On the Road Again: Fort Wayne Football Club Heads to Idaho to Face AC Boise
USL1 Fort Wayne FC

On the Road Again: Fort Wayne Football Club Heads to Idaho to Face AC Boise

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


Following a fantastic 19-day stretch at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, Fort Wayne Football Club is back on the road. The club is off to Boise, Idaho, for its first ever meeting with Athletic Club Boise.

The first-year USL League One teams kick off at 9 p.m. Saturday (Eastern time) at Athletic Club Boise Stadium. The match will air locally on ESPN+.

Unable to make the long trek to Boise, but wanting a stadium atmosphere? Head to the Official Fort Wayne FC Watch Party at JK O'Donnell's Irish Ale House, 121 West Wayne Street, Fort Wayne. Cheer on the Autumn Gold & Black and help create a Hive Away from Home at JK's.

Fort Wayne FC (3-2-3 in USL League One play) is coming off a festive housewarming period at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium that saw them go 2-0-2 in the span of the stadium's first three weeks of use, culminating with Wednesday's 1-all draw with Corpus Christi FC. (Fort Wayne FC also performed admirably in a Prinx Tires USL Cup match at 6411 Bass Road on May 16, playing USL Championship-side Indy Eleven to a 2-2 score before Indy took the match in penalty kicks.)

AC Boise (4-2-2 in USL League One) is also unbeaten at home with 4-0-1 record regardless of competition.

Click here to read Fort Wayne FC's game notes. To read AC Boise's game notes, click here.

Facing AC Boise on its grounds will be "a great opportunity," said Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery, who added that execution is something the Autumn Gold & Black plan to focus on in preparing for the match. Avery said Fort Wayne FC needs to "be more clinical when in front of the goal."

Fort Wayne FC began its first pro season with five straight road matches between March 7 and April 25, going 1-3-1 in league and Cup play, combined. Fort Wayne FC, the youngest club in USL League One, has grown much since that opening road stretch - and the results were obvious at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.

AC Boise also has a tremendous home-pitch advantage, though.

"They'll have a big crowd out, it's exciting," Avery said. "It's like what teams get when they come to Fort Wayne. It'll be fun to go on the road and see what that (the atmosphere) is all about."

Fort Wayne FC captain Tiago Dias, who scored Wednesday with a header following a Javier Armas corner kick, said his team wasn't satisfied with only a draw in their last outing and that it would be motivation moving forward. He said the club was emphasizing the need for rest and recovery before "trying to get a win away" against AC Boise.

AC Boise is in fourth place in the USL League One standings with 14 points, but that's only two more than Fort Wayne FC, which is in sixth place in the league standings. AC Boise is coming off a 4-3 comeback victory over USL Championship's Monterey Bay FC in the Prinx Tires USL Cup on May 16 at home.

The offensive attack of AC Boise is relentless, scoring 14 goals over the course of the season with a conversion rate of 20.9%, tied for second in both those metrics in USL League One play. By comparison, Fort Wayne FC's defense is strong, winning 408 duels, 87 tackles, and only conceding nine goals on the year.

Offensively, Fort Wayne FC has been formidable of late, too. Fort Wayne FC's Taig Healy and AC Boise's Denys Kostyshynway are tied for third in USL League One in goal scoring with four apiece.

Fort Wayne FC is seventh in the league in shots taken, with many players, including Javier Armas (14), Lilian Ricol (13), and Michael Rempel (12) able to create chances for their teammates.

Both teams have golden glove goalkeepers, recording three clean sheets per side this season. Bernd Shipmann has been in net for all of Fort Wayne FC's shutouts, while AC Boise has split their clean sheets between Jonathan Kliewer (two) and Joseph Andema.

Check out the Fort Wayne FC Statistics

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United Soccer League One Stories from May 22, 2026


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