Armada FC Public Relations | May 3, 2016

Photo credit SE Sports Media

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a weekend off from NASL competition, the Jacksonville Armada will get back to it this week with two matches at home, starting with FC Edmonton at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

In its last match, the Armada nearly pulled out a win on the road but settled for a 1-1 draw with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on April 23. Defender Matt Bahner, who later earned an NASL Team of the Week honor for his performance, scored on a header in the 16th minute off a Richie Ryan cross.

Despite being a man up after Strikers captain Jean-Marc Alexandre was shown his second yellow card in the 55th minute, the Armada got caught with its guard down in the 74th when Maicon Santos got behind the backline and blasted in a header off a Jose Angulo cross. Jacksonville had a few close attempts down the final stretch miss, including Mechack Jerome's stoppage time free kick from just outside of the penalty area that went just wide left of the goal.

The Eddies had a slow start to the 2016 regular season after a scoreless draw on the road with Rayo OKC on April 2, a 2-0 loss at home to Minnesota United FC on April 10 and a 1-0 road loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on April 16.

But FC Edmonton’s outlook is looking more positive with a 2-0 win over Ottawa Fury FC in this year’s first installment of the Canadian Rivalry on April 24 in Edmonton. Keegan and Watson each scored a goal in the win while goalkeeper Matt VanOekel notched the clean sheet.

Below is a breakdown of the teams and the matchup.

WHEN & WHERE

Wednesday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET | Community First Park

Buy Tickets | Weather

MATCH PROMOTIONS

May the Fourth Be With You – Prizes will be given to fans wearing their best Star Wars costume and doing their best Chewbacca imitation, popular characters from the movie saga will greet fans at the gates and replica lightsabers will be given to the first 1,000 fans through the gates



$1 Beers – Selected beers will be on sale for just $1 at various locations in the stadium (beer will be served until the 75th minute)

THE TEAMS

Jacksonville Armada FC (1W-1D-1L, 4 pts., 7th NASL Spring)

FC Edmonton (1W-1D-2L, 4 pts., 8th NASL Spring)



THE COACHES

Jacksonville Armada FC – Tony Meola , 1st season

FC Edmonton – Colin Miller, 4th season

SERIES HISTORY

Armada leads, 2-1-0

LAST RESULT

Eddies 1, Armada 1 - 10/25/15 in Edmonton | Recap | Video Highlights

CLUB QUICK LINKS

Armada: News | Roster | Schedule | Season Stats

Eddies: News | Roster | Schedule | Season Stats

WATCH

- CW17 in Jacksonville (Armada Extra Time at 11 p.m.) – Cole Pepper – Host

- beIN Sports nationally – Kevin Egan – PXP and Chris Wittyngham – Color

LISTEN

- Live on Project 106.9-FM in Jacksonville | Stuart Webber – PXP, Andy Kidd – Color and Ashlea Bullington – Sideline

- Also streamed live on iHeart app or project1069.iheart.com

READ

- Live Twitter updates on @ArmadaFCgameday – #JAXvFCE

- Live stats on ArmadaFC.com

GOT YOUR NUMBER

In three all-time meetings with FC Edmonton, the Armada has had the Eddies' number for the most part. FC Edmonton is the only NASL team Jacksonville is unbeaten against (minimum of three meetings), and the Armada holds a 2-0-0 record against the Eddies in Jacksonville.

The Armada has scored first in all three meetings, with the earliest coming in just 12 seconds by Jemal Johnson on April 4, 2015 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The goal shattered the NASL modern-era record previously held by former Fort Lauderdale Strikers player Fafá Picault, who scored in 26 seconds. Jacksonville never trailed in that match but did fall behind in its 3-2 win over Edmonton on Oct. 17, 2015, when Keita picked up his second yellow in the 51st minute. The man advantage allowed the Eddies to score two goals within three minutes of each other to take a 3-1 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Armada answered with the exact same sequence, getting goals from Pascal Millien and former forward Akeil Barrett within three minutes of each other to propel Jacksonville to the dramatic come-from-behind victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 – The number of yellow cards for the Armada through three matches, which is the least in the league for bookings. Jacksonville led the league in 2015 for most yellow cards with 64 and finished with the second-most red cards (9).

26.07 – The average age of the Armada's roster, which is second-youngest in the NASL behind FC Edmonton (25.58). Directly behind Jacksonville are Carolina (26.26) and New York (26.83). The oldest team in the league in Rayo OKC at 28.55.

19 – The number of clearances for defender Tyler Ruthven, currently seventh-best in the NASL.

8 – The number of total shots 21-year-old forward Charles Eloundou has taken so far, tied for fifth in the NASL. Eloundou is the only non-full-time starter in the list's top five.