'Another Important Step' as Fort Wayne Football Club Faces Columbus Crew 2 in Preseason
USL1 Fort Wayne FC

'Another Important Step' as Fort Wayne Football Club Faces Columbus Crew 2 in Preseason

Published on February 22, 2026 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Fort Wayne FC News Release


Fort Wayne Football Club played its fourth preseason match of 2026 training camp Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. The session against Columbus Crew 2, which was indoors and safe from the cold and snowy conditions outside, was closed to the public and neither a score nor statistics were reported. Columbus Crew 2 competes in MLS Next Pro and is the reserve team of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew.

"Today was another important step in our development as a team," Fort Wayne FC coach Mike Avery said. "There were a lot of areas where we showed some progress, as well as a few others where we saw that we have plenty of room to grow. That's the point of preseason: You try to face as many challenges as you can, so you can learn and grow through them."

Fort Wayne FC, preparing for its first professional soccer season in USL League One, had previously played FC Cincinnati 2 of MLS Next Pro, Bethel University and Indiana Tech in closed-door matches.

There's one more preseason match on the docket for Fort Wayne FC, 5 p.m. Friday against USL Championship club Lexington SC. The match, at Lexington SC Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, is free and open to the public. Another match between Lexington SC and the University of Kentucky will follow at 7:30 p.m.

Fort Wayne FC begins the regular season March 7 against FC Naples in Naples, Florida, the first of five consecutive road matches before the home opener May 2 at Fort Wayne FC Park against the Charlotte Independence.

Season tickets are currently on sale.

On Monday, Fort Wayne FC will begin offering Mini Packs that allow fans to purchase tickets to six home matches at a discounted price. The packs will include the home opener and at least one Wednesday match.

Fort Wayne FC's roster is up to 17 players with the Friday addition of Daniel Oyetunde, a product of Arsenal's famed academy.

"We are just a month into this thing and we are definitely not a finished product," Avery said, "but we are making progress and that is promising."

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