Breese Stevens Field — Madison, Wisconsin | Attendance: 3,393
Athletic Club Boise fell 5-1 to Forward Madison FC on Saturday night at Breese Stevens Field in the first all-time meeting between the clubs.
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, Boise responded immediately after the break when Luan Brito headed home the equalizer in the 50th minute. But Forward Madison regained control of the match and scored four unanswered goals over the final 25 minutes to secure the result.
The loss drops Athletic Club Boise to 5-5-3 in USL League One play.
MATCH SUMMARY
First Half
Forward Madison applied pressure from the opening whistle and generated a series of dangerous set-piece opportunities throughout the first half.
Jonathan Kliewer was called into action early, making a save in the fifth minute, while Boise’s back line repeatedly dealt with crosses and corner kicks as the hosts built momentum. Madison eventually broke through in the 39th minute when Derek Gebhard headed home a delivery from Claudel Ngoubou to give the Flamingos a 1-0 advantage.
Athletic Club Boise struggled to create attacking opportunities in the opening 45 minutes and entered halftime trailing by a goal.
Second Half
Looking for a response, Head Coach Nate Miller made three changes at halftime, introducing Denys Kostyshyn, Thomas Amang and Keegan Oyler.
Boise found an immediate response after the restart.
Just five minutes into the half, Denys Kostyshyn delivered a dangerous ball into the area that was headed across goal by Thomas Amang before Luan Brito powered home the equalizer. The goal was Brito’s second league goal of the season and briefly shifted momentum toward the visitors.
Forward Madison responded in the 66th minute through Hakim Karamoko before adding goals from Ryan Carmichael (71′), Roman Torres (75′), and Kerfalla Toure (90+1′). The four-goal second half surge allowed the hosts to pull away and hand Boise its heaviest defeat of the season.
TEAM STATS SNAPSHOT
| Category | Forward Madison FC | Athletic Club Boise |
| Goals | 5 | 1 |
| Shots | 22 | 5 |
| Shots on Goal | 7 | 2 |
| Possession | 49% | 51% |
| Passes | 391 | 405 |
| Pass Accuracy | 87.5% | 84.0% |
| Tackles | 25 | 7 |
| Clearances | 15 | 20 |
| Saves | 1 | 2 |
| Fouls | 26 | 13 |
LINEUP + MILESTONES
Starting XI: Jonathan Kliewer; Jake Crull (C), Jake Dengler, Josh Yaro; Joe Hanson, Jonathan Ricketts, Moussa Ndiaye, Philip Mayaka; Omar Yehya, Luan Brito, Tumi Moshobane.
Substitutes Used: Denys Kostyshyn (45′), Thomas Amang (45′), Keegan Oyler (45′), Charlie Adams (65′), Hayden Sargis (87′).
100th Regular Season League Appearance: Jake Dengler
IMPLICATIONS + UP NEXT
A Difficult Night on the Road
Athletic Club Boise entered the weekend looking to build on Wednesday’s victory over Richmond but struggled to find consistency away from home.
After leveling the match early in the second half, Boise was unable to slow Forward Madison’s momentum as the hosts scored four times over the final 25 minutes. The result serves as another reminder of the challenge of earning points on the road in USL League One and leaves Boise with important lessons to address ahead of its return home.
Up Next: Union Omaha
Athletic Club Boise returns to Athletic Club Boise Stadium on Saturday, June 20, to host league-leading Union Omaha (9-4-1).
The clubs met earlier this season in Omaha, where Union Omaha earned a 3-2 victory. Despite sitting atop the league table, Omaha enters the match having lost two of its last three competitive matches, setting up an important opportunity for Boise to respond in front of another home crowd.
QUOTES
Nate Miller | Head Coach
“It was probably the poorest technical performance I can remember from one of my teams. From an execution standpoint, we lost a lot of duels and were basically overrun. When the entire team performs below the standard, that responsibility starts with me.”
“The easy thing after a result like this is to make excuses, but that’s not who we are. The players took ownership, we had an honest conversation as a group, and now it’s about solving the problem. This result hurts. We believe in what we’re building and we’ll get back to work on Monday.”
Charlie Adams | Midfielder (Captain)
“We need to get back to the basics of who we want to be as a team and train that every day. On the road, we’re not representing the club the way we need to, especially with the personnel we have. We have to come back next week with a real fire to put things right and show how we want the game to look. Going forward, we need to make sure we’re ready.”
Jake Crull | Defender (Captain)
“Tonight wasn’t a good performance at all. There were two things that really hurt us: turnovers in bad areas of the field and our defending. Forward Madison thrives on turning teams over and attacking quickly, and they punished us multiple times. After the game, there was a lot of honesty in the locker room. We had conversations about how we move forward and respond as a team. We know that performance was nowhere near what we’re capable of, but we’re holding each other accountable and focused on being better.”