Fort Wayne Football Club Ready for a Big Night of Soccer and July 4th Fun at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium
USL1 Fort Wayne FC

Fort Wayne Football Club Ready for a Big Night of Soccer and July 4th Fun at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium

Published on July 3, 2026 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Fort Wayne FC News Release


It's been almost two weeks since Fort Wayne Football Club has played a match - a needed window for rest and recovery - but now it's time for an epic homecoming at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.

Fort Wayne FC, unbeaten in its last 10 USL League One matches, will play host to Spokane Velocity FC on Saturday and it will be a jam-packed evening with lots of activities: A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the formal grand opening of Ruoff Mortgage Stadium at 5:30 p.m., a big surprise for fans at 7:20 p.m., kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and massive fireworks after the match.

Tickets are on sale now. Make sure you prepay your parking and arrive early because you won't want to miss the bounce houses, giveaways, and the scoreboard - the second widest in the state - which will be up and running.

This will be Fort Wayne FC's first match at 6411 Bass Road since May 30, when the club played AV Alta FC to a scoreless draw.

Fort Wayne FC is 5-2-6 and is eighth in the 17-team USL League One table. Spokane, 7-5-2, is in sixth place.

Looking back at June

Fort Wayne FC played four road matches including one in the Prinx Tires USL Cup competition against Union Omaha, a 4-2 loss on June 6, when the Autumn Gold & Black decided to rest several of its key players.

A return to USL League One action on June 10 saw a 1-all draw with Westchester SC, highlighted by a Taig Healy goal in the 74th minute that ensured a point in the standings for Fort Wayne FC.

Fort Wayne FC's next match, June 17 at Forward Madison, had a similar storyline; Ryan Becher had a late equalizing goal for the club. Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann, facing his former team, surpassed 200 career saves in USL League one. He is now 10th all-time in league history.

Fort Wayne's most recent match was a visit to the State of Lovers to play the Richmond Kickers on June 20. Healy and Jack Thomas each had a goal and an assist.

Fort Wayne FC is 5-0-5 in its 10-match unbeaten streak, the longest current run in the league and tied for the second longest in league history for a first-year team. FC Naples went 10 matches in 2025 and Lansing Ignite FC went 12 matches in 2019.

Spokane Velocity FC is 1-2-0 in its last three matches and coming off a 1-0 loss to Forward Madison on Wednesday. The difference in that match was an own goal - Spokane's Gagi Margvelashvili accidentally put a shot in the back of his own net while trying to block a cross.

Looking toward July 4

Sharing the ball has been a staple of Fort Wayne FC's play. With Healy and Thomas recording assists at Richmond, 10 club players have now been credited with setting up goals.

Healy ranks third in the league in goal scoring this season with seven, trailing only the Charlotte Independence's Luis Alvarez (nine) and Westchester SC's Conor McGlynn (eight). Fort Wayne FC's Lilian Ricol has five goals, giving the Autumn Gold & Black and potent 1-2 punch of rookie goal scorers.

Fort Wayne FC captain Tiago Dias, who is ninth in the league in clearances, hopes to pack the stadium on Saturday for the Fourth of July festivities.

"It is very good to be home again," he said, adding he wants "to see all of Fort Wayne in Ruoff Mortgage Stadium."

Fort Wayne FC is unbeaten at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium with a 2-0-4 record regardless of competition and Dias said the players are passionate about making their home grounds "a hard place to play."

"We have been building a hard atmosphere at home, and we are building that away as well," Dias added.

Despite missing two matches due to injury, Javier Armas leads the team in chances created with 18, closely followed by 17 from Michael Rempel, who was named the club's Player of the Month for June.

In three matches, all in league play, Rempel recorded five interceptions with 20 defensive contributions and wins on 58% of his ground duels. The first-year player also completed 85% of his passes and created some critical chances for FWFC during their June campaign.

Overall, the Autumn Gold & Black are among the league's most accurate passing teams at 81%, though that's just below Spokane Velocity's rate of 83%.

Two goalkeepers have been splitting time for Spokane in net: Sean Lewis and Carlos Merancio Valdez. Both have played seven matches this year, with similar stat lines.

Sean Lewis, who is eighth all-time in USL One saves with 215, has 21 saves on the year, with one clean sheet against the Sarasota Paradise. Merancio Valdez has 16 saves with two clean sheets - one against Union Omaha and his second against Corpus Christi FC. Combined, both goalkeepers have faced 56 shots for Spokane.

The match will air live on ESPN+ and locally on 21.3 digital.

After Saturday's match, Fort Wayne FC will be back at 6411 Bass Road for a July 11 contest against USL Championship-side Detroit City FC in Fort Wayne FC's final Prinx Tires USL Cup match of the year.

Check out the Fort Wayne FC Statistics

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United Soccer League One Stories from July 3, 2026


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