PREVIEW: Armada Wraps Up Road Swing at Puerto Rico FC on Saturday

Armada FC Public Relations | Sept. 16, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada will wrap up its three-match road stretch this Saturday when it takes on Puerto Rico FC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Armada is coming off a tough 3-2 loss at the hands of Rayo OKC last Sunday in Oklahoma. After a sluggish first-half effort that saw Rayo take a 1-0 lead on a Marvin Chávez free-kick strike in the 25th minute, the Armada came out firing out of the locker room.

Jacksonville launched eight shots, compared to only two for Rayo OKC, in the second half and won the second half possession battle 51.7-48.3 percent. After a lapse in defending a free kick by Moises Hernandez that allowed Sebastian Ibeagha to head it into goal in the 58th minute, the Armada answered with a strike of its own.

In the 62nd, Armada forward Jemal Johnson sent in a free kick from the left wing, which deflected off the heads of Jacksonville midfielder Kevan George and Rayo OKC midfielder Derek Boateng before settling over to charging Armada center back Tyler Ruthven, who headed it in to the back of the net.

The momentum seemingly started to shift Jacksonville's way until an instance of freak luck for Rayo OKC happened. In the 64th minute, Georgios Samaras pushed the ball down the wing after being served with a through ball from Boateng and attempted a cross, which was blocked by Armada defender Mechack Jérôme.

The block however, deflected off the inside of Jérôme's foot, which redirected the ball into the back of the Jacksonville net. It proved to just be a blip for the Armada, as it kept the pressure on and struck again in stoppage time.

Derek Gebhard, who subbed on for Alhassane Keita in the 85th minute, made a run down the endline toward Rayo OKC's goal and was taken down in the box, which allowed his side to be awarded with a penalty kick.

Charles Eloundou, who had subbed on in the 57th for Danny Barrow, lined up and blasted it past Rayo goalkeeper Daniel Fernades in the third minute of stoppage. Jacksonville continued the furious attack but was stopped by the final whistle a minute later.

Puerto Rico FC, winless in nine straight, is coming off a scoreless draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies last Saturday in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It was the third game in eight days and second-straight scoreless draw for PRFC. Goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg finished with three saves, and PRFC finished with more shots on target than the Rowdies (4-3).

In the Armada's last meeting with PRFC on July 9 in Jacksonville, the Boys In Blue did not let a two and a half hour rain and lightning delay slow them down. A potent one-two attack of Jemal Johnson and Alex Dixon kept PRFC on its toes as Jacksonville finished on top 2-1. Johnson scored in the ninth minute after a quality service from Dixon before a lightning strike three minutes later started the delay.

Just seven minutes after the restart, Johnson returned the favor to Dixon and cut a pass back for his charging teammate, who buried it. PRFC managed to get on the board in the 83rd minute on a Hector Ramos header.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada (2W-4D-7L, 10 pts., 11th NASL Fall, 3W-8D-12L, 17 pts., 11th NASL Combined)
Puerto Rico FC (1W-7D-6L, 10 pts., 12th NASL Fall, 1W-7D-6L, 10 pts., 12th NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada – Mark Lowry, 1st season
Puerto Rico FC – Adrian Whitbread, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
Jacksonville leads, 1-0-0

LAST RESULT 
Armada 2, PRFC 1 - 7/9/16 in Jacksonville | Recap | Final Stats

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

WATCH
- CW17 in Jacksonville – Cole Pepper – PXP and Andy Kidd – Color
- beIN Sports Nationally – Chris Wyttingham – PXP and Thomas Rongen – Color

LISTEN
- Live on Project 106.9-FM | Richard Miller – PXP and David Hayes – Color
- Also streamed live on iHeart app or project1069.iheart.com

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

POTENT NOTABLES
- Jacksonville has gone with 21 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).

- Though the Armada is in the final game of its first and only three-game road swing on the season, the club is no stranger to long road stands. The Armada had three separate stretches of three-straight on the road in 2015, including twice in the Fall Season.

- The Armada is 2-0-3 against NASL expansion clubs this season. Jacksonville defeated both Miami FC, 2-1, on April 15 and Puerto Rico FC, 2-1, on July 9 at home while falling to Rayo OKC, 1-0, at home on May 7 and Miami FC, 1-0, on the road on July 16.

- Saturday's match in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, will be the Armada's southernmost road trip in club history at 1,275 miles from Jacksonville, beating out Miami by 930 miles.

- Midfielders Pascal Millien and Junior Sandoval agreed to mutually part ways with the club on Friday.

Millien, 30, signed with the Armada in January 2015 and logged 37 appearances, including 31 starts. A native of Léogâne, Haiti, Millien netted seven goals and five assists for Jacksonville.

In 2015, he led the team in assists with four and finished second in goals scored with six. Millien was named to the NASL Team of the Week five times and the NASL Player of the Week in his nearly two seasons.

Sandoval, 25, played in 16 matches for Jacksonville, making 14 starts and scoring two goals on 30 shots. A native of Quimistán, Honduras, he created 17 chances while holding a 77.3 percent passing accuracy clip.

BY THE NUMBERS
34 – The number of shots taken by Charles Eloundou, which leads the team.

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

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

INJURY UPDATE
After sustaining a left groin injury in the 38th minute against the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, Sept. 3, goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo is out approximately 2-4 weeks.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Armada will return home on Saturday, Sept. 24 to take on Rayo OKC at 7 p.m. ET. Presented by Metro PCS, it will be Hispanic Heritage Night at Community First Park.

To commemorate the occasion, the Armada FC is offering a special $5 match ticket discount, which can be redeemed by calling 1.844.2.ARMADA or visiting armadafc.com/noche de la hispanidiad and entering promo code Hispanic2016. Prior to the match, fans are invited to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #SomosArmadaFC.

The festivities will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the Intuition Blue and Bold Street Party presented by PRI Productions, which is free and open to the public. The party includes live music from Ritmo y Sabor, dance performances by Raices de Colombia, México en la Piel, Renacer Borincuano and River City Arts & Event Center, special giveaways from Armada FC sponsors and interactive games. Delicious food will be available from Jax Truckies food trucks Chubby Burrito, Guanabana Artisans Popsicles and Latin Soul Grill.

Throughout the match, official club maestro DJ E.L. will be playing special Latin-inspired music in the stadium.