PREVIEW: Boys In Blue Back In Action Saturday at RailHawks

Armada FC Public Relations | Sept. 2, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following a weekend off, the Jacksonville Armada will return to action at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday with a road fixture at the Carolina RailHawks.

Currently on a four-game unbeaten streak, the Armada is coming off a 0-0 draw with Minnesota United FC on Aug. 20 in Jacksonville. The temperature rose to the upper 90s during the match, which had a noticeable affect on the game's pace. While both sides combined for 19 shots, just one made it on target when Ibson's shot from just inside the box in the 27th minute was saved by Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.

The result followed a 1-1 draw with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at home earlier in the week. Zach Steinberger netted the score in the 41st minute for the Armada, which equalized the contest after Fort Lauderdale's Jose Angulo struck first in the 20th.

Jacksonville nearly netted the game-winner in the 80th minute when Charles Eloundou slammed home a rebound off an Alhassane Keita shot. Eloundou even completed his backflip celebration before it was waved off when the referee called a foul on Pekka Lagerblom just before the shot.

Carolina is coming off a tough 6-1 loss on the road to the New York Cosmos on Wednesday. Former Armada forward Matt Fondy got the RailHawks on the board first in the sixth minute, but New York went on to score six unanswered, setting a Cosmos modern era club record. The loss snapped Carolina's three-match unbeaten streak.

In the Armada's last meeting with the RailHawks on Aug. 6 at Community First Park, Jacksonville bombarded Carolina with 16 shots and held a 2-1 lead until a header from Omar Bravo in the 68th minute knotted the match at 2-2.

Despite gaining a man advantage when the RailHawks' Austin da Luz was shown his second yellow card in the 70th, Jacksonville was not able to capitalize and the match ended in a draw. Armada forward Charles Eloundou found the back of the net twice, which were the first two goals of his NASL career.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET | WakeMed Soccer Park
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada (2W-4D-5L, 10 pts., 11th NASL Fall, 3W-8D-10L, 17 pts., 11th NASL Combined)
Carolina RailHawks (3W-3D-4L, 12 pts., 8th NASL Fall, 7W-5D-8L, 17 pts., 7th NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada – Mark Lowry, 1st season
Carolina RailHawks – Colin Clarke, 4th season

SERIES HISTORY
RailHawks lead, 2-2-1

LAST RESULT 
Armada 2, RailHawks 2 - 8/6/16 in Jacksonville | Recap | Final Stats

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

WATCH
- CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP and Andy Kidd – 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 – #CARvJAX
- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

POTENT NOTABLES
- Jacksonville has gone with 19 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).

- After the past three games, the Armada's passing accuracy has improved to 78.6 percent from 76.4 percent, including an improvement in the opponent’s area to 70.7 percent from 68.7 percent.

- The Armada is tied for the second-least yellow cards both in the Fall (15) and Combined (31). Led league in yellows with 64 in 2015.

- During Jacksonville's current four-match unbeaten streak, goal conversion rate has risen to 7.4 percent from 6.1 percent.

- Midfielder Jason Plumhoff, who joined the Armada in June from FC Edmonton in a trade for defender Shawn Nicklaw, was sent to USL side Saint Louis FC last Friday on a four-week loan. It is the second time this season an Armada player has been sent on loan to a USL club. In June, midfielder Garry Lewis joined the Tulsa Roughnecks for a month and a half loan, seeing action in three contests.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 – The number of saves goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo needs to make to hit 100 for his career with the Armada.

4 – The total number of clean sheets in the Jacksonville-Carolina all-time series. The RailHawks have two shutout wins over the Armada – 4-0 on May 30, 2015, in Jacksonville and 3-0 won Oct. 10, 2015, in Cary, N.C. – while the Armada has one shutout win over the RailHawks, 3-0 on Aug. 12, 2015, in Jacksonville. The sides battled to a scoreless draw on Aug. 6 in Jacksonville.

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

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

INTERNATIONAL WATCH

The Armada will be without three players, including two consistently in the starting lineup, who are away on international duty playing in FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

- Midfielder Kevan George left Jacksonville last Sunday to train with Trinidad and Tobago ahead of its qualifiers against Guatemala on Friday in Trinidad and Tobago and the United States on Tuesday in Jacksonville. George has notched 21 caps for the Soca Warriors. Trinidad and Tobago currently holds a three-point advantage for first in the Group C CONCACAF standings over the United States.

- Defender Mechack Jérôme has been training with the Haitian national team since last weekend in preparation of the Grenadiers' upcoming qualifiers against Costa Rica on Friday in Haiti and Jamaica on Tuesday in Jamaica. Jérôme has 56 career caps for Haiti. Haiti currently stands fourth in the CONCACAF Group B standings.

- Defender Karl Ouimette shipped off last weekend to join up with the Canadian national team ahead of its qualifiers against Honduras on Friday in Honduras and El Salvador on Tuesday in Vancouver. Canada is currently third in the CONCACAF Group A standings.

CLUB CONNECTIONS
RailHawks defender Drew Beckie and Armada midfielder Kevan George were both part of the Columbus Crew (MLS) organization in 2013 ... RailHawks midfielder Austin Da Luz was a teammate of Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and defender Mechack Jerome at Orlando City SC (USL) in 2011 ... RailHawks defender Kareem Moses and Armada midfielder Kevan George are teammates on the Trinidad and Tobago national team ... RailHawks forward Matt Fondy played eight games for the Armada in 2016 before being transferred to Carolina in June ... RailHawks forward Billy Schuler and Armada forward Alex Dixon were teammates with the University of North Carolina from 2008-10 ... RailHawks forward Brian Shriver was a teammate of Schuler's and Dixon's at UNC in 2008 ... Shriver and Armada defender Anthony Wallace both played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2014 ... RailHawks midfielder James Marcelin and Armada defender Mechack Jerome and midfielder Pascal Millien have played on the Haitian national team together.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Armada will continue its three-match road swing with a visit to Oklahoma to take on Rayo OKC at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 11.