’ve gone five home matches without a win. The fort has been penetrable since September. Defend the Fort, Protect the Fort. For Fort Wayne Football Club, this match means something. For Fort Wayne, this match matters. Time to put this club and this city on your backs, boys. We’re with you.
Always FWD