New And Improved Jacksonville Armada FC Turning Heads With Fast Start

The Spring Season wasn’t kind to Jacksonville Armada FC last year.

The club lost five of its first seven games, and ultimately finished at the bottom of the standings alongside Miami FC – the only side it had beaten.

Fast-forward to the present, and Armada FC is completely flipping the script on the early-season woes that have plagued the club since it joined the NASL in 2015.

Led by 31-year-old head coach Mark Lowry, a confident Englishman who earned his first UEFA coaching license 10 years ago, Jacksonville sits atop the NASL table through five weeks of league play.

Armada FC has already picked up a pair of victories over one of last year’s playoff sides, FC Edmonton, and one of those wins came over 2,700 miles away at Clarke Stadium. To go along with the results against the Eddies, Jacksonville has a draw against the defending champion New York Cosmos in Brooklyn and a stalemate against the second-place San Francisco Deltas at home.

“Starting off well was something we really looked at during the preseason - to make a conscious effort to hit the ground running,” Lowry said. “Now, that doesn’t mean you’re always going to get victories, but you hope that the work that you’ve done and the sacrifices that you’ve made set you up for success.”

Mission accomplished so far.

Lowry has implemented a system predicated on discipline, shape, and possession. Jacksonville has only conceded one goal in four games, relying on stellar center back play from veterans Aaron Pitchkolan and Mechack Jerome and hard-nosed tackling in the defensive midfield from the likes of Kevan George and Nicklas Maripuu.

Pitchkolan is the perfect example of a shrewd offseason signing that likely didn’t turn many heads when it was announced. Five weeks in, it’s easy to see why Lowry pulled the trigger on a veteran like Pitchkolan, who has assumed the role of field general in the back.

Up and down the Armada FC roster, there are several players like the 34-year-old Pitchkolan, who may not have been on many clubs’ radars going into the season. Pitchkolan’s teammates in Minnesota last year, J.C. Banks and Jack Blake, also moved south to Jacksonville – and both have been outstanding thus far. Banks already has two goals to his name, including the all-important equalizer in New York last weekend, while Blake – still just 22 years old – has looked like an experienced pro in the center of the park.

“We’ve signed guys who have points to prove,” Lowry said. “We have a team of hungry players that want to excite the fans, want to play attractive soccer, and ultimately want to win games.”

Jacksonville is finally getting results away from home, too. This was a club that didn’t win a single one of its first 25 NASL road games. In fact, it was Lowry who helped the club put the streak in the rearview mirror. In his first game in charge following the dismissal of Tony Meola, Lowry led Armada FC to a 2-1 win in Ottawa. Since then, Armada FC has posted a 6W-8D-4L record under Lowry, and has taken four points from its two road games in 2017.

“Fortunately for us, we’ve managed to get the results,” Lowry said. “But the hard work really starts now because the hard work is being consistent with it.”

If Lowry’s side can continue to play the composed brand of soccer that has been on display during the early part of the season, Jacksonville could turn out to be the playoff contender that few had included in their preseason predictions.   

With so many games left on the Spring Season schedule, the Jacksonville boss isn’t quite ready to look ahead just yet.

“For us, it’s just about taking it day by day, one point by one point, one goal by one goal, and clean sheet by clean sheet,” Lowry said. “Hopefully, by Game 10, Game 15, Game 20, you’re still in the mix.”

League-leading Armada FC returns to the confines of Hodges Stadium this Saturday when they play host to Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on beIN SPORTS USA and beIN SPORTS CONNECT.