NASL Jacksonville Armada FC

Armada Returns to U.S. Open Cup Wednesday with Massive Match against Orlando City

Published on June 14, 2016 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Jacksonville Armada FC News Release


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Wednesday night's 7 p.m. match against Orlando City SC at Jacksonville University's Southern Oak Stadium in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is arguably the most important match in club history for the Jacksonville Armada.

After a tough NASL Spring Season in which the Armada finished 10th, a win would change the conversation. Although Jacksonville defeated Orlando in the preseason, this time it means something, and so a win would help legitimize the Armada's state bragging rights and help it move on to the tournament's round of 16 on June 29.

It might seem light years away, but if Jacksonville can continue to have top-caliber performances in the Open Cup and win the whole thing, it would earn a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League and represent the NASL against North America's top clubs.

And it seems like things are starting to click at the right time for Jacksonville, unbeaten in its last four overall. The Armada fought to a 1-1 draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday in its last league fixture of the Spring Season and at one point looked like it would be able to pull out a win after Junior Sandoval scored a short-handed goal for Jacksonville in the 52nd minute.

The Armada will try to rekindle the success it had against the Charleston Battery two weeks ago at Southern Oak Stadium when it won 2-1 in additional extra time. Jacksonville had a thorough handle on the match after Patrick Otte struck in the 17th minute but could not break through after Charleston's Chris Tsonis scored in the 22nd despite several opportunities.

Alhassane Keita finally netted what proved to be the game-winner in the 108th minute when Alex Dixon fed Keita with a back-heel pass.

The Lions come into the contest sitting at 7th on the MLS Eastern Conference table and unbeaten in their last three. Orlando City should come in fully rested after not having played since a 2-2 draw with New York City FC on May 29. Orlando went 2-1 in last year's edition of the Open Cup, defeating the Charleston Battery in the fourth round (4-4 (8-7 on PKs)) and Columbus Crew in the round of 16 (2-0) before falling to the Chicago Fire in the quarterfinals (3-1).

Although the Armada's 2-1 victory over the Lions in Jacksonville came in the preseason, the Armada passed the eye test and bested Orlando's starters. The tilt featured the free-kick prowess of the Lions' Brazilian star Kaká, who scored off the set piece from 25-yards out on a strike that curled up and over the Armada wall into the upper left 90 of the goal in the 31st minute.

Shortly after halftime, he was arguably bested by Armada Haitian defender Mechack Jerômé with a free-kick strike from further out and at a more difficult angle. A goal by Keita in the 58th and clutch saves by former Lion Miguel Gallardo allowed Jacksonville to lock up the win.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE

Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m. ET | Southern Oak Stadium (Jacksonville University)

Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS

Jacksonville Armada FC (1W-4D-5L, 7 pts., 10th NASL Spring)

Orlando City SC (3W-7D-3L, 16 pts., 7th MLS Eastern Conference)

THE COACHES

Jacksonville Armada FC - Tony Meola, 1st season

Orlando City SC - Adrian Heath, 9th season

SERIES HISTORY

Jacksonville leads, 1-0-0 (including friendlies)

LAST RESULT

Armada 2, Lions 1 - 2/13/16 in Jacksonville, Fla.

WATCH

- CW17 in Jacksonville - Cole Pepper - PXP, Mauricio Ruiz - Color and Amanda Borges - Sideline

- ArmadaFC.com

READ

- Live Twitter updates on @ArmadaFCgameday - #JAXvORL

- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

#ORLANDOUNITED

With the tragic, senseless killings that happened early Sunday morning, the Jacksonville Armada FC is showing that it is #OrlandoUnited. The club will hold a moment of silence for the victims before the National Anthem on Wednesday night and Armada players and technical staff will wear black armbands in memoriam. The Armada FC is also encouraging fans to bring their Armada FC Pride Night scarf to the match to show support for the LGBT community.

POTENT NOTABLES

- Jacksonville will be without injured defender Matt Bahner (concussion), goalkeeper Sebastian Evers (groin) and midfielder Pekka Lagerblom (Achilles). Defender Garry Lewis is currently on loan through the end of July with USL side Tulsa Roughnecks. However, the Armada will be getting defender Mechack Jerome and midfielder Pascal Millien back from international duty with the Haitian National Team, which was eliminated from Copa America Centenario. Lucas Scaglia (knee) is also expected to be healthy and available for selection.

- Though he did receive a red card against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Saturday's NASL Spring Season finale, Shawn Nicklaw will be available for Wednesday's lineup selection. Red cards and yellow card accumulation are only relevant to a specific competition.

- Though this will be just the third U.S. Open Cup match in club history for the Armada FC, that does not mean the roster lacks tournament experience, especially in the fourth round. Ten players - Bryan Burke, Alex Dixon, Charles Eloundou, Matt Fondy, Miguel Gallardo, Kevan George, Mechack Jerome, Beto Navarro, Tyler Ruthven and Anthony Wallace - have made it to the fourth round with their previous clubs. Of all Armada players, Gallardo has the most U.S. Open Cup experience at 10 games played.

CLUB CONNECTIONS

Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo (2010-14), defender Bryan Burke (2013-14) and defender Mechack Jerome (2011-12) all played for Orlando City SC and head coach Adrian Heath during the club's USL days ... Armada FC assistant coach Mark Lowry served as a coach in the Orlando City SC youth academy for three years before coming to Jacksonville in 2015 ... Armada goalkeeper Sebastian Evers and OCSC forward Hadji Barry were teammates at the University of Central Florida in 2014 ... both Barry and Armada forward Alhassane Keita are from the same hometown, Conakry, Guinea ... both Armada defender Shawn Nicklaw and OCSC midfielder Servando Carrasco grew up in San Diego ... both Nicklaw and OCSC forward Cyle Larin played collegiately at the University of Connecticut but were not teammates; Nicklaw played from 2007-10 while Larin played from 2013-14.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 - The number of NASL teams that won their U.S. Open Cup fourth round match in 2015. The New York Cosmos defeated MLS side New York City FC (an expansion club last year), winning 4-3 on penalty kicks after drawing 2-2 at the end of regulation and additional extra time. Only two NASL sides, the Cosmos and Atlanta Silverbacks (now defunct), won their third round match last year. This year, seven NASL clubs moved on to the fourth round: Armada, Carolina RailHawks, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Cosmos, Indy Eleven, Minnesota United and Tampa Bay Rowdies.

126 - The number of total shots the Armada has taken this season, second-best in the NASL.

53 - The number of clearances for defender Tyler Ruthven, currently tied for second-best in the NASL.

LOOKING AHEAD

If the Armada wins on Wednesday night, it will return to action in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16 on June 29. If it loses, the Armada will be back in action at the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. on July 2 in the NASL Fall Season opener.

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North American Soccer League Stories from June 14, 2016


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