Published for Forward Madison fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
🦩 Forward Madison Fans — Your Flamingos Are Playoff-Bound!
A rebuilt squad, the league’s meanest defense and a record-breaking No. 9 have turned Breese Stevens Field into a fortress. Sky blue shirts, full voice — this is the season to wear the Flamingos’ colors.
The Club
Forward Madison Football Club was founded on May 17, 2018 — announced as a founding member of USL League One days after the Madison City Council approved a new ten-year Breese Stevens Field contract — and kicked off its first season in 2019. “Forward” is the Wisconsin state motto, and the club has worn it with flair ever since: the Flamingos, the ‘Mingos, backed by The Flock in one of the loudest, most flamboyant atmospheres in the third tier.
Home is Breese Stevens Field on Madison’s east side — the city’s oldest sports park, opened in 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and holding 5,000 fans for soccer. The signature look comes straight from the flag of the City of Madison: sky blue with a broad white sash and pink flamingo accents, a shirt as recognizable as any in American soccer.
The man in charge is Matt Glaeser, head coach and technical director since 2022. After the heartbreak of 2025, Glaeser oversaw a near-total rebuild — almost the entire starting XI is new for 2026 — and turned a 10th-place side into a title-race team with the league’s best defensive record among the top sides.
And here is the honest part of the Madison story: the Flamingos have never won a major trophy. No league title, no Shield, no cup — yet. The closest call was the inaugural USL Cup final in 2024, lost on penalties. This rebuilt side, already in the playoffs, believes the wait is about to end.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#9 Carmichael — Forward Madison Style Jersey
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The record-breaker in sky blue. Fourteen league goals, the white sash and the flamingo crest — the shirt of Madison’s greatest scoring season, made for ‘Mingos fans.
Last Season (2025): The Fall
Madison entered 2025 as an early preseason favorite after the best campaign in club history — a 3rd-place finish, a playoff semifinal and a USL Cup final in 2024 — and returned more than half of that roster. It fell flat. The Flamingos won only eight of 30 league games, slid to heavy late defeats (0–4 at Union Omaha, 1–5 at Richmond on the final day) and finished 10th on 35 points, missing the postseason entirely.
The bright spot was Derek Gebhard, whose 11 league goals set the club’s single-season scoring record. But with all-time leading scorer Christian Chaney already gone to Charlotte, the message was clear: this squad needed a rebuild. Madison answered with one of the busiest winters in League One — and a new No. 9 who would take Gebhard’s record inside a single season.
Best Players Right Now
Ryan Carmichael — #9, forward. The story of Madison’s season. Signed from Atlanta United 2 in December 2025, the Northern Ireland striker has scored 14 league goals — 16 in all competitions — tying Gebhard’s club record on September 5, breaking it on “Carmichael Night” two weeks later, and adding a brace against Portland in the home finale. The club-record scorer, full stop.
Stephen Annor Gyamfi — #14, forward. The Ghanaian is Madison’s second-highest scorer with six goals, a constant starter in Glaeser’s front line who found the net in the 4–0 rout of Richmond in July. Quick, direct and always running beyond the last defender.
Hakim Karamoko — #21, forward. The third prong of the attack, on loan from D.C. United, also with six goals despite fewer minutes than the other starters — including the winner against Greenville in August and a stoppage-time strike at Westchester in October.
Roman Torres — #12, midfielder. Madison’s chief creator: a team-high nine assists and the club’s highest-rated player in league play. If Carmichael finishes the chances, Torres is usually the man who made them.
Joshua Bolma — #7, midfielder. The Ghanaian midfielder has chipped in five goals and four assists, including a strike in the wild 3–2 defeat at Westchester — a fixture in the side all season.
Derek Gebhard — #17, forward. The club veteran and the record holder Carmichael chased down. Gebhard’s 11 goals carried the 2025 team, and even in a supporting role this year, no Madison shirt carries more history.
Star Spotlight
The record is tied in Texas. September 5, 2026, at Corpus Christi: Claudel N’goubou opened the scoring from a Carmichael assist, then Carmichael won and converted a 67th-minute penalty — in the club’s own words, tying Derek Gebhard’s club record for the most goals in a single season. A 2–0 win, and history within touching distance.
“Carmichael Night” — and the record falls. September 19 at Breese Stevens Field was dedicated to Ryan and his brother Kevin. At 84 minutes against AV Alta, Ryan scored his 12th league goal to break the record outright — in a 3–0 win that also clinched Madison’s playoff place earlier than ever before in club history. A night nobody in The Flock will forget.
The brace in the home finale. October 17, Portland came to town and Carmichael struck at 5 minutes and again from the penalty spot at 40 — a first-half brace in a 2–0 win before 4,820 fans, Madison’s biggest home crowd of 2026, taking his league tally to 14 and keeping the ‘Mingos third heading into Decision Day.
🔥 More Fan Favorites
More Flamingos stars, same sky blue and sash.
This Season (2026): The Rebuild That Roared
Madison sit third with 55 points from 31 matches — 16 wins, seven draws, eight defeats, 54 goals scored and just 30 conceded, the best defensive mark among the league’s top sides. The playoff berth was sealed on September 19, the earliest clinch in club history, and the final day brings a seeding fight with Union Omaha and AC Boise for a top-four finish and a home quarterfinal. The Players’ Shield is gone — Charlotte Independence’s 66 points are uncatchable — but everything else is still on the table.
The recent form tells the story of a side peaking at the right time: the 3–0 clincher over AV Alta, a goalless draw at Fort Wayne, a wild 3–2 loss at Westchester, and the 2–0 home-finale win over Portland. The cups were cruel — a group-stage exit in the USL Cup despite a famous 4–3 win over Omaha, and a first-round Open Cup upset loss at Flint City Bucks — but the league is where this rebuild has roared, and November is where it will be judged.
The foundation is the defense. JT Harms has owned the No. 1 shirt all season — he kept the clean sheet in the Portland finale — and the back line in front of him has conceded fewer goals than any other side in the top half of the table. The one late stumble, a 0–1 home defeat to Spokane on September 26, was answered the way this team answers everything: no panic, no drama, just points collected on the road and a fortress re-established at home. Win on Decision Day, and the road to the Final may yet run through Breese Stevens Field.
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Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — vs Union Omaha, Breese Stevens Field (6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT). The regular-season finale, and it is a big one: third vs. second, with home-field seeding for the playoff quarterfinals on the line. The third meeting of the season between the rivals — Omaha won the league game 1–0 in April, Madison won the USL Cup thriller 4–3 in July.
October 30 – November 1, 2026 — Playoff Quarterfinals. The USL League One Playoffs are single-elimination, the top eight qualify and the higher seed hosts — a top-four finish means a home quarterfinal at Breese Stevens Field. The semifinals follow November 6–8 and the USL League One Final lands in the November 13–15 window. Charlotte Independence took the 2026 Players’ Shield; the trophy Madison wants is the other one.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. Union Omaha — the friendly heavyweight rivalry. Madison’s defining opponent: two Midwestern League One standard-bearers whose supporters are famously friendly while the teams keep meeting in big games. The all-time head-to-head is tight — Madison five wins, Omaha seven, nine draws — and the 2026 editions were decided by a single goal in the league and a 4–3 cup classic at Breese Stevens. Now they close the regular season against each other with playoff seeding at stake.
2. One Knoxville SC. A newer but fast-growing feud between two of the league’s best-supported clubs. Madison won the 2026 season opener away in Knoxville in March, and the sides drew 1–1 at Breese Stevens in September. Two ambitious clubs, two loud fanbases, zero quarter given.
3. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. A founding-era rivalry that produced the wildest game of Madison’s 2026 season — a 5–2 home win in July, Carmichael and company running riot — before Chattanooga nicked the return 1–0 in September. When these two meet, the goals usually flow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Forward Madison FC play, and what is the stadium like?
Breese Stevens Field, 917 E. Mifflin St., Madison, Wisconsin — the city’s oldest sports park, opened in 1926 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It holds 5,000 fans for soccer, is owned by the City of Madison and operated by the club’s owners, Big Top Events, and is famous for one of the loudest, most flamboyant atmospheres in USL League One, powered by the supporters’ group The Flock.
Who is Forward Madison’s best player?
Forward Ryan Carmichael, No. 9. Signed from Atlanta United 2 for 2026, he broke the club’s single-season league scoring record with 14 league goals — 16 in all competitions — passing Derek Gebhard’s mark of 11. The creative hub is midfielder Roman Torres, No. 12, the team’s assists leader and its highest-rated player of 2026.
What trophies has Forward Madison FC won?
None yet — honestly. The Flamingos are still chasing their first major trophy. Their closest call was finishing runners-up in the inaugural USL Cup in 2024, losing the final on penalties, alongside a club-best third-place league finish and a playoff semifinal that same year. Playoff appearances came in 2019, 2023, 2024 and now 2026.
How can I get tickets or watch Forward Madison FC?
Tickets are sold through the club at forwardmadisonfc.com, with single-game and season tickets plus the team store at Breese Stevens Field. USL League One matches stream live in the USA on ESPN’s streaming platforms, including ESPN+, with select national broadcasts across the USL’s CBS and ESPN deal — check the club’s matchday posts for the exact channel for each game.
⚽ Forward Madison Fan Shop
The full Flamingos trio — Carmichael, Annor Gyamfi and Karamoko in sky blue.
Sources & official links: Forward Madison FC official site · USL League One official site · Forward Madison tickets
Sky blue shirts, full voice, one record-breaking season — full Mingo, Madison.
