Following its third scoreless draw of the season at North Carolina FC, Rhode Island FC will continue the search for its first-ever win at home as the club returns to Beirne Stadium to face undefeated Western Conference leaders Sacramento Republic FC. As RIFC welcomes the best in the west to the Ocean State for the first time on Saturday, here’s everything you need to know about the match.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, May 11
Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET
Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield, RI
Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #RIvSAC
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
The USL Championship may be far from declaring a 2024 champion, but overseas, the English Football League finds itself in the midst of late-season drama. In a pivotal EFL Championship match between Ipswich Town FC and Huddersfield Town A.F.C. last week, Ipswich secured a 2-0 win on the final matchday to complete its second-consecutive promotion and earn a spot in next season’s Premier League, the club’s first in England’s top flight since 2002. The win may seem worlds away from Beirne stadium, but for Rhode Island FC Co-Founder and Chairman Brett Johnson, the Premier League promotion hit closer to home as Johnson also serves as Director and Shareholder at Ipswich Town.
The connections to the USL Championship, and Saturday’s RIFC match, don’t end there. On the Huddersfield side, Sacramento Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kavin Nagle has 100 percent ownership in the English club, and former USL President Jake Edwards currently serves as Huddersfield’s CEO. Additionally, former USL Sporting Director Mark Cartwright now serves under Edwards as Huddersfield’s Sporting Director.
SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Danny Vitiello, 99-Jared Mazzola
DEFENDERS (10): 2-Jack Gurr, 3-Damià Viader, 4-Lee Desmond, 5-Jared Timmer, 6-Shane Wiedt, 17-Jonathan Rickets, 24-Conor Donovan, 40-Aldair Sanchez, 42-Felix Contreras, 55-Chibuike Ukaegbu
MIDFIELDERS (4): 19-Nick Ross, 20-Blake Wiley, 41-Luis Gomez, 96-Luis Felipe
FORWARDS (8): 7-Trevor Amann, 8-Rodrigo Lopez, 9-Sebastian Herrera, 10-Cristian Parano, 11-Russell Cicerone, 14-Da’vian Kimbrough, 15-Rafael Jaurgui, 23-Kieran Phillips
Best in the West
Heading into Saturday’s matchup at Beirne Stadium, Sacramento Republic FC are in red-hot form. The Northern California squad stands alone at the top of the Western Conference as the only unbeaten team with a 9W-0L-4D record, and its 19 points thus far sit behind only Charleston Battery’s 24 points in the Eastern Conference. In USL Championship action, the club most recently battled to a 1-1 draw on the road against Phoenix Rising FC, where an early free kick goal from Rodrigo López in the 33rd minute was canceled out by a goal from Phoenix’s Remi Cabral in the 66th minute. The draw preserved Sacramento’s unbeaten run and matched the club’s all-time record for consecutive matches without a loss to start the season.
High-Octane Scoring
Matching a club-record unbeaten run doesn’t come without strong offensive firepower, and Sacramento has been no stranger to finding the back of the net so far this season. Averaging a goal every 57 minutes, the club’s 14 goals lead the Western Conference and are tied for fourth-most in the entire league, sitting behind only Tampa Bay Rowdies (17), Louisville City FC (23) and Charleston Battery (25). Dating back to last season, Sacramento has scored at least one goal in a club-record 15 straight matches, with nine of its 14 so far this season coming in the first half. Led by Trevor Armann, whose five goals lead the team and are second in the Western Conference, the club has seen scoring from six different players this season, with four finding the back of the net at least twice. Couple the offensive success with Sacramento’s defense, which has conceded a league-low six goals this season, and the Western Conference club’s recipe for success is clear. The impressive numbers are nothing new for Sacramento. Last year, the Western Conference finalists led the league with only 26 goals conceded and 14 clean sheets, finished 18W-10L-6D with 64 total points and netted a club-record 51 goals on the year.
Into the Last 16
Sacramento’s early success has bled into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The club’s 2-0 win over fellow Western Conference side Monterey Bay F.C. on Tuesday secured its ticket to the Round of 16, joining four other USL Championship clubs. Two first-half goals in a four-minute stretch courtesy of a Monterey Bay own goal and a strike from Sacramento’s Kieran Phillips, whose goal was his third in four matches, gave the club a commanding halftime lead from which it never looked back. Sacramento now looks towards Major League Soccer competition for the first time in the Round of 16 when the club faces San Jose Earthquakes on May 21.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 22-Jackson Lee, 30-Nate Silveira
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Nathan Messer, 3-Stephen Turnbull, 4-Collin Smith, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao
MIDFIELDERS (10): 7-Prince Saydee, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 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
Another Scoreless Battle
Rhode Island FC’s most recent 0-0 draw at North Carolina FC marked its third such result of the season, and third clean sheet in club history. RIFC’s previous clean sheets came in consecutive matches at Beirne Stadium against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Charleston Battery. Despite being unable to find a breakthrough, the team showed signs of positivity in the buildup. In total, the club controlled 58 percent of possession, whipped in 17 total crosses and held an 82 percent passing accuracy with 390 accurate passes compared to North Carolina’s 244 through 90 minutes. Khano Smith’s side will have to find a way to create better goal scoring opportunities on Saturday, however, as RIFC managed just five total shots in the draw at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Vegas Returns
Last week’s resolute defensive performance was highlighted by the return of the Ocean State club’s first-ever signing and captain between the sticks. After coming out late in the club’s 2-2 draw at Monterey Bay F.C., veteran goalkeeper Koke Vegas made his long-awaited return for RIFC and kept his 15th career USL Championship clean sheet, and first for RIFC. Despite only making one save throughout the first 70 minutes of Saturday’s match, Vegas displayed his experience with a heroic save in the 72nd minute to preserve the clean sheet in some of his only action of the night. After Bryce Washington found himself through on goal in the box following a pass that broke RIFC’s defensive line, Vegas was quick off his line to make himself big, blocking the one-on-one opportunity with his body to deny Washington a clean shot at goal. The save by the 28-year-old helped RIFC earn a valuable point on the road.
Just Win, Beirne!
Through four matches in front of the home fans, RIFC is still in search of its first win at Beirne Stadium. The club last fell 3-1 to defending USL Championship title winners Phoenix Rising FC after three straight home draws to kick off the inaugural season. Despite Clay Holstad etching his name in the Ocean State history books as the first RIFC player to score at home, his viral goal was too little too late as the club was unable to climb out of a two-goal deficit. RIFC has scored twice at home this year and will need to find a way to capitalize on more opportunities to match a red-hot Sacramento attack on Saturday.