Following a record-breaking 8-1 victory over Miami FC on the final day of the 2024 USL Championship regular season last weekend, Rhode Island FC will head to Indianapolis on Sunday for its first-ever playoff match as it continues its historic inaugural season. The Ocean State club is set to face Indy Eleven in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in a single-elimination, fixed bracket playoff race, with the ultimate goal of reaching the USL Championship final on Nov. 23 at 12 p.m. (CBS). After scoring the most goals across any match in the USL Championship this season and recording its largest win in club history, RIFC will look to capitalize on its six-match unbeaten run to end the regular season as it fights to keep an exciting inaugural season alive. Ahead of the win-or-go-home road matchup, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, Nov. 3
Kickoff | 1 p.m. ET
Location | Michael A. Carroll Stadium
Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+
Radio | 790 The Score (790 AM)
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #INDvRI
Last Meeting | Aug. 7, 2024: IND 1, RI 0 – Indianapolis, Indiana
INDY ELEVEN
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 0-Hunter Sulte, 1-Yannik Oettl, 46-Cayden Crawford
DEFENDERS (9): 2-Josh O’Brien, 3-Aedan Stanley, 5-Callum Chapman-Page, 15-Adrián Diz Pe, 30-Benjamin Ofeimu, 37-Logan Neidlinger, 41-James Musa, 44-Macca King, 55-Maverick McCoy
MIDFIELDERS (9): 6-Cam Lindley, 8-Jack Blake, 12-Diego Sanchez, 14-Aodhan Quinn, 16-Laurence Wootton, 20-Ben Mines, 22-Tyler Gibson, 39-Nikola Ivetic
FORWARDS (6): 7-Karsen Henderlong, 9-Augi Williams, 10-Romario Williams, 13-Sebastian Guenzattti, 18-Elliot Collier, 42-Douglas Martinez
Looking to Bounce Back
While Indy Eleven finished with an impressive 4W-2L-4D record in its final 10 matches to secure the fourth and final playoff hosting position in the Eastern Conference, one of its two losses in that 10-match stretch came in a 3-0 defeat to Tampa Bay Rowdies on the final day of the regular season. The loss snapped a five-match unbeaten streak for The Boys in Blue, marking the first time it had conceded three or more goals since a pair of back-to-back losses in August. Indy conceded three or more goals on seven total occasions during the regular season, including a dramatic 3-3 draw at Beirne Stadium vs. Rhode Island FC. After conceding five goals in its last two matches, the focus for Indy will be returning to the defensive structure that held nine clean sheets in 2024, including a 1-0 win over RIFC the last time the two clubs met on Aug. 7.
Postseason Regulars
In six full seasons in the USL Championship (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season), Indy has made it to the postseason four times. Sunday’s match will mark the club’s first home playoff match since 2019, when it went on to make a run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to current frontrunners Louisville City FC in a 3-1 overtime thriller. This year will also mark Indy’s first set of consecutive playoff appearances since 2018 and 2019, after the club finished the 2023 campaign 6th in the table. The Boys in Blue will be in search of their first win and first goal of the postseason since their Eastern Conference Final run in 2019. Last year, Indy was shutout 5-0 by Charleston Battery in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Firepower up Top
Indy Eleven finished the regular season with two players scoring in double figures, as Jack Blake and Augustune Williams both finished with ten goals. Williams exploded in the final stretch of the season, scoring five goals in two matches with a hat-trick vs. Miami FC (4-0) and a brace vs. Louisville City (2-2) early October. The matches marked his second and third multi-goal performances this year. Much of Blake’s success, however, came earlier in the season. After scoring eight goals with two braces through the first 14 matches of the season, Blake returned from a mid-season five-match injury absence in the club’s win over RIFC, and has scored just two goals since. His last goal came in the club’s final win of 2024, a 3-2 victory over Birmingham Legion FC, and he also racked up a team-third-best four assists in the back half of the season.
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
Bowing out in Style
Rhode Island FC’s 8-1 victory over Miami FC on the final day of the regular season set several club records. The win marked the largest margin of victory (seven goals) as well as the highest-scoring match (eight goals) in club history. It was also the highest-scoring win and largest margin of victory in the entire USL Championship in 2024. A club-record four players recorded multiple goal contributions on the night, highlighted by JJ Williams, who scored the club’s first-ever hat trick in the first half. Williams also had an assist en route to taking home USL Championship Player of the Week honors, while Zackary Herivaux (two assists) was also selected to the Team of the Week. Noah Fuson (one goal, one assist) and Jojea Kwizera (one goal) also got a nod to the Team of the Week reserves. Fuson’s assist was his league-leading 10th of the season, and his eight goal involvement in his final five matches, earning him the USL Championship Golden Playmaker award. He finished as the only player in the league to record double-figure assists, and led RIFC with 18 total goal involvements.
Dikwa Returns
Saturday’s win also saw the return of leading scorer Albert Dikwa “Chico,” who scored his team-leading 10th goal of 2024 as a substitute after suffering a two-match injury absence. The 2023 USL Championship Golden Boot Winner and Player of the Year was the only RIFC player to record double-figure goals in 2024, bolstering a loaded attack that finished third in the league with 56 total goals from 15 different players. In total, four players have recorded six or more goals for the club, with Fuson closely following Chico’s 10 goals with eight of his own.
Inaugural Season Success
Rhode Island FC finished a historic inaugural regular season with a 12W-15D-7L record. The 15 draws set a single-season all-time USL Championship record, while the seven losses were the third-fewest amongst the 24-team field. At home, RIFC lost just twice, with its last defeat in Smithfield coming 10 matches and nearly five months ago on June 8. In total, the Ocean State club is also unbeaten in its last six heading into the postseason, with its last loss coming on Sept. 14. The impressive run marks the second-longest unbeaten streak of the season, behind only RIFC’s eight-match spell without a loss from June 12-Aug. 3. That streak was ended by Indy Eleven in Indianapolis on Aug. 7. The loss was one of just three the club has sustained since June. The two clubs first battled to a dramatic 3-3 draw at Beirne Stadium on July 5.