PREVIEW: Battle for the Atlantic Returns to Jacksonville on Wednesday Night

Armada FC Public Relations | Aug. 16, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On the heels of a landmark 2-1 victory over Ottawa Fury FC last Saturday on the road, the Jacksonville Armada will host intrastate foes, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in another Battle for the Atlantic and Coastal Cup encounter.

Forward Alhassane Keita found the back of the net twice against Ottawa en route to being named NASL Player of the Week. Amid a pre-match lightning delay and heavy rain, Ottawa got on the board first in the 26th minute on a Carl Haworth strike. Keita answered two minutes later when Jemal Johnson fed him a through ball just inside of the box and banged it home.

After a back-and-forth of scoring chances between the sides, the Armada put itself on top in dramatic fashion in the 87th minute. Off a free kick on the left wing from Johnson, Keita stood at the edge of the penalty area and got a head on the ball to send it into the top right of the goal.

Jacksonville went on to hold off Fury FC's advances in the final minutes. Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo sealed the victory in the 90th minute on a crucial diving save to stop Maxim Tissot's attempt.

It was Jacksonville's first road win in club history, snapping a 25-match winless streak as the visiting side. It was also the first time the Armada came out on top after the opposing team scored first.

The Strikers had to endure a weather delay of their own on Saturday night, waiting nearly four hours before hitting the pitch for their clash against Miami FC in Miami.

The teams played to a stalemate until a pair of late Fort Lauderdale goals sealed the 2-0 result for the Strikers. Paulo Jr. struck first in the 84th off an assist from Bryan Arguez and newly signed former Italian national teamer Amauri chimed with a goal of his own two minutes later. The Strikers also proved to be stingy in the back, holding Miami without a single shot on goal.

In the Armada's last meeting with the Strikers on July 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville held firm on defense for and kept the contest scoreless for most of the game on the back of a nine-save performance from goalkeeper Sean Lewis. Then in the flash of an eye, a familiar foe struck the Armada again.

Maicon Santos, who has scored the most goals all-time against the Armada of any opposing player with five, smashed a ball home in front of the goal in the 88th minute, which eventually sent the Strikers to a 1-0 win.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. ET | Community First Park
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada (2W-2D-5L, 8 pts., 8th NASL Fall, 3W-6D-10L, 15 pts., 11th NASL Combined)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2W-1D-5L, 7 pts., 11th NASL Fall, 6W-4D-8L, 22 pts., 8th NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada – Mark Lowry, 1st season
Fort Lauderdale Strikers – Caio Zanardi, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
Strikers lead, 4-1-0

LAST RESULT 
Strikers 1, Armada 0 - 7/30/16 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Recap | Final Stats

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

WATCH
- CBS Sports Network Nationally – Cole Pepper – PXP and Andy Kidd – Color
- CW17 - Armada Extra Time at 11 p.m.

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 – #JAXvFTL
- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

POTENT NOTABLES
- Jacksonville has gone with 17 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).

- The Armada's two goals in each of the last three matches is its largest scoring output this season in that span. It is the first time Jacksonville has scored at least two goals in three straight since last season when it did it against Minnesota United FC on July 31, 2015 (3-3 draw), the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Aug. 8, 2015 (3-2 loss) and the Carolina RailHawks on Aug. 12, 2015 (3-0 win).

- Keita's two goals last Saturday followed up Charles Eloundou's two-goal performance against the Carolina RailHawks on Aug. 6 in Jacksonville, making it the first time in club history the Armada has had a multiple goal scorer in back-to-back contests. It was also Keita's second multiple goal performance of his NASL career.

- Keita's NASL Player of the Week honor was the second of his NASL career and first since May 4, 2015. It was the club's first such honor since Aug. 17, 2015, when former midfielder Jaime Castrillon earned the accolade.

- Johnson's two assists against Ottawa were the first multiple assist effort in a game in club history. He is currently tied for second in the NASL with four assists.

- Wednesday's matchup with the Strikers will be the second fixture played in Jacksonville in series history. In the last meeting in Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale defeated the Armada 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2015, in the NASL regular season finale. The result helped the Strikers capture the fourth and final spot in The Championship.

- The Armada is going for its first back-to-back win since Aug. 15, 2015, when a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks followed a 3-0 decision over the Carolina RailHawks on Aug. 12, 2015. It was also the only time in club history Jacksonville won two matches in the same week.

BY THE NUMBERS
0 – The number of times the Armada has beat the Strikers in the all-time series.

3 – The number of saves goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo needs to make to hit 100 in an Armada kit.

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

225 – The number of total shots the Armada has taken this season, currently third in the NASL.

771 – The number of total passes by midfielder Kevan George, which leads the team.

INJURY WATCH
- After going down with an elbow injury in the 21st minute against the New York Cosmos on July 14, Alex Dixon is out indefinitely. He is currently rehabbing the injury and could return to training within the next two weeks.

- Defender Anthony Wallace is currently day-to-day with a left hamstring injury.

CLUB CONNECTIONS
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 the Colorado Rapids in 2014 ... Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and Strikers midfielder Manny Gonzalez were teammates on the USL's first iteration of the Autin Aztex in 2009 ... Armada defender Tyler Ruthven and Strikers forward Jose Angulo were teammates on MLS's New York Red Bulls in 2012.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Armada will host Minnesota United FC at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The club is teaming up with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars for "Football Night in Jacksonville," where fans of both sports are invited to support both teams on the same day. Jaguars cheerleaders THE ROAR and mascot Jaxon de Ville, along with drumline, the D-Line, will be at the Armada game to help cheer on the Boys In Blue. Following the Armada match, fans can head to Lot X for a special tailgate prior to the 7 p.m. start of the Jaguars/Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. Armada players will line the PROWL to welcome Jaguars players onto the field. For specially priced tickets to both the Armada match and Jaguars game, visit jaguars.com/fnij.