Armada ready for first place showdown

Jacksonville hosts Miami Saturday with top spot on the line

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the first two seasons of its existence, the Jacksonville Armada have played in some significant matches.

The club's first ever preseason game in 2015 set a North American Soccer League attendance record. The team's inaugural match set a league high for attendance, saw the fastest goal scored in NASL history and led to a decisive 3-1 victory. In 2016, the club hosted Orlando City in the U.S. Open Cup, the first match for Orlando following the Pulse nightclub attack.

But the Armada have never had a match this deep into the season with significance in the league standings.

Saturday, second-place Jacksonville can move to the top of the NASL standings with a win over first-place Miami FC. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. at UNF's Hodges Stadium. 

Jacksonville has lost just one league fixture this season and has won back-to-back NASL matches. The club has never won three straight league matches in its history.

Zach Steinberger has been powering the Armada attack. The midfielder has won back-to-back NASL Player of the Week awards and has scored five of his league leading six goals in the month of May.

Miami comes to Jacksonville for the first time this year having unbeaten in their last five and coming off a draw at home against Puerto Rico FC on Saturday. Enzo Renella and Kwadwo Poku have combined for seven goals while Renella has added three assists. Miami has been strong on the road this season with three wins and a draw away.