Goalkeeper earns second league honor after season-high five-save performance
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (August 27, 2024) – Rhode Island FC goalkeeper Koke Vegas has been named to the USL Championship Team of the Week for his season-high five-save performance, including a late penalty save, which saw him keep the club’s seventh clean sheet of the season in its 0-0 draw at Loudoun United FC on Saturday. Vegas is the sixth player of the season to earn the honor twice, joining Jackson Lee, Stephen Turnbull, Jojea Kwizera, Albert Dikwa “Chico” and Frank Nodarse.
The Spanish keeper came up with several heroic saves in the second half of Saturday’s match to help the Ocean State club secure a valuable road point. In the 58th minute, Loudoun’s Wesley Leggett got on the end of a cross at the back post and fired a low shot towards goal, before Vegas quickly swatted the ball off the line and recovered in time to collect the rebound. As the match approached the final ten minutes of regulation, Loudoun midfielder Abdellatif Aboukoura thought he had scored the go-ahead goal when he launched a curling shot on target from just outside the 18-yard-box, but Vegas reacted quickly again as he made a full-stretch save to keep the match even.
Vegas’ most critical effort came in second-half stoppage time, when the homeside was given an opportunity to win the match after the referee awarded a penalty kick for a foul inside the box. Loudoun’s leading scorer, Zach Ryan, stepped up to win the match from the spot, but Vegas denied the striker with his first penalty kick stop of the season to preserve the clean sheet.
Vegas is the 18th Rhode Island FC honoree named to the USL Championship’s Team of the Week in 2024:
| WEEK | DATE | NAME | HONOR |
| 2 | March 19 | Clay Holstad | Team of the Week |
| 3 | March 26 | Albert Dikwa | Team of the Week |
| 5 | April 9 | Jackson Lee | Team of the Week |
| 6 | April 16 | Jackson Lee | Team of the Week |
| 7 | April 23 | Khano Smith | Coach of the Week |
| 7 | April 23 | Stephen Turnbull | Team of the Week |
| 12 | May 28 | Koke Vegas | Team of the Week |
| 16 | June 25 | Khano Smith | Coach of the Week |
| 16 | June 25 | Stephen Turnbull | Team of the Week |
| 16 | June 25 | Jojea Kwizera | Team of the Week |
| 17 | July 2 | Jojea Kwizera | Team of the Week |
| 18 | July 9 | Frank Nodarse | Team of the Week |
| 18 | July 9 | Marc Ybarra | Team of the Week |
| 19 | July 16 | Albert Dikwa | Team of the Week |
| 20 | July 23 | Zachary Herivaux | Player of the Week |
| 21 | July 30 | Frank Nodarse | Team of the Week |
| July | August 7 | Khano Smith | Coach of the Month |
| 25 | August 27 | Koke Vegas | Team of the Week |
Up next, Vegas and the rest of the RIFC squad return home to Beirne Stadium to take on Eastern Conference foe Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. The Ocean State club will look to sweep Birmingham this season after earning a 3-1 victory at Protective Stadium when the two clubs first met on July 17. Tickets to the next home match are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.