'Proud of the Group': Fort Wayne Football Club Rallies against Union Omaha But Falls, 4-2, in USL Cup Road Match
USL1 Fort Wayne FC

'Proud of the Group': Fort Wayne Football Club Rallies against Union Omaha But Falls, 4-2, in USL Cup Road Match

Published on June 6, 2026 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Fort Wayne FC News Release


OMAHA, Neb. - Fort Wayne Football Club rallied from an early two-goal deficit - getting goals from Daniel Oyetunde and Ryan Becher to even things up - but Union Omaha recovered for a 4-2 victory over the Autumn Gold & Black in a Prinx Tires USL Cup group-play match on Saturday night.

"One of the things we pride ourselves on is being brave," Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. "The way we try to play is brave and requires a high level of trust in oneself and in teammates. It wasn't our night tonight, and credit to Omaha for making it difficult on us, but we were brave and I'm proud of the group."

With Union Omaha leading on goals from Pato Botello Faz and Allen Gavilanes in the 15th and 17th minutes, respectively, Oyetunde got things going for Fort Wayne FC with a tally in the 41st minute following a high pass from Anthony Hernandez down the sideline. Oyetunde used his speed to circumvent the defense and score from deep in the penalty area. It was his first senior professional goal in his 11th match and fourth start for Fort Wayne FC.

Becher tied the match at 2 in first-half stoppage time, after a no-look centering pass from Kabiru Gafar in the box, and it was Becher's second goal in six matches, including five starts, for Fort Wayne FC. Becher played 22 matches for Union Omaha last season.

Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Aurie Echevarría came up big multiple times, including two close-range stops on Gavilanes, and finished with six saves. But Union Omaha's Kempes Waldemar Tekiela netted goals in the 66th and 85th minutes to cement the victory for the Owls in front of 2,348 fans at Morrison Stadium.

"We made eight changes in the lineup from last game. That's brave. We started a very young side, which is also brave," said Avery, who rested Taig Healy, Michael Rempel and Tiago Dias. "Nineteen-year-old Danny Oyetunde got his first goal for the club, and 17-year-old Nico Burns made his professional debut, so even in a loss where we made some costly errors, our bravery also gets rewarded."

Burns, who is on an academy contract, debuted in the second half at 17 years, 292 days old, making him the youngest Fort Wayne FC player to check into a match since the club moved up to USL League One this year. Burns was an academy player for Lexington SC of USL Championship in 2025, after playing for Major League Soccer's FC Cincinnati academy from 2022 to 2025. Burns also had experience with Puerto Rico's U-17 and U-15 National Teams.

While Union Omaha is also a USL League One team - atop the standings with a 9-2-1 record, compared to Fort Wayne FC's sixth-place 4-2-4 mark - the match didn't impact the league table.

In USL Cup's Group 4, Union Omaha is now in second place with a 2-1-0 record. Fort Wayne FC is in sixth place at 0-2-1 with one remaining group match, against USL Championship-side Detroit City FC, at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium on July 11.

Fort Wayne FC came into Saturday night on a seven-match unbeaten streak regardless of competition. It's back to league play Wednesday, when it faces Westchester SC in Westchester, New York, at 7 p.m.

"This was an important game for our overall development and it will serve us down the line," Avery said, "but the only thing we are looking at now is turning the page with all eyes on Wednesday at Westchester."

Reid Sproat began the match wearing the captain's armband while playing his 60th match for Fort Wayne FC, an all-time club record that's 10 more the second-place man on the list, Dias. Sproat is the only player to appear in a match for Fort Wayne FC in all five seasons of the club's play, encompassing time in the pre-professional level of USL League Two and now USL League One.

James Musa returned to the Fort Wayne FC lineup after missing the previous 10 matches due to injury.

Check out the Fort Wayne FC Statistics

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