PREVIEW: Armada Press on in Midweek Matchup with FC Edmonton

Armada FC Communications | Sept. 27, 2016 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coming off a disappointing last minute 1-1 draw with Rayo OKC on Saturday evening, the Jacksonville Armada (2W-6D-7L Fall, 3W-10D-12L Combined) return to Community First Park Wednesday night. The Armada will be looking for a three point boost amidst a busy week in NASL play when it takes on Canadian side FC Edmonton (7W-5D-3L Fall, 12W-7D-6L Combined) at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Playing Saturday against Rayo OKC at Community First Park after more than a month away, the Armada were looking to capitalize and earn Mark Lowry his second victory as the club’s interim head coach. And for 90 minutes that is exactly the direction they were headed. 

Armada leading scorer Charles Eloundou made club history when he scored in three straight games, with a steal, dash and score in the 20th minute that looked like it would be the night’s only goal.

However, it was not to be when deep into stoppage time, Rayo OKC’s Billy Forbes one-timed a pass to the middle of the box, and Futty Danso ran onto it. Armada defenders Karl Ouimette and Mechack Jérôme were a step behind Danso, and when they brought him down, the referee’s whistle blew. Michel stepped to the spot and beat Gallardo

Despite lamenting “a draw that felt like a loss ” as Lowry described, bright spots were aplenty as the likes of defender Tyler Ruthven won headers, cleaned up the box and sacrificed his body to stop at least three shots that were sure to test goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.

The Eddies return to Jacksonville for second time in 2016 (fourth time overall) coming off a 1-0 lost to the Carolina RailHawks. Carolina was able to stifle the Eddies attempts and held onto their 1-0 lead for their first win against the Eddies on the year, even after going down to 10-men following Steve Miller’s second yellow card of the match. 

Edmonton has remained within striking distance of the league leaders for the majority of the fall season, despite going winless in their past six league matches. The Eddies still sit in third place in both the fall and combined standings with and are eying a run at their first NASL Championship playoff appearance since their quarterfinal exit, a 0-5 defeat to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2011 during the club’s inaugural season. 

Both teams are winless in six games heading into tonight’s match. Armada’s last win came on the road 1-2 at Ottawa on august 13 and Edmonton’s last being a 0-1 win at Tampa Bay on august 20. 

In the most recent meeting of the two clubs, on May 4, the Armada fell to the Eddies for the first time. Despite dominating statistically for the majority of the game, Armada failed to finish it chances and fell 0-1 to FC Edmonton, suffering its first home loss of the season. A defensively sound Edmonton side held the Armada scoreless throughout two halves. Defender Pape Diakité scored the winner in the 64th when a Pablo Cruz corner fell to him near the back post and he rifled a volley into the top of the net. 

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-6D-7L, 12 pts., 12th NASL Fall, 3W-10D-12L, 19 pts., 11th NASL Combined)
FC Edmonton (7W-5D-3L, 26 pts., 3rd NASL Fall, 12W-7D-6L, 43 pts., 3rd NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada FC – Mark Lowry, 1st season
FC Edmonton – Colin Miller, 4th season

SERIES HISTORY
Jacksonville leads, 2-1-1

LAST RESULT 
Armada 0, FCE1 - 5/4/16 in Jacksonville | Recap | Final Stats

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

WATCH
- CBS Sports Network – Cole Pepper – PXP and Andy Kidd – Color

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 – #JAXvFCE
- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

POTENT NOTABLES
- Charles Eloundou is the first player under the age of 30 to score more than four goals for the Armada.  

- Jacksonville has gone with 23 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 are 0-1-3 this season when playing on Wednesdays, with only one midweek win in in club history (3-0 on Aug 12, 2015 vs. Carolina).

BY THE NUMBERS
6 – Goals that Armada have scored from outside the opponents 18 yards box. 

42 – The number of shots taken by Charles Eloundou, which leads the team.

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

CLUB CONNECTIONS 
Current Eddie and former Armada FC defender Shawn Nicklaw returns to Community First Park for the first time since being traded on July 6 for midfielder Jason Plumhoff, who is currently on loan at United Soccer League side Saint Louis FC. Nicklaw has started 14 matches so far for the Eddies. He played in 29 league matches for Armada as a fullback, including 21 starts, and notched 10 shots in 1,937 minutes of action and scored the first goal in Community First Park history in the Armada’s 1-0 preseason win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Feb. 28, 2015.

YOUTH SOCCER NIGHT
multiple area youth soccer clubs, including the Armada FC Youth Academy, will be in attendance along with many other onlookers who will have the special opportunity to view The HSM-48 “Vipers,” will fly three MH-60R “Romeo” helicopters over the stadium at the end of the National Anthem on Wednesday evening to highlighting the club’s strong connection to its military roots. 

In addition, the UF Health Jacksonville Stroke Education Program will be inside the stadium and around the concourse promoting stroke prevention and education, as well as carrying the American flag out onto the field during the singing of the national anthems. Also in attendance, a stroke survivor, Indira Wolford will be honored on field before the match.

The Danielkids Memorial Foundation will be highlighted as the Nonprofit of the match. 

LOOKING AHEAD 
Up next, the Armada head north for their final battle with Minnesota United FC at NSC Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. ET.