Jacksonville Armada FC Swaps Nicklaw For FC Edmonton's Jason Plumhoff

Jacksonville Armada FC and FC Edmonton announced on Wednesday a trade that sent defender Shawn Nicklaw to FC Edmonton for midfielder Jason Plumhoff. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In two seasons with the Armada FC, Nicklaw played in 29 league matches as a fullback, including 21 starts, and notched 10 shots in 1,937 minutes of action. A member of the Guam national team, he also started in two of Jacksonville’s U.S. Open Cup matches – Richmond Kickers (May 29, 2015) and Charleston Battery (June 1, 2016). Nicklaw scored the first goal in Community First Park history in the Armada FC’s 1-0 preseason win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Feb. 28, 2015.

“The Armada FC wants to thank Shawn Nicklaw for his service to the club and wish him all the best in his future,” said Tony Meola, Armada FC head coach and technical director. “As we continue to shape our roster, Jason brings us an option in the attacking part of the field.”

Since 2013, Nicklaw has made 18 appearances on the national stage, competing in several World Cup Qualification Asia matches, the 2015 East Asian Cup and Asian Federation Cup (AFC) Challenge as a member of the Guam national team.

"Shawn is actually a player that I have known within the league and one of the players that we targeted when we played against Jacksonville because he was a threat moving forward,” FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller said. “He is a very attack-minded fullback and the fact that he knows the league and has played very well made the transaction a no-brainer for us. Speaking to him, he is very enthusiastic about coming to play with FC Edmonton. He is very respectful of the way that we play, which is absolutely massive.”

Plumhoff, 24, comes to Jacksonville after playing six games for the Eddies, including three starts, in the Spring Season. He netted a goal in FC Edmonton’s 2-1 over the New York Cosmos on May 15. Plumhoff earned the start in Edmonton’s 1-0 win over the Armada FC on May 4 and proved to be a force in the midfield.

Prior to Edmonton, Plumhoff made 22 appearances in his professional debut for the United Soccer League’s Harrisburg City Islanders in 2015 and led his team with 10 goals in 1,664 minutes of action. Before turning professional, Plumhoff had a successful four-year collegiate career at NCAA Division I side LaSalle University, where he earned the 2013 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year honor and finished second all-time in assists in school history.

A German-American born in Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany, Plumhoff was a product of the Bayern Munich (2002-04) and SpVgg Unterhaching (2004-06) youth systems until moving to Ellicott City, Md., at the age of 15. There he twice earned all-county honors for his River Hill High School team and helped his club team, Soccer Association of Columbia United, to a No. 18 national ranking.

“It is a situation with Jason where he is playing second, third, fourth fiddle at the moment because we have players ahead of him,” Miller said. “Those players are playing well. The trade is a good fit for us, it is basically one in and one out. It is a great move for all parties involved.”