PREVIEW | Armada Look to Stretch Unbeaten Streak Against Indy Eleven with Hurricane Passed

Armada FC Communications | Oct. 11, 2016

The Jacksonville Armada FC return home to Community First Park on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET to face NASL Spring Season Champions Indy Eleven in the two club’s third and final meeting of the season. The match marks the beginning of another busy week for the Armada with three home matches in seven days.

Originally scheduled to be played on Saturday night, the match was rescheduled for Wednesday following weather concerns related to Hurricane Matthew.

With the hurricane behind them, the Armada return to the First Coast following a successful trip to Minnesota on Oct. 1 that saw the club earn its fourth win of the season and second road victory in club history. The victory could be considered one of the teams most significant and extended the team's unbeaten streak to four games.

Despite United controlling the majority of ball possession, a solid defensive performance from the Armada kept Minnesota from producing a quality shot on goal all game. In the 88th minute, the Armada stunned United in front of their home crowd at NSC Stadium when Matt Bahner scored his third goal of the season off a pass from Derek Gebhard. The win was the Armada’s first ever victory over United in all contest and the final meeting of the two clubs in NASL competition. 

The Indy Eleven arrive in Northeast Florida following a late 2-1 loss in Western Canada to FC Edmonton. Despite the Eleven’s Irish-born striker Éamon Zayed scoring his 14th goal of the year in the 56th minute, Edmonton were able to equalize in the 80th minute and then cap off the match in stoppage time. 

The defeat ended a two match winning streak for the Eleven.

In the last meeting between the two teams, Indy Eleven handed the Armada its worst defeat in club history with a 5-2 dousing on Aug, 3. Indy’s Zayed led the assault with a hat-trick, netting goals in the 16th, 58th and 65th minutes. Alhassane Keita attempted to bring his side back into the match earning his first goal of 2016 in the 33rd minute, but three more goals allowed the Eleven to cruise on through to a crushing defeat of the Armada in Indianapolis.

Despite sitting in 11th in the combined standings with 23 points, the Armada still narrowly remain in contention for postseason tournament play. 

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE
Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. ET | Community First Park
Buy Tickets | Weather

THE TEAMS
Jacksonville Armada FC (3W-7D-7L, 16 pts., 12th NASL Fall, 4W-11D-12L, 23 pts., 11th NASL Combined)
Indy Eleven (8W-3D-6L, 27 pts., 4th NASL Fall, 12W-9D-6L, 45 pts., 3rd NASL Combined)

THE COACHES
Jacksonville Armada FC – Mark Lowry, 1st season
Indy Eleven – Tim Hankinson, 1st season

SERIES HISTORY
Eleven lead, 2-2-1

LAST RESULT 
Eleven 5, Armada 2 - 8/3/16 in Jacksonville | Recap

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

WATCH
- ESPN3 nationally – Cole Pepper – PXP and Mauricio Ruiz – Color 

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

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

POTENT NOTABLES
- Neither team has ever lost in their respective cities and have held the visitors to two goals all time at home (in Jax: 1-0 on 5/9/15, 1-1 on 10/3/15, and 1-1 on 5/23/16; in Indy: 3-0 on 9/5/15 and 5-2 on 8/3/16).

- Charles Eloundou is the first player under the age of 30 to score more than four goals for the Armada and currently leads the team with five goals this season.  

- Jacksonville has gone with 25 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).

- Forward Derek Gebhard has been signed to a contract extension. The 20 -year-old striker made his presence known coming in at key moments and making a difference off the bench. He earned an assist on the lone goal in the Armada’s milestone victory over Minnesota United FC on Oct. 1.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 – The number of red cards each team currently holds this season. 

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

8673 – The total number of accurate passes from the entire Armada.
 

CLUB CONNECTIONS
Armada midfielder Zach Steinberger, currently on loan from the Houston Dynamo, was loaned out to the Eleven in 2015 and scored two goals, both of which came against the Armada. Steinberger was also a four-year starter at Butler University, an NCAA Division I school in Indianapolis ... Indy midfielder Lovel Palmer and Armada forward Alex Dixon were teammates with the Houston Dynamo (MLS) in 2011 ... Indy defender Neil Shaffer and Armada defender Matt Bahner were teammates on the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) in 2014 and made it to the league championship final ... Indy defender Nemanja Vuković and Armada midfielder Kevan George were teammates on the Columbus Crew (MLS) in 2012 ... Indy midfielder Gorka Larrea and Armada defender Karl Ouimette, currently on loan from the New York Red Bulls, were teammates on the Montreal Impact (MLS) in 2014 ... Ouimette and Indy midfielder Siniša Ubi-paripović were teammates on the Impact from 2012-13 ... Indy forward Justin Braun also played with Ouimette and Ubiparipović in 2012 ... Indy forward Souleymane Youla and Armada forward Alhassane Keita were teammates on the Guinean national team from 2004-09 and share the same hometown, Conakry.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
It will be the second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Community First Park and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match to support the fight against the deadly desease. Armada FC partners WeGotSoccer are offering fans a unique way to support the fight. Fans can purchase a select “Cure Ball” which grants them one shot at We Got Soccer’s "Target Shot" contest to win a prize pack valued at $5,000. The closest shot to the target wins the prize pack! The contest will be held during halftime of the match. 

There are only 100 balls available for purchase, so fans are encouraged to visit https://www.wegotsoccer.com/select-cure and purchase a “Cure Ball” to be entered for an opportunity to shoot at the target before they run out.

100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Non-Profit of the Match the American Cancer Society's Making Strides against Breast Cancer and all Armada supporters attending the match are encouraged to wear pink in support of the fight.

LOOKING AHEAD
Up next, the Armada continue on a three match trek at home and face the 2015 NASL Champions New York Cosmos at Community First Park on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET.