Fort Wayne hands Boise first home defeat
<cite index="1-1,1-5">Athletic Club Boise fell 3-1 to Fort Wayne Football Club on Saturday at the Stadium at Expo Idaho in Garden City, marking the club's first home loss in its inaugural season. Fort Wayne's Lilian Ricol scored twice, including the decisive goal in the 83rd minute, to hand Boise its first defeat at home after starting the season 4-0-1 at the venue.</cite>
<cite index="1-4,1-5">AC Boise now stands at 4-3-2 overall and 4-1-1 at home with 14 points in USL League One play. Fort Wayne improved to 4-2-3 with 15 points, moving into fifth place in the league standings.</cite>
<cite index="1-2,1-3">Fort Wayne took an early lead when Ricol scored in the ninth minute. Taig Healy doubled the advantage with a 58th-minute goal.</cite> <cite index="1-4">AC Boise pulled a goal back when Dominic Gasso scored in the 69th minute</cite>, but <cite index="1-5">Ricol's second goal four minutes from full time sealed the win for the visitors despite Fort Wayne being outshot 28-7 and holding just 37% of possession.</cite>
Boise dominated possession but couldn't convert
The match statistics tell a story of dominance that didn't translate to goals. <cite index="1-5">AC Boise outshot Fort Wayne 28-7 and controlled 63% of possession</cite>, but Fort Wayne goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann kept the home side at bay. <cite index="1-9">Schipmann was credited with five saves, moving his career total in League One play to 196.</cite> <cite index="1-10">With four more saves, Schipmann will become just the seventh goalkeeper in League One history with 200 career saves.</cite>
<cite index="1-12,1-13">Ricol and Healy both moved into a tie with Riley Lynch for fifth in Fort Wayne club history with six career goals. Lynch scored six goals for the club in 2022, Fort Wayne's second season in League Two and his only season with the club.</cite>
<cite index="3-3,3-12">Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is playing its first season in USL League One in 2026.</cite> <cite index="3-4">The club plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue.</cite>
What the loss means for AC Boise's season
The defeat snaps a strong home start for Idaho's first professional soccer team. <cite index="7-13,7-14">Athletic Club Boise's inaugural game at the renovated Stadium at Expo Idaho ended in a 1-1 draw against Spokane Velocity FC, but since then AC Boise had reeled off three consecutive home victories before Saturday's loss.</cite>
<cite index="3-26">Before the Fort Wayne match, AC Boise was unbeaten at home with a 4-0-1 record regardless of competition.</cite> <cite index="7-15">A 2-0 win against FC Naples earlier in the week had moved the side into the top four in the League One standings.</cite>
<cite index="3-28">AC Boise is in fourth place in the USL League One standings with 14 points, but that's only two more than Fort Wayne FC, which is in sixth place in the league standings.</cite> <cite index="3-30">The offensive attack of AC Boise is relentless, scoring 14 goals over the course of the season with a conversion rate of 20.9%, tied for second in both those metrics in USL League One play.</cite>
Boise's home atmosphere and business impact
The loss came before what has been a passionate home crowd at the Stadium at Expo Idaho. <cite index="7-18">The River Guard have quickly created one of the best atmospheres in the USL ecosystem as the club embarks on its inaugural season in the northwest part of the city.</cite>
<cite index="7-19,7-20,7-21">After Wednesday night's win against Naples, AC Boise defender Jake Dengler said the fans are a big reason why the team is doing so well at home. "Hearing them in the background just makes me want to keep fighting for them and keep playing. They've done really well and made me feel welcome from the start."</cite>
<cite index="36-8">Demand for tickets has been rapid with the club breaking United Soccer League records for season tickets sold, surpassing 6,500 tickets for the 2026 season.</cite> <cite index="38-2,38-11">AC Boise sold over 6,000 season tickets for its 7,050-seat stadium.</cite>
<cite index="28-9">The club has already broken league records for season ticket deposits, currently with over 4,000 deposits.</cite> <cite index="37-2">The first professional soccer match in Idaho history set a USL League One regular-season attendance record.</cite>
Stadium development and ownership
<cite index="27-3,27-4">Athletic Club Boise is a professional soccer club based in Garden City, Idaho. It fields a men's team in USL League One and plans to field a women's team in the USL Super League, in the third and first tiers of the United States league system, respectively.</cite>
<cite index="27-15">The ownership group includes former National Basketball Association executive Brad Stith, real estate developer David Wali, former U.S. Soccer Federation executive Bill Taylor, and stadium developer Steve Patterson.</cite> <cite index="27-16">Former U.S. national team goalkeeper and commentator Kasey Keller joined the ownership group in July 2025.</cite>
<cite index="28-10">The club's future home is a privately funded stadium built through a 30-year land lease with Ada County and is the centerpiece of a broader redevelopment that will include a 31-acre public Sports Park featuring multi-use fields for soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, and softball.</cite>
<cite index="38-31">AC Boise's lease with Ada County requires the club to expand seating to at least 11,000 and add additional playing fields within 10 years.</cite> <cite index="39-12">The stadium has a capacity of 7,050, with the ability to be expanded to 15,000 with renovations.</cite>
What's next for AC Boise
<cite index="16-9">AC Boise hosts Sarasota Paradise on May 27 to round out the upcoming homestand.</cite> The club will look to bounce back from its first home loss and maintain its position in the top four of the USL League One standings.
<cite index="24-15,24-16">There are no conferences or divisions in USL League One. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the playoffs. Teams accumulate points throughout the season, earning three for a win and one for a tie.</cite> <cite index="24-17,24-18">The playoff format is an eight-team, single-elimination bracket, with the higher seed hosting each game. The playoffs begin Oct. 30, with the USL League One final scheduled for Nov. 13-15.</cite>