PREVIEW: Armada Hosts Expansion Puerto Rico FC in Fall Home Opener on Saturday

Armada FC Public Relations | July 7, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A tropical flair will be in the air at Community First Park on Saturday night as the Jacksonville Armada will host North American Soccer League expansion club Puerto Rico FC at 7 p.m.

To commemorate the occasion, the theme at the stadium will be Armadaritaville presented by McDonald's, where fans are encouraged to wear their best island gear and will be able to enjoy tropical music all night.

Jacksonville pushed its league unbeaten streak to four last Saturday to open the Fall Season, settling for a 1-1 draw with archrivals, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Newly acquired midfielder Zach Steinberger, on loan from MLS side Houston Dynamo, scored in the 12th minute off a Mechack Jerome cross. It was short-lived, however, as Tampa Bay's Georgi Hristov netted the equalizer just a minute later.

Armada goalkeeper Sean Lewis set a club record with 10 saves in his NASL debut and was voted Farah and Farah Man of the Match in addition to earning a spot on the NASL Team of the Week on Wednesday.

Puerto Rico FC nearly had a perfect beginning to its history last Saturday at home, holding a 1-0 lead over Spring Season champion Indy Eleven up until the 90th minute. Puerto Rican national teamer Hector Ramos hit the back of the net in the 74th minute off a cross from Kyle Culbertson cross. Just when it looked like PRFC would hold on for the win, the Eleven leveled the match in the 90th minute on a Souleymane Youla off a Nemanja Vukovic free kick.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET | Community First Park
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada FC (0W-1D, 0L, 1 pt., 6th NASL Fall, 1W-5D-5L, 8 pts., 10th NASL Combined)
Puerto Rico FC (0W-1D-0L, 1 pt., 8th NASL Fall)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada FC – Tony Meola, 1st season
Puerto Rico FC – Adrian Whitbread, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
First meeting

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

WATCH
- CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP, Mauricio Ruiz – Color and Amanda Borges – Sideline
- ESPN3 nationally

LISTEN
- Live on Project 106.9-FM in Jacksonville | Stuart Webber – PXP and Eric Dade – Color
- Also streamed live on iHeart app or project1069.iheart.com

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

POTENT NOTABLES

- Besides Sean Lewis' 10 saves against Tampa Bay last Saturday setting a new club record, it is also a season-high for any goalkeeper in the NASL. The Armada was also stout with its tackling, winning 14-of-15 attempts, while Junior Sandoval was 5-for-5.

-  After a 10th-place finish in the NASL Spring Season standings, the Armada got busy with tweaking the roster. Jacksonville has added five new players – Alexander Andersson, Nicklas Maripuu, Karl Ouimette, Jason Plumhoff and Zach Steinberger – all of whom are expected to help an attack that scored a league-low five goals in the Spring. The Armada also transferred forward Matt Fondy to the Carolina RailHawks and traded defender Shawn Nicklaw to FC Edmonton for Plumhoff.

Andersson, a striker, and Maripuu, a midfielder, both hail from Sweden and will join the club as soon as ITC clearance is granted.

Ouimette (New York Red Bulls) and Steinberger (Houston Dynamo) are both on loan from their respective MLS clubs through the end of the NASL Fall Season.

Plumhoff, an attacking midfielder, played six games for FC Edmonton and scored a goal before being traded. A former product of the Bayern Munich youth system, he led the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) with 10 goals in 2015.

- Jacksonville's current four-game league unbeaten streak is the longest in club history. During that frame, the Armada has had a shot accuracy percentage clip of at least 50 percent in each contest (best showing was 60 percent against Indy Eleven on May 28). In the seven prior league games, Jacksonville registered at least 50 percent just twice – vs. Miami FC on April 15 and at Minnesota on May 14.

BY THE NUMBERS

20 – The number of bookings for the Armada through 11 matches (19 yellows, 1 red), which is third-least in the league. Jacksonville led the NASL in 2015 for most yellow cards with 64 and finished with the second-most red cards (9).

55 – The number of clearances for defender Tyler Ruthven, currently fourth-best in the NASL.

65 – The number of duels won this year by Kevan George.

133 – The number of total shots the Armada has taken this season, fifth-best in the NASL.

INJURY WATCH
- Many have been eagerly awaiting the debut of Finnish international Pekka Lagerblom since he went down with an Achilles injury in the preseason. Though he has been training with the team and participating in scrimmages since June, the technical staff does not want to push the 33-year-old midfielder until he is fully ready. He traveled to Tampa Bay last Saturday but was not in the 18.

- Forward Alhassane Keita has been out of training this week with a hamstring injury.

- Goalkeeper Sebastian Evers, who went down with a groin injury in the Armada's 1-1 draw with Indy Eleven on May 28 in Jacksonville, finally returned to full participation in this week's training.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Armada will have a full slate on the road next week, traveling to New York and Miami. Jacksonville will kick off the week with a 7:30 p.m. fixture at the Cosmos next Wednesday and end it with an 8 p.m. Coastal Cup battle at Miami FC next Saturday.