J.C. Banks had just one more chance to make a first impression to remember in Jacksonville.

He didn’t let it get away.

Moments from being substituted off the field, the Jacksonville Armada midfielder netted the game-winning goal and defeated FC Edmonton 1-0 Sunday to kick off its third season in the North American Soccer League.

Now, the Armada enters its new era at the University of North Florida a winner,

Banks stole the ball off Edmonton captain Nik Ledgerwood, danced past two defenders on a 30-yard run and drilled a low shot for the 77th-minute game-winner at Hodges Stadium.

"They were in a spot where they didn’t know whether they wanted to step up or they wanted to drop," Banks said. "I was just looking to take advantage of it right away."

He didn’t have a moment to waste.

"I was about to bring Charles [Eloundou] on," Armada coach Mark Lowry said. "If J.C. hadn’t gotten that goal, he would have been replaced with Charles."

In a cautious, defensive struggle on an unseasonably warm afternoon - neither team even managed a shot on target until the 70th minute - Banks’ goal made all the difference.

"J.C. one-on-one is one of the better players in the league," Armada captain Aaron Pitchkolan said. "He showed it right there."

A different substitution started to tip the balance.

In the 70th minute, Lowry inserted speedster Derek Gebhard for forward Jonathan Glenn, who was recovering from a shoulder injury and had been held in check all day by Edmonton’s Albert Watson.

Gebhard’s constant running and high pressure further drained a wilting Edmonton defense, forcing turnovers and setting the stage for Banks’ winner.

"When you’ve got someone like Derek Gebhard, what a weapon to bring on," Lowry said.

The revamped roster - of the 11 starters, only Kevan George, Mechack Jerome, Nicklas Maripuu and Zach Steinberger had previously played for the club in an NASL game - gave the league-owned franchise a first-rate start.

"On your defensive end, you don’t give up any mistakes. And when you do get that one chance, that one golden chance, you take it," Lowry said. "J.C. did."

Pitchkolan excelled at the back with five key clearances, commanding a defense that didn’t allow a shot on target all game.

The new captain charged, chased and threw himself into the path of every high ball aimed for Edmonton’s towering Tomi Ameobi and Pape Diakite.

"They’ve got some big boys up top," Pitchkolan said. "We had a game plan going into the week, and we knew that’s what they were going to do. So we worked on it as a back four, and I thought the entire back four and Caleb [Patterson-Sewell] did a great job."

For the third straight year, the Armada gave the crowd a win in its home opener - Jacksonville beat Edmonton 3-1 in the 2015 debut and Miami 2-1 to start the 2016 season.

However, the Armada didn’t boost its numbers in the seats. The Armada drew a crowd of 3,472 to UNF, a slight drop from its 2016 season average of 3,499 at the Baseball Grounds.

The attendance was the lowest of the six home openers around the NASL so far in 2017.

In this year’s eight-team NASL, Jacksonville and Edmonton play four more times, starting Saturday night in Alberta.

"All of the things in the offseason, we know that we’ve got to perform to stay in the business," Banks said. "We’re just trying to get points and prove ourselves."