Jacksonville (5-4-11, 8-8-14) dominated possession by a margin of 57-43 percent and also had an advantage in shots (10-7) and corners (6-3).
Jacksonville goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo had a three-save performance.
Fort Lauderdale’s (8W-6D-6L NASL Fall, 11W-8D-11L Combined) scored on an 87th minute goal by Marlon Freitas.
BIG CROWD: An announced crowd of 9,083 showed up to Community First Park, which was a new facility record for soccer. Add two other attendance records – 13,934 against the Philadelphia Union on Feb. 7 at EverBank Field to set a North American Soccer League preseason record and an NASL regular season record crowd of 16,134 on April 4 against FC Edmonton – also at EverBank Field.
MATCH HONORS: Midfielder Lucas Scaglia, a scrappy, bulldoggish Argentinian that has been the Armada’s unsung hero all year, was named Man of the Match after frustrating the Fort Lauderdale attack most of the night while also being active in feeding Armada forwards and getting a couple of looks at the goal himself.
PLAYOFF BOUND: The Strikers came into the match needing at least a draw to grab the final spot in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament, with Tampa Bay’s 2-0 loss to New York on Saturday. With its win, Fort Lauderdale will head to New York this Saturday to take on the top-seeded Cosmos in the semifinals.
----MIKE BONTS