PREVIEW: Armada Cruises Into Miami Saturday for Coastal Cup Battle

Armada FC Public Relations | July 15, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada will look to climb back up in the North American Soccer League Fall Season standings and increase its Coastal Cup lead at 8 p.m. on Saturday when it clashes with intrastate rival Miami FC at FIU Stadium.

Jacksonville is coming off a tough 3-0 loss at the Fall table leaders New York Cosmos on Wednesday night despite creating multiple scoring chances. The defeat snapped the Armada's club-record five-match unbeaten streak.

Jacksonville had 10 shots on the night, five of which came from close range inside the box. New York goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer saved two of the attempts – a point-blank header from Kevan George in the 34th minute and another from Junior Sandoval in second half stoppage time.

The Miami FC also faced the Cosmos in its last match, going toe-to-toe with the 2015 NASL Champions before falling 3-2 on a Lucky Mkosana stoppage time goal. Newly acquired forward Kwadwo Poku and team-leading goal scorer Dario Cvitanich each netted strikes in the loss.

The Armada defeated Miami FC, 2-1, in the teams' first-ever meeting on April 15 in Jacksonville. Junior Sandoval threaded a ball through a small opening in the 20th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Then just six minutes later, Cvitanach used congestion in front of the Armada goal to his advantage and headed home a ball from Adailton for the equalizer.

Pascal Millien put the Armada back on top for good in the 36th when he bounced in a blast from the top left of the box. Jacksonville dominated possession 54-46 and won aerial duels 61-39, but Miami FC had some close calls down the stretch that the Armada was able to stop.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, July 16 at 8 p.m. ET | FIU Stadium
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada (1W-1D-0L, 4 pts., 5th NASL Fall, 2W-5D-6L, 11 pts., 9th NASL Combined)
Miami FC (0W-1D-1L, 1 pt., 11th NASL Fall, 1W-5D-6L, 8 pts., 11th NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada – Tony Meola, 1st season
 Miami FC – Alessandro Nesta, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
Jacksonville leads, 1-0-0

LAST RESULT 
Armada 2, Miami FC 1 - 4/15/16 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Recap

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

WATCH
 - CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP and David Hayes – Color
- ESPN3 nationally

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

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

POTENT NOTABLES
- Since Jacksonville and Miami FC last met in April, each side's roster have gone through significant changes, making a combined 18 transactions.

The Armada's starting 11 in its match against New York on Wednesday only had four players from its April 15 contest with Miami – Kevan George, Mechack Jerome, Tyler Ruthven and Junor Sandoval. Seven of Miami FC's starters from the April 15 contest got the nod against the New York Cosmos on July 9.

The most notable change for both sides is Richie Ryan, who captained the Armada through five games in the Spring Season before being traded to Miami for cash considerations on May 13. Since arriving in Miami, he has made five starts.

Armada FC Roster Moves Since April 15
IN:
(D) Anthony Wallace (06/10/16 - signed)
(M) Nicklas Maripuu (06/20/16 - signed)
(F) Alexander Andersson (06/20/16 - signed)
(D) Karl Ouimette (06/24/16 - on loan from New York Red Bulls)
(M) Zach Steinberger (06/29/16 - on loan from Houston Dynamo)
(M) Jason Plumhoff (07/06/16 - traded from FC Edmonton)

OUT:
(F) Matt Fondy (06/27/16 - transferred to Carolina Rail Hawks)
(D) Shawn Nicklaw (07/06/16 - traded to FC Edmonton)
(M) Garry Lewis sent to Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) on loan through 7/31/16

Miami FC Roster Moves Since April 15
IN:
(M) Bryan Arguez (04/21/16 - signed)
(M) Richie Ryan (05/13/16 - traded from Jacksonville Armada FC)
(M) Michael Lahoud (05/24/16 - transferred from Philadel phia Union)
(M) Kwadwo Poku (06/29/16 - transferred from New York City FC)
(D) Gabriel Farfán (07/01/16 - transferred from Chiapas FC)
(D) Jonny Steele (7/14/16 - transferred from Ottawa Fury FC)

OUT:
(M) Matuzalém (05/12/16 - released)
(M) Sergio Van Kanten (06/10/16 - released)
(M) Bryan Arguez (06/10/16 - released)

- Jacksonville has gone with 11 different lineups this season and has had the same back-to-back starting 11 just twice (June 4 at Carolina, June 11 vs. Tampa Bay; July 11 vs. Puerto Rico FC, July 14 at New York Cosmos).

- Jacksonville has yet to record a regular season road win in its existence. Its winless streak away from Jacksonville stands at 22 games (the Armada did come close to getting that monkey off its back this season against Fort Lauderdale on April 23 and Tampa Bay on July 2. Jacksonville scored first in both contests before settling for draws).

However, the Armada bested Miami FC in a preseason friendly, 2-1, at St. Thomas University on March 9. Junior Sandoval scored just two minutes into the match before Miami FC's Pablos Campos converted a penalty kick in the 45th minute. Jemal Johnson netted the game winner on his own penalty kick in the 87th.

BY THE NUMBERS
23 – The number of bookings for the Armada through 12 matches (22 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).

49 – The number of crosses attempted by Junior Sandoval, eighth-most in the league.

66 – The number of clearances for defender Tyler Ruthven, currently tied for third in the NASL.

156 – The number of total shots the Armada has taken this season, third-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.

- Forward Alhassane Keita is out with a hamstring injury.

- After going down with an elbow injury in the 21st minute against the New York Cosmos on July 14, Alex Dixon is out indefinitely.

COASTAL CUP WATCH
Jacksonville still stands atop the Coastal Cup table following two consecutive 1-1 draws with the Tampa Bay Rowdies (June 11 and July 2). The Armada currently holds the goals scored tiebreaker over the Rowdies.

Established in 2010, the club with the most combined points from derby matches at the end of the NASL Fall Season will be awarded the Coastal Cup. Including Saturday's tilt with the Miami FC, the Armada will have five more chances to add to its first-place lead.

CLUB CONNECTIONS
Miami FC goalkeeper Lionel Brown and Armada forward Jemal Johnson played together on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2013 ... Miami FC defender Gabriel Farfan and Armada defender Anthony Wallace played together at IMG Academy and on the U.S. U-17 national team from 2004-05 ... Miami FC defender Brad Rusin also played with Farfan and Wallace at IMG Academy from 2004-05 ... Rusin, Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and Armada defender Bryan Burke were teammates on Orlando City SC (then USL) in 2014 ... Miami FC goalkeeper David Sierra was on the Armada roster in 2015, finishing with a 3-1-4 record, three shutouts, 29 saves and 1.38 GAA ... Miami FC midfielders Dane Richards and Jonathan Borrajo and Armada defender Tyler Ruthven both played on MLS side New York Red Bulls in 2012 ... Miami FC forwards Jaime Chavez and Kwadwo Poku and Armada defender Beto Navarro and forward Junior Sandoval were teammates on former NASL side Atlanta Silverbacks in 2014 ... Miami FC forward Aaron Dennis and Ruthven were teammates on USL side Arizona United SC in 2015 ... Miami FC midfielder Blake Smith and Armada defender Karl Ouimette were teammates on Montreal Impact in 2013 ... Miami FC midfielder Richie Ryan was the Armada captain for the first five games of the 2016 NASL Spring Season.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Armada will return home next Saturday, July 23 for a 5 p.m. fixture against Ottawa Fury FC. For tickets, starting at $11, visit armadafc.com/tickets or call 1.844.2.ARMADA.