Forward Madison FC beat one of Mexico's major soccer clubs in front of 4,802 fans at a packed Breese Stevens Field on Tuesday, winning 2-1 against Leones Negros UdeG. It was the perfect night to cap off FMFC's final international exhibition of its inaugural season, as the Flamingos came from behind to wow the crowd, the team's second-largest of the year. 

According to Head Coach Daryl Shore, his team took the most of its chance to show many first-timers how good Madison’s team is.

“Hopefully tonight some fans that came out that don’t normally come out have now seen what this is about,” Shore said. “What you would want from a lot of the Latino fans is (that) it’s fair that they have their teams at home, but now this should become their other team, because it’s in their city, they can come to the games every weekend.”

 After a disappointing home draw to Chattanooga Red Wolves on Saturday, Forward Madison fielded a mostly full-strength lineup. The Flamingos were trying to work on their game just as much as they were trying to enjoy the moment and assess guest players, such as midfielder Matteo Kidd of the Green Bay Voyageurs, who started the game for FMFC.. 

During the match, Forward Madison again came out fast, but its momentum was put to rest by Panamanian forward Jorlian Sanchez, who took a long ball over the top of defense, beat Connor Tobin on the dribble, and sent a low drive to the right of a diving Dayne St. Clair that just made it inside the post in the 37th minute. 

The game took on a chippy edge, which resulted in seven yellow cards and one red card in total, although just two of those cautions went the way of the Flamingos.

 At the end of the first half, Forward Madison took back an equalizer with a 45th minute goal from Brian Bement, who stuffed home a loose ball after standing his ground in the 18-yard box. 

 After the break, both sides made wholesale changes to their lineups, with FMFC switching every player off the pitch and Leones Negros making six changes before Omar Bravo subbed on in the 61st minute.

Just before Bravo came on, the Flamingos found the go-ahead goal with a brother-to-brother connection as Anthony Markanich found Nick Markanich for a beautiful headed goal with a fine long ball. Both Markanich brothers play for the Green Bay Voyageurs, and were in Madison as guests for the Flamingos.

“We sorted out (our first half issues) and we kind of picked and chose spots to figure it out, but credit to our guys,” Shore said. “To get the goal back and then (score in) the second half, I thought our group was really good, really active and made it really hard for them to play.”

The rest of the match played out in a less-than stellar fashion for the visitors, with UdeG midfielder Marvin Ceballos receiving a red card in stoppage time. Still, it didn’t dampen the mood for FMFC's best exhibition result of the season, which included previous games against Hertha Berlin and Minnesota United FC.

 Up next for Forward Madison is a rare weekend off before another home match against Orlando City B on July 27th, with a quick turnaround trip to Toronto FC II on July 31st to follow.

 “It’s a good three day break for us, but then we’re going to come back and we’re going to get after it,” Shore said. “There (are) 12 games for us to get ourselves back into the playoffs and really make a push to try and make some noise.”

Forward Madison FC
Head Coach: Daryl Shore
Goalkeeper- Dayne St. Clair #97 (Brian Sylvestre #97)
Defender- Christian Diaz #27 (captain) (Carl Schnieder #23)
Defender-Connor Tobin #13 (Eric Leonard #3) (76’- Zach Klacnik #55)
Defender - Shaun Russell #15 YC (Jasper Kirsten #24)
Defender- Jiro Barriga Toyama #77 (Anthony Markanich #5)
Midfielder - Vital Nizigiyimana #19 (Louis Bennet #21)
Midfielder - Matteo Kid #90 (guest player) (J.C. Banks #29)
Midfielder - Josiel Nunez #70 YC (Alex Welch #50) 
Forward-  Zaire Bartley #17 (Paulo Jr. #11)
Forward-  Brian Bement #14 ⚽ (Nick Markanich #82⚽)
Forward - Danny Tenorio #10 (Don Smart #7)

Substitutes
GK- Brian Silvestre #92
D- Carl Schneider #23
D- Eric Leonard #3
D- Zach Klacnik #55 (guest player)
D- Anthony Markanich #5 (guest player)
D- Jasper Kirsten #24 (guest player)
M- Louis Bennett #21
M- J.C. Banks #29
M- Alex Welch #50 (guest player)
F- Don Smart #7
F- Nick Markanich #82 (guest player)
F- Paulo Jr. #11

Leones Negros UdeG
Head Coach: Jorge Davalos
Goalkeeper - Felipe Lopez #30 (45’- Diego Parra #12)
Defender- Carlos Baltazar #15 (45’- Paul Bellon #25)
Defender- Andres Ramirez #4 (45’- Emanuel Ayala #31) (88’- #15 Carlos Baltazar)
Defender- Arturo Ortiz #3 YC 
Defender - Francisco Rabogo #13 (45’- Luis Telles Gonzalez #17)
Midfielder -Romario Hernandez #5 (45’- #21) 
Midfielder- Jesus Vazquez #7 (45’- #34)
Midfielder - Marvin Ceballos #18 RC
Midfielder- Adrian Villalobos #14 (45’- Kevin Lomelli #26 YC)
Forward - Jorlian Sanchez #29 ⚽ (61’ Omar Bravo #9)
Forward- Jorge Mora #10  YC

Substitutes
Diego Parra #12
Christian Lopez #2
Paul Bellon #25
Emanuel Ayala #31
Kevin Lomeli #26
Beline Toledo #34
Alan Murillo #37
Omar Bravo #9

Goals
Forward Madison FC
45’- Brian Bement
58’- Nick Markanich (Anthony Markanich)

Leones Negros UdeG
37’- Jorlian Sanchez
 

Yellow Cards
Forward Madison FC
7’- Shaun Russell #15 
44’- Josiel Nunez #70

Leones Negros UdeG
28’- Arturo Ortiz #3
30’- Jorge Mora #10
47’- #17
52’- Christian Lopez #2
61’- Kevin Lomelli #26

Red Cards
Leones Negros UdeG
90’- Marvin Ceballos #18

Referees
Adam Behrens
Art Arustamyan
Rachel Smith
Jordan Castillejo

Venue
Breese Stevens Field - Madison, WI

Attendance
4,802

Forward Madison FC’s inaugural season is here! The team will play its next home game on July 27 vs Orlando City B. Get tickets to see Forward Madison’s inaugural season at:https://www.forwardmadisonfc.com/tickets.