JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada FC will set sail on its maiden voyage in the North American Soccer League with its first-ever regular season match against FC Edmonton at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at EverBank Field.
The Armada FC has its sights set high for its debut, not only on the field but also in the stands. The club is hoping to set a modern-era NASL regular season attendance record, which is currently held by Ottawa Fury FC with 14,593 in attendance in its July 20, 2014, match with the New York Cosmos.
Recommended Videos
Jacksonville already holds the NASL preseason attendance record, which was set in its inaugural match in a friendly against Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union on Feb. 7, 2015, when 13,934 fans showed up to witness the Armada FC defeat the Union 3-1 at EverBank Field. The effort is anchored by the Set The Record JAX campaign, which was announced on Monday, March 23.
Led by Scottish-born head coach Colin Miller, FC Edmonton finished in ninth place in the 2014 NASL Spring Season, going 2-7, but fought back for a third-place finish in the fall. The Eddies also made it to the semifinals of the Canadian Championship before losing the second leg to MLS' Montreal Impact.
The Armada FC fell 2-0 last Saturday to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at EverBank Field. Jacksonville had only one normal starter in its first-half lineup - defender Fabricio Ortiz - and fell behind 1-0 in the first half when Tampa Bay's Keith Savage converted on a close-range shot. The Rowdies' Brian Shriver added a header that found the back of the net in the 58th minute. Armada FC forward Jemal Johnson had the club's best chance in the 74th minute when he fired a shot at the far left post that Tampa Bay keeper Kamil Contofalsky stopped on a diving save.