PREVIEW | In-Form Strikers Host Armada FC As Coastal Cup Play Resumes

In a quest to get a jolt of points in the North American Soccer League standings, the Jacksonville Armada FC will head south for a 7:30 p.m. ET showdown on Wednesday at Lockhart Stadium with in-state rivals, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, in a series dubbed "Battle for the Atlantic" by both clubs' supporters groups.

The Armada FC, still winless on the road in 2015, are coming off a tough 1-0 loss at the New York Cosmos last Saturday in an intense defensive contest. Playing through heavy rain and wind, the match stayed scoreless until the 74th minute when Spanish legend Raúl displayed his well-known elusiveness by slipping a couple of Armada FC defenders in the box and blasting it past Jacksonville goalkeeper David Sierra after taking a feed from Cosmos midfielder Walter Restrepo. Sierra finished with four saves in the stout effort.

Jacksonville’s best chance to score came in the 35th minute when forward Pascal Millien took the ball at midfield and pushed it ahead to Shawn Nicklaw. Nicklaw brought it up to the right wing and curled a cross through the box for an open Tyler Williams, but Williams’ shot was too strong and went high.

Fort Lauderdale is coming off a scoreless draw with Ottawa Fury FC last Saturday in Ottawa despite several scoring chances for each side. NASL-leading scorer Stefano Pinho was held in check, although he had three close calls. Strikers goalkeeper Josh Ford notched his second clean sheet of the season and helped extend Fort Lauderdale’s unbeaten streak to five matches.

The Armada FC and Strikers haven’t met since April 11, the second match of the Spring Season, and a strike by Fort Lauderdale’s PC in the 65th minute off a Shawn Chin assist lifted the Strikers to a 2-1 victory in Fort Lauderdale. Former Strikers player Leó Moura started in the scoring on a 45th minute penalty kick after Jacksonville’s Lucas Scaglia was called for a penalty after colliding with PC in the air trying to contest a 50-50 ball. Scaglia helped make up for it in the 49th minute when he fed Bochy Hoyos on a looping pass through two defenders, and Hoyos did a quick two-step before firing the ball with his left foot past a diving David Meves. 

As the season starts to inch closer to the end, Jacksonville will need to figure out how to get points on the road to stay in the NASL Championship race. With 23 points in the Combined Standings, the Armada FC are currently two wins and a draw behind the Tampa Bay Rowdies, which currently has a hold on the fourth postseason spot.

The teams are also battling it out for the Coastal Cup. With no points yet in the Coastal Cup Standings, the Armada FC will need to win their remaining matches against the Strikers – September 16 and Novemeber 1 – and the Rowdies – Sept. 26 – to have a chance at finishing at the top of the standings.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jacksonville: Millien, who is expected to start in his second match after returning from international duty after helping lead Haiti to a 6-1 two-leg aggregate win over Grenada, has proved to be a difference-maker when starting for the Armada FC. Jacksonville is 4W-5D-6L (17 points) and is averaging 1.33 goals per match when Millien starts compared to a 2-0-5 record (6 points.) and 0.71 goals per match average when he doesn’t.

Fort Lauderdale: Pinho, the NASL Player of the Month for August, has been a consistent scoring threat for the Strikers in 2015 and has a league-best 12 goals to his credit. A player who joined the Strikers on a long-term loan agreement with Brazilian side Fluminense ahead of the Spring Season, he scored six goals in five August matches, which included a hat trick in a 7-1 win over Indy Eleven on August 29.

NOTABLES

• The Armada FC will be playing their third game on a Wednesday this season and are 1-0-1 on that day. Jacksonville fell, 4-0, at Minnesota United on July 15 and took down the Atlanta Silverbacks, 1-0, on Aug. 15 in Jacksonville.
   
• Jacksonville also split a preseason home and home series with Fort Lauderdale. The Armada FC defeated the Strikers, 1-0, on February 28 in Jacksonville on a goal from defender Shawn Nicklaw, while the Strikers bested the Armada FC, 5-0, on March 21 in Fort Lauderdale.
• Dating back to the 42nd second minute against Atlanta on Aug. 15, the Armada FC are currently on a season-high 409-minute scoreless streak and are on a four-game scoreless drought. They had two three-game scoreless stretches earlier this season twice (5/27 at Richmond, 5/30 vs. Carolina, June 7 vs. Ottawa; July 5 at Ottawa, July 11 at Atlanta, 7/15 at Minnesota). Jacksonville’s previous longest scoreless streak was 335 minutes.