After a late goal in second-half stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw in dramatic fashion against Detroit City FC on Saturday on national television, Rhode Island FC is back in action for its second of three matches in eight days as it travels to take on Indy Eleven for a midweek contest. The match will be the second meeting between the two sides this season, as the clubs battled to a 3-3 draw at Beirne Stadium on July 5. With just three points separating eighth-place RIFC with fourth-place Indy, Wednesday’s match will be another crucial Eastern Conference battle as the race for the top four seeds heats up. Ahead of Wednesday’s midweek match, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Wednesday, August 7
Kickoff | 7:00 PM ET
Location | IU Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium
Broadcast | ESPN+
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #INDvRI
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
Hot and Cold
Despite sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings on 32 points with 31 goals on the year, Indy Eleven is winless in its last six league matches (0W-3L-3D) and scoreless in its last three, marking the longest such streak for the Boys in Blue since 2022. Indy most recently suffered its worst loss of the season in a 5-0 defeat to Charleston Battery on Friday and fell victim to its third-straight shutout in the process, having last scored in a 1-1 draw with Loudoun United FC on July 13. Prior to the 319-minute scoreless stretch, Indy had only been shut out on one other occasion. The last time the club managed multiple goals in a match was its first meeting with RIFC at Beirne Stadium on July 5, and its last win was a 1-0 victory over San Antonio FC that capped a nine-match unbeaten run dating back to late April. Although a red-hot first half of the season has kept Indy in the race for a top four playoff seed, Sean McAuley’s squad will be desperate for a return to winning ways with only one goal in four matches since their last meeting with Rhode Island FC.
Top Producers Gone Quiet
Indy’s leading scorer, Jack Blake, has been sidelined since the club’s last meeting with Rhode Island FC, missing the matchday squad for the last five matches. The former Nottingham Forest midfielder had eight goals in 16 appearances, averaging a goal every two matches, including two braces and five calls to the USL Championship Team of the Week. In Blake’s absence, Augustine Williams has been the next-highest scorer with five goals, bringing his career total to 71 USL Championship goals as the ninth-highest regular season goalscorer in league history. Alongside Williams, Aedan Stanley’s career-best seven assists this season lead the team and are good for second in the league. Despite the pair’s strong attacking numbers, neither has registered a goal contribution since a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds on June 1 and both will be hungry for a return to an efficient attack that helped the club to a franchise-record 15-match scoring streak to open the 2024 season.
Late Struggles
Against Chalreston, Indy Eleven kept the stat sheet relatively even in the first half, keeping the match scoreless and matching Charleston’s six shots. The match marked the 13th time Indy kept the opposition scoreless in the first half through 21 matches this season, and the club has scored 18 of its 31 goals in the first 45. However, the second half was a different story, as The Boys in Blue conceded a season-high five goals in the space of 43 minutes on Friday, including a pair of late goals in the 85th and 90+5 minutes to put the match further out of reach. Against a Rhode Island FC team who has scored nine goals in the last 15 minutes of matches this season, including its last match against Detroit and last meeting with Indy, preventing another late collapse will be crucial in snapping Indy’s longest winless run in nearly two years.
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, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao
MIDFIELDERS (11): 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 21-Kofi Twumasi, 23-Marc Ybarra, 25-Kevin Orduy, 28-Conor McGlynn, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 80-Isaac Angking
FORWARDS (4): 9-JJ Williams, 10-Chico, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Mark Doyle
Holstad the Hero
Down 1-0 on the road to Detroit City FC and just minutes from seeing its club-record seven-match unbeaten streak snapped on national television, Rhode Island FC once again found a way to fight back late in second-half stoppage time to rescue a result on Saturday. Delivering an inch-perfect curling finish from distance to level the match at one in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Clay Holstad saved the day, powering home his fourth goal of the year in an all-too-familiar style. In total, three of Holstad’s four goals have come in USL Championship play and two have been scored in second half stoppage time. Three of his goals have come from outside the 18-yard-box, including his last two, both of which were USL Championship Goal of the Week candidates.
Leaving it Late
Holstad’s goal marked the second consecutive match in which the Ocean State club has fought back from behind to earn a result, and fourth time overall. The goal was the 17th scored in the second half for RIFC and the eighth scored in the last 10 minutes of matches. Five of the RIFC’s last six goals have come in the second half, and the club has earned four points in its last two matches where it initially trailed. In its last meeting with Indy, RIFC overcame a 2-0 deficit for the first time in club history, netting three second-half goals in order to secure a point. Against an Indy side that has conceded six of its last seven goals in the second half of matches, another full 90-minute performance will be the key to a ninth-straight result.
Marching Up the Table
After scoring 22 goals and remaining unbeaten (5W-0L-3D) through its last eight matches, RIFC currently holds the longest active unbeaten streak in the Eastern Conference, and second-longest in the league behind only Las Vegas Lights FC. The unprecedented run of form has shot RIFC from as low as 11th in the Eastern Conference standings up to a playoff position, currently sitting in eighth place and just three points removed from a top-four playoff hosting position. With Indy occupying the fourth spot and RIFC playing two Eastern Conference matchups over four days, the Ocean State club’s fate is in its own hands. A result on Wednesday would see RIFC overtake Indy and could see the club head into its first home derby match in fourth place, depending on the result of the other midweek match between Detroit City FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.