Forward Madison clinched a spot in the USL League One playoffs with a 3-0 win over AV Alta at Breese Stevens Field on Saturday. The win also extends the team’s home unbeaten streak to 13 and keeps them as one of two teams who haven’t lost at home this year.
“We’ve had three opportunities this week to go and clinch playoffs, and it’s nice to do it at home,” said striker Ryan Carmichael, who scored his 12th league goal in the match.
“On to the next,” said fullback Eddie Munjoma, who also scored. “We’re definitely very happy.”
The playoff clinch comes with five games left in the season as Forward Madison sits in third place in the league table. The top eight make the playoffs; the top four host playoff games. Head coach Matt Glaeser and sporting director Matt Cairns both said before the season began that the team’s goal was to host a playoff game.
That would be an impressive turnaround from a ninth-place finish in 2025. After the Mingos missed the playoffs for the first time in three years, the club brought Cairns on to rebuild the roster – and rebuild it he did, bringing back just two players: Munjoma, who spent most of 2025 sidelined with an ACL tear, and Derek Gebhard, who’s been out since June with a hip injury.
“The offseason that we had to turn around as many guys as we turned around, and to clinch with five games left, is a testament to everybody involved for the effort that we put into it,” Glaeser said. “It’s not been easy, but I’m really proud of the players and the staff, the new staff and new players.”
Munjoma noted the retooled roster was significantly younger, on average, than last year’s.
“This is probably the first time in my career that I’ve been a part of a team where the majority of the team is younger than me,” said Munjoma, 28. “I mean, the whole team is full of great guys, and it definitely helps that they’re willing to listen. That’s obviously the reason why we’ve been doing so well so far this season.”
With five games to play, Madison is seven points behind frontrunning Union Omaha, four behind Charlotte Independence in second, four ahead of One Knoxville in fourth and five ahead of AC Boise in fifth. That means a push to win the Players’ Shield – the trophy for the team that finishes the regular season in first place – is not out of the question, but will be a challenge; and that a finish in the top four is very possible, so long as the team keeps winning.
It’s also an important goal, the players said.
“I would 100% consider it a crucial goal for us to make sure we play at home in playoffs, considering obviously our home record in the regular season,” Munjoma said. “I have no reason to think that any team that we play here we can’t beat.”
“If we play like tonight, I don’t think there’s any team in the league that can beat us,” Carmichael said. “I think with the intensity we show and the quality on the ball, no matter who comes and plays us, it’s going to be a tough game.”
“The guys get really fired up to play in front of the fans here, and that’s a huge benefit to our group,” Glaeser said.
Forward Madison last made the playoffs in 2024, finishing third in the table and beating Charlotte Independence to reach the semifinal, where they fell to Spokane Velocity in a penalty shootout.
Forward Madison has three home games left this season, hosting Spokane on Saturday, Portland (Maine) Hearts of Pine on October 17, and Union Omaha on October 24. Their first playoff match will take place on October 31.
