PREVIEW: Armada Heads South Saturday for Another Coastal Cup Showdown

Armada FC Public Relations | April 21, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada will face another in-state rival at 7 p.m. this Saturday when it heads south to play the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a Coastal Cup battle.

Jacksonville is coming off a massive 2-1 win over NASL expansion side Miami FC last Friday at Community First Park. Armada midfielders Junior Sandoval and Pascal Millien, who were named to NASL Team of the Week on Wednesday, scored for Jacksonville in the win.

Sandoval got the Armada on the board first in the 20th minute when he found a sliver of a window between defenders and blasted a rocket from the top right corner of the box that Miami FC goalkeeper Daniel Vega swiped at but could not make contact.

After Miami FC's Dario Cvitanich knotted the score at 1-1 in the 26th, Millien connected on what proved to be the game-winner in the 36th minute when he slid in a bouncing shot from the top left of the box in heavy traffic.

The Strikers are coming off a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United FC last Saturday in Minnesota. Fort Lauderdale forward Geison Moura was shown a red card in the 21st minute, and the Strikers were unable to overcome a potent United attack after having to play a man down for the majority of the match.

The Strikers are 3-0-0 all-time against the Armada, including 2-0-0 at Lockhart Stadium. In the teams' last meeting in the 2015 regular season finale on Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, former Strikers midfielder Marlon Freitas scored in the 87th minute in a 1-0 decision that locked up a spot in the NASL Championship playoffs for Fort Lauderdale.

With Jacksonville's win over Miami FC last Friday, the Armada sits atop the Coastal Cup standings and can extend its lead in the derby to four points with a win over the Strikers.

Below is a breakdown of each team and the match.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. ET | Lockhart Stadium
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada FC (1W-0D-1L, 3 pts., 6th NASL Spring)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers (0W-1D-1L, 1 pt., 9th NASL Spring)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada FC – Tony Meola, 1st season
Fort Lauderdale Strikers – Caio Zanardi, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
Strikers lead, 3-0-0

LAST RESULT
Strikers 1, Armada 0 - 11/1/15 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Recap | Video Highlights

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

WATCH
- CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP, Bob Veal – Color and Ashlea Bullington – Sideline 
- ESPN3 nationally

LISTEN
- Live on Project 106.9-FM in Jacksonville | Stuart Webber – PXP, David Hayes – Color and Ashlea Bullington – Sideline 
- Also streamed live on iHeart app or project1069.iheart.com

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

BY THE NUMBERS
4 – The number of yellow cards for the Armada through two matches, which is tied for second-least in the league for bookings. Jacksonville led the league in 2015 for most yellow cards with 64 and finished with the second-most red cards (9).

26.07 – The average age of the Armada's roster, which is second-youngest in the NASL behind FC Edmonton (25.58). Directly behind Jacksonville are Carolina (26.26) and New York (26.83). The oldest team in the league is Rayo OKC at 28.55.

15 – The number of clearances for defender Tyler Ruthven, currently tied for seventh-best in the NASL.

CLUB CONNECTIONS

Armada FC head coach and technical director Tony Meola was a goalkeeper for the Strikers in 1991 when Fort Lauderdale was a member of the APSL ... Meola shared the goal with former Jacksonville Tea Men 'keeper and fellow U.S. Soccer National Hall of Famer Arnie Mauser ... Armada assistant coach Jim Rooney was an assistant coach for the Strikers in 2011 ... Armada defender Patrick Otte played for the Strikers from 2011-12 ... Armada forward Jemal Johnson played for the Strikers for the NASL Spring Season in 2013 ... Armada midfielder Pascal Millien and defender Mechack Jérôme are teammates on the Haitian National Team with Strikers midfielder Jean-Marc Alexandre ... Armada forward Charles Eloundou and Strikers defender Gale Agbossoumonde were teammates with MLS side Colorado Rapids in 2014 ... Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and Strikers midfielder Manny Gonzalez were teammates on the USL's first iteration of the Austin Aztex in 2009 ... Armada defender Tyler Ruthven and Strikers forward Jose Angulo were teammates on MLS's New York Red Bulls in 2012 ... Armada forward Matt Fondy and Strikers forward Guiseppe Gentile were teammates on MLS's Chicago Fire in 2014 ... Gentile, Gallardo and Armada defender Bryan Burke were teammates on Orlando City SC (then USL) in 2014.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Armada will return home on Wednesday, May 4 against FC Edmonton at Community First Park. It will be Star Wars Night and kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. The Armada will then have a quick turnaround and host NASL expansion side Rayo OKC at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 in what will be Pride Night at Community First Park. Tickets to either match start at $12 for groups and $14 for individuals and can be purchased by calling 1.844.2.ARMADA or visiting armadafc.com/tickets.