'Positive Experience' for Fort Wayne Football Club in 2nd Preseason Match, Completing Rigorous 3rd Week of 1st Pro Training Camp
USL1 Fort Wayne FC

'Positive Experience' for Fort Wayne Football Club in 2nd Preseason Match, Completing Rigorous 3rd Week of 1st Pro Training Camp

Published on February 14, 2026 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Fort Wayne FC News Release


Fort Wayne Football Club head coach Mike Avery likes where his team is headed as Week 3 of training camp concludes.

"The group is a really hard-working group. Our players are very committed to each other and to the club. They push each other quite hard," Avery said. "I'm really impressed with their ability to come in and work every day. We've taken the mindset: Can we just add a little piece every day and get a little bit better every day? I think we've accomplished that. We're on schedule for being three weeks into preseason."

On Saturday morning, Fort Wayne FC squared off against Bethel University in a preseason match on the Indiana Tech campus. The scrimmage was closed to the public and the media, and therefore no score or statistics will be disclosed.

The performance was another positive step for Fort Wayne FC as it closes in on its first season in professional soccer.

"It was the end of a really hard, physical week," Avery said. "We're pushing the guys physically, loading them right now, because we're in the third week of preseason. It showed a little bit that we weren't quite as clean as we thought we could have been, but we also had some moments that were much improved from the first game out. So a little bit of a mixed bag in some ways, but overall it was a positive experience."

Fort Wayne FC previously faced FC Cincinnati 2, an MLS Next Pro team, in a closed scrimmage on Feb. 7 in Ohio.

Bethel University, located in Mishawaka, is a power in NAIA men's soccer. Last season, the Pilots reached the Round of 16 of the NAIA National Championship, falling 1-0 to Indiana Tech, which saw its season end in the Round of 8.

Indiana Tech's head coach last season, Keelan Barker, is Fort Wayne FC's assistant coach. So there was some familiarity between Bethel and Fort Wayne FC on the pitch Saturday.

Fort Wayne FC has two more preseason matches planned: a closed match Feb. 22 at Columbus Crew 2, which competes in MLS Next Pro and is the reserve team of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew; and a match Feb. 27 at Lexington Sporting Club of USL Championship.

Fort Wayne FC's first regular season in USL League One begins March 7 against FC Naples in Naples, Florida, the first of five straight road matches. The first home match at Fort Wayne FC Park will be May 2 against the Charlotte Independence.

Season tickets are on sale now.

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United Soccer League One Stories from February 14, 2026


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