Match Preview | Armada Hosts FC Edmonton on Saturday in Match With Major Playoff Implications

Armada FC Public Relations | Oct. 16, 2015

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community First Park should have an intense atmosphere on Saturday when the Jacksonville Armada FC will host FC Edmonton at 7:30 p.m., presented by We Got Soccer, in a match with major North American Soccer League Championship playoff implications.

With a win, the Armada will live to fight another day in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot, but with either a loss or draw and Tampa Bay win over Atlanta this weekend and Jacksonville will be eliminated for contention. The Armada currently has 27 points in the NASL Combined Standings and realistically needs to win its remaining four games along with still getting help from other clubs.

FC Edmonton is still in the race with 34 points, which is tied with Fort Lauderdale and one point behind Tampa Bay, but the Eddies have just two matches remaining – both against the Armada – and would need to win at least one of those fixtures to stay in contention.

Jacksonville is coming off a 3-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks last Saturday in Cary, N.C., and played without three of its starters – Mechack Jérôme, Pascal Millien and Shawn Nicklaw – who were all out on international duty. Of the few scoring chances the Armada had, Carolina goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald stopped all of them, which were mostly taken by Jacksonville forward Jemal Johnson, who earned Farah & Farah Man of the Match.

FC Edmonton will be finishing up a stretch of three games in eight days. The Eddies dropped the previous two matches – last Sunday at the New York Cosmos and Wednesday at Carolina – 3-0 and 2-1, respectively. In each of those matches, FC Edmonton had only three shots. The Eddies’ lone goal against the RailHawks came in the 45^th minute when forward Daryl Fordyce converted on a penalty kick.

Saturday will be the second meeting between the Armada and Eddies but the first since the NASL Spring Season opener on April 4 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, when the Armada won 3-1 and set a new NASL regular season attendance record of 16,134.

Below is a breakdown of each team and the match.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Community First Park
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada FC (4W-3D-9L, 15 pts., 10^th NASL Fall; 7-6-13, 27 pts., 11^th NASL Combined)
FC Edmonton (7W-4D-7L, 25 pts., 4^th in NASL Fall; 9-7-12, 34 pts., 6^th NASL Combined)

SERIES HISTORY
Jacksonville leads, 1-0-0

LAST RESULT
Armada FC 3, Eddies 1 - 4/4/15 in Jacksonville | Recap | Video Highlights

CLUB QUICK LINKS
Armada FC: News | Roster | Schedule | Season Stats
Eddies: News | Roster | Schedule | Season Stats

WATCH
- CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP, Andy Kidd – Color and Krissty Andaur – Studio
- ESPN3

LISTEN
- Live stream on sportsradiojax.iheart.com | Stuart Webber – PXP and Bob Veal – Color
- Also streamed live on iHeart app

READ
- Live Twitter updates on @ArmadaFCgameday - #JAXvFCE
- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

WHAT'S AT STAKE
At this point, the Armada is realistically in a must-win situation for each of its remaining games. If it loses, it is eliminated. And even if the Armada draw with the Eddies, a win by the Rowdies over the Silverbacks on Saturday will dash Jacksonville’s playoff hopes.

An ideal Saturday for the Armada would be to defeat the Eddies and have the Rowdies and Strikers drop their matches.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jacksonville: Defenders are typically unsung heroes because they don’t typically make the stat sheet for anything other than minutes played or bookings, but Shawn Nicklaw has made a difference this season when he has started. Four of the Armada’s seven combined wins this year have been when Nicklaw earned the start on the backline. The 26-year-old Guam National Team member has shown solid ability to push up and down the field at the right back position and help the Armada put extra pressure on its opponents.

FC Edmonton: The Armada will have its hands full with NASL Golden Ball candidates Lance Laing and Tomi Ameobi. Laing, who is a midfielder for the Jamaican National Team, leads the Eddies in both goals scored (8) and assists (7), while Ameobi has notched seven goals and two assists. FC Edmonton will look to rely on the pair heavily on Saturday as it could be a shootout with the Eddies’ normal starting right center back, Albert Watson, serving a one-match suspension for two yellow cards on Wednesday against the RailHawks.

NOTABLES

• For much of the season, the Armada ranked either No. 1 or 2 in the league in fouls. Through the Fort Lauderdale match on Sept. 21 – 23 games into the season – the Armada had 311 fouls (13.5 per match). Since Eric Dade was installed as interim head coach, he has put a major emphasis on improving discipline, and it has shown. The Armada now ranks fifth in the league with 340 fouls and has averaged 9.6 fouls per match in his three games at the helm.
   
• Jacksonville will have Jerome, Millien and Nicklaw back for its encounter with FC Edmonton and all three are expected to start. Although Jerome has played in just one and half games since signing with the Armada on Sept. 25, Jacksonville has never trailed with him in the game.
   
• Saturday is the final match the Armada will wear its pink breast cancer awareness jerseys specially designed by Nike. The jerseys will be auctioned off online starting at 3 p.m. on Monday, and bids can be placed by going to armadafc.com/bcajerseys. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society in support of the organization’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign.

LOOKING AHEAD
Jacksonville will host Ottawa Fury FC at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Community First Park. The Armada FC is encouraging college students and businesses for a great night of sports and networking. For information on special ticket packages, call 1.844.2.ARMADA or visit armadafc.com.