Henderlong Brace Secures FC Naples' First Win Ever
Expansion side shuts down league powerhouse Forward Madison 2-0
In front of another sold out crowd at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, FC Naples made history with its first win in club history. The result came against heavily favored Forward Madison, a team that finished third in the table in 2024.
Madison pressed hard in the first 20 minutes of the match, with five unanswered shots. Two were on target and saved by Naples keeper Lalo Delgado.
However, Naples opened things up in the 22nd minute, taking advantage of a poor transition in Madison’s backfield. A ball got past Madison defender Jake Crull, faced with a charging Karsen Henderlong. The Naples striker deflected the ball to Jayden Onen, causing Madison keeper Wallis Lapsley to stumble while Onen sent the ball back to Henderlong, who put it into the empty net.
The goal gave the home side momentum, with Madison having no more chances the rest of the half. Then in the 41st minute, Henderlong struck again. Ian Cerro sent a cross to the top of the box, which Onen let pass into the feet of Henderlong, who sent a screamer past Lapsley for the brace.
Madison made two tactical substitutions at the half to try to shift momentum back, replacing Juan Galindrez with Nazeem Bartman and Ferrety Sousa with Eddie Munjoma. After still failing to get a shot on target, Madison tapped into its deep bench again, replacing John Murphy with José Carrera-García and Nico Brown with Christopher Garcia.
However, Naples’ defense held Madison without another shot until stoppage time and held on for the clean sheet win. The defense, led by the center back pairing of league veterans Jake Dengler and Brecc Evans, combined for 16 clearances to keep the pressure off of Delgado.
Match Notes
FC Naples goalkeeper Lalo Delgado secured his 23rd regular season clean sheet, and first with Naples. He’s fifth all time in USL League One, and third among active league goaltenders.
Karsen Henderlong scored his first two professional goals. The second year professional had just five appearances with Indy Eleven in 2024 before signing with FC Naples in the offseason. He’s one of four to score a brace in the USL League One season so far, a group that includes Greenville’s Leo Castro, and Tormenta’s Mason Tunbridge and Yaniv Bazini.
It was the second sellout match in a row for FC Naples, filling Paradise Coast Sports Complex to its capacity of 4,598.
Rodolfo Sulia made his debut with FC Naples, entering the match for Henderlong in second half stoppage time. The defender was announced this week as a roster selection for the Puerto Rico National Team for a friendly with the Dominican Republic next week. Teammate and goaltender Joel Serrano was also selected.
Goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley made his debut for Madison over presumed starter Bernd Schipmann. The later was available for selection on the bench. Lapsley had a string of appearances last season for Union Omaha, and joined Madison in preseason.
Also making debuts with Madison: Nico Brown, Jackson Dietrich, Jose Carrera-Garcia, Chris Garcia, Eddie Munjoma.
Madison was without squad regulars Devin Boyce and Mitch Osmond. The team did not disclose the status of either, but both were known to have been missing from late-preseason matches.
Match Details
Attendance: 4,598 (sellout)
Goals
FCN: Henderlong, 22’ (Onen)
FCN: Henderlong, 41’ (Cerro)
Discipline
MAD: John Murphy Jr., 20’ - Yellow
FCN: Jayden Onen, 24’ - Yellow
MAD: Bench, 90’ Yellow
FCN: Gustavo Fernandes, 90+4’ - Yellow
FC Naples Roster
Not used: Serrano, Garrett, Torrellas, Rubinstein, Bowe
Scratched*: Justin Weiss (injury)
Forward Madison Roster
Not used: Schipmann, Bell
Scratched*: Devin Boyce, Adrian Graffin (upper body injury), Mitch Osmond
Next Up
FC Naples has a busy week, traveling two hours north to face Sarasota Paradise in US Open Cup action on Tuesday. Right after, they’ll make one of the longest away treks in the league to face Spokane Velocity on Saturday.
Madison will host Duluth FC on Thursday in the US Open Cup, then will travel to Richmond on March 29th.
* Considered a healthy scratch unless otherwise confirmed
The back to back sold out crowds make for impressive optics on the ESPN broadcasts. An to have a domestic player (3 years at Xavier, 2 years at Indiana Univ) star in the win further makes for a great story. USL HQ must be very pleased!