Match Recap & Analysis
Fort Wayne FC came back from 2-0 down to draw FC Naples 2-2 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium. Mike Avery’s halftime changes flipped the match, Tiago Dias and Ryan Becher scored late, and Fort Wayne holds the eighth and final USL League One playoff spot with six games left.
Fort Wayne FC 2 – 2 FC Naples · USL League One 🏟 Ruoff Mortgage Stadium 📅 September 19, 2026 ⚽ Cisneros (11’), Garcia (17’), Dias (83’), Becher (90+2’) 📋 FWFC Record (W-L-D): 10-9-7 · 37 pts · Matchday 26
The Match
Fort Wayne Football Club spent the first 17 minutes at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium digging a two-goal hole and the last 10 minutes climbing out of it.
It started in the 9th min., when a shot from FC Naples striker Nicolas Likulia hit the arm of a falling Tiago Dias in the penalty box. Debatable whether the shot was going on frame, so when Bernd Schipmann dove to his right and pushed Likulia’s penalty wide left, it felt like a fair outcome. That save produced a corner, and Kevin O’Connor, their assist leader, took it, finding Julian Cisneros, their right back, at the top of the 18, who struck the ball cleanly on the volley. A strike through traffic, a potential Goal of the Year contender, and Naples was up 1-0. Six minutes later, Christopher Garcia, who we highlighted in The Opposition Report II this week, picked up a loose ball outside the 18, and hit it with the outside of his boot. A great individual effort, and it deflected off Michael Rempel on its way into the back of the net. FC Naples barely touched the ball in our box all night, but it didn’t matter. They had their long range game dialed in for the match.
Mike Avery was forced to make changes to start the second half after some poor first half performances. Those changes brought life into the match, a match that was lacking intensity from the kickoff. Both wingers, Clarence Awoudor and Mamadi Jiana, came off for Jack Thomas and Kabiru Gafar, and JP Jordan replaced Jeremy Garay. The bench brought a level of assertiveness onto the pitch, out of necessity, and changed the trajectory on the night, a night in which points mattered in our playoff positioning. FC Naples pulled Garcia at the break too, which worked in our favor.
It took nearly the entire second half to find the breakthrough. In the 83rd min., substitute Jack Thomas played a centering pass that normally finds Ryan Becher, but Dias was waiting at the back post from the previous corner. The captain found the pass from Thomas and finished it like Becher. Fort Wayne 1 - Naples 2. The real Becher found the leveler minutes later into stoppage time. Taig Healy served a left-footed cross in from the right and Emerson Nieto merged on it alongside a Naples defender. The ball deflected off the players, and fell to the feet of our fox-in-the-box. Ryan Becher earns his paycheck in and around the penalty area. It must have been payday, because he earned it. His goal completed the comeback in the dying minutes, preserving a point at home. Fort Wayne 2 - Naples 2. A point that could end up being the difference from a place in the playoffs, or a seat at home.
The Defender’s Verdict
We’ve hit a new phase this season. The last two matches have felt different.
It’s the point in the season where teams find their second wind, or they hit a wall. Where the long professional season starts to feel long. Where you can see the playoffs, backed by a real points table, which can either inspire you through the finish or demoralize you. Even the teams above the playoff line are jostling for position, which comes with home field advantage.
It’s the point in the season where teams are officially qualifying for the playoffs, and teams are running out of road.
Fort Wayne FC is firmly in the race for the final playoff position. USL League One grants eight spots from a total of 17 clubs. It’s a success in Season One to even be in the running. And as much as this Verdict is about the FC Naples match, the storyline starts pointing to an away match vs fellow expansion club, Corpus Christi, on Wednesday, October 7. Corpus Christi FC sits four points back of Fort Wayne FC. Four points clear is much better than three points clear, so the draw was important. Collecting points has always mattered, but now teams start to feel the wins, the losses and the ties.
Picking up a point, after being down by 2 goals the majority of the night, at home, against bottom half of the table FC Naples, was gritty. For players and fans alike, we wanted more. Not in the team’s effort, but the two points we left on the table. And it doesn’t get easier from here. We’re about to face the toughest stretch of the season. Four of our matches are against the top five teams in the league. And the other two matches are against teams still chasing our final playoff position. These last six games are must-watch football.
For Fort Wayne FC, the playoffs arrived early. That’s why it feels different. Buckle up. This won’t be the last time we’ll need that Fort Wayne grit.
Always FWD