After snapping its five-match winless skid on the road with a dominant 3-1 victory at San Antonio FC in its final Western Conference road trip of 2024, Rhode Island FC returns home for a clash with Eastern Conference powerhouse Tampa Bay Rowdies. RIFC sits just four points removed from the fourth and final playoff hosting position, currently occupied by Tampa Bay ahead of the weekend slate. Saturday’s match represents a golden opportunity to shoot up the Eastern Conference standings in front of the home fans as the final stretch of the regular season has arrived. Ahead of this weekend’s intraconference clash, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, October 5
Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET
Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield, RI
Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #RIvsTBR
TAMPA BAY ROWDIES
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Jordan Farr, 15-Phil Breno, 99-Taner Akin
DEFENDERS (7): 3-Forrest Lasso, 19-Freddy Kleeman, 22-Jordan Doherty, 23-Eddie Munjoma, 33-Aaron Guillen, 34-Mateus DeJesus, 42-Zane Bubb
MIDFIELDERS (9): 4-Lewis Hilton, 8-Damian Rivera, 10-Leo Fernandes, 11-Blake Bodily, 13-Ben Bender, 17-Danny Crisostomo, 18-Nathan Worth, 20-Nick Moon, 27-Pacifique Niyongabire
FORWARDS (5): 9-Manuel Arteaga, 16-Cristian Ortiz, 21-Endri Mustali, 26-Cal Jennings, 98 Joshua Perez
On the Slide
Despite spending the majority of the season in top-three positioning on the Eastern Conference table, a season-worst run of form through the month of September has seen Tampa Bay drop three of its last four matches, being outscored 11-4 with the only win coming in the club’s sole home match of the stretch. The Rowdies are now winless in their last five road matches dating back to July 20. The Florida club has not played in nearly two weeks after its scheduled match vs. Hartford Athletic last weekend was postponed due to weather. In total, Tampa Bay are 4W-6L-5D on the road, with three of those four wins coming within the first four months of the season. The Rowdies will have to find a way to flip the script on the road against an RIFC team that has not lost at Beirne Stadium since June 8 if it wants to secure a top-four finish.
Farr Going Far
After finishing just two saves shy of his season-high against Charleston with five, Rowdies goalkeeper Jordan Farr became just the 15th player in USL Championship history to surpass the 300 career-save mark. His 303 total saves rank 14th all-time. With an average of nearly three saves per match this season, the 29-year-old veteran shot-stopper is showing no signs of slowing down. Farr’s 10 clean sheets are tied for fourth in the league this season.
Leading with Experience
On the other end of the ball, a remarkably efficient Tampa Bay offense includes a pair of double-digit scorers that have combined for a whopping 28 goals so far this season. Manuel Arteaga leads Tampa Bay and is third in the league with an impressive 15 goals, including one in each of the club’s last three wins, while Cal Jennings is hot on his trail with 13 goals, good for fourth in the league. Jennings already has three braces on the season, with his last multi-goal match coming in a 2-0 win over Orange County SC on July 13. Together, the two have accounted for 58% of an attacking output that currently sits third in the league with 48 total goals – four more than sixth-place Rhode Island FC.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 22-Jackson Lee, 30-Nate Silveira
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Nathan Messer, 3-Stephen Turnbull, 4-Collin Smith, 5-Grant Stoneman, 6-Morris Duggan, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao
MIDFIELDERS (12): 8-Jack Panayotou, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 21-Kofi Twumasi, 23-Marc Ybarra, 28-Conor McGlynn, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 80-Isaac Angking
FORWARDS (4): 9-JJ Williams, 10-Chico, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Mark Doyle
Back in Form
After dropping two-straight road matches and falling victim to two shutouts for the first time all year in September, Rhode Island FC is back in confident winning form, taking all six points from its last two matches, outscoring its opponents 5-2. The latest win in San Antonio marked the Ocean State club’s seventh time this season scoring three or more goals in a single match. The club’s opening tally, just 18 seconds in, marked the fastest goal in club history. Tied 1-1 at the half, RIFC scored a pair of second-half goals to take all three points, bringing its total to 26 of 43 goals scored in the second 45 minutes of matches.
TOTW Trio
For the first time in club history, Saturday’s win saw three Rhode Island FC players named to the league’s best 11. Clay Holstad, Albert Dikwa “Chico” and Jojea Kwizera were all named to the Team of the Week after leading an attacking performance that saw RIFC outshoot San Antonio 11-3 in a dominant second half. Chico played an integral part in the win, scoring inside the first minute of play and assisting the match-winner in the second half, marking his third match this season with multiple goal involvements. The productive night brought his team-leading total to nine goals on the season. Holstad produced several dangerous opportunities in the second half as well, eventually scoring the match-winner, and Kwizera was a consistent threat down the wing with five of eight long passes completed and three chances created.
Closing out at Beirne
Saturday’s match is the third-to-last match at home this season for Rhode Island FC, who has not lost at Beirne Stadium since June 8 to Detroit City FC. Another three points at home on Saturday would not only be a huge boost for the Ocean State club’s quest to host a playoff match but allow it to come within touching distance of staying unbeaten at home for more than half of its inaugural season. To do so, Khano Smith’s men will need to reverse course from the 4-1 defeat suffered in their first meeting at Tampa Bay all the way back on March 30, which served as the first loss in club history.