Goals from Stoneman, Nodarse and Brito power club to first rivalry victory
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (August 10, 2024) – Rhode Island FC returned to its winning ways in dominant fashion on Saturday, powering past regional rivals Hartford Athletic with a 3-0 win in the first-ever home derby match. A first career RIFC goal from Grant Stoneman kicked off the action in the first half, and additional goals from Frank Nodarse and Joe Brito completed the club’s seventh shutout of the season.
Rhode Island FC (7W-5L-11D) came out firing early, nearly opening the scoring in the fifth minute when Jojea Kwizera got on the end of Stephen Turnbull’s cross in the box. With space to operate on the left side, Kwizera brought the ball down and sent a dangerous pass across the face of goal to the outstretched foot of Albert Dikwa “Chico” at the goalmouth, but the Cameroonian could not keep his shot down as it flew over the bar.
RIFC continued to test the Hartford goal as the half went on, getting another good chance in the 26th minute when Turnbull found open space inside the box after a corner kick sequence. Taking the ball out of the air with nobody in front of him, his close range shot once again flew north of the bar.
Eventually, the persistent pressure paid off just three minutes later for the Ocean State club, who capitalized off of a set piece from the corner of the box to take the lead. The opening goal came from Stoneman, who rose up above everyone, heading home Kwizera’s curling free kick for his first career RIFC goal to give hosts a 1-0 lead.
Hartford (6W-12L-4D) nearly equalized in the 37th minute when Michee Ngalina forced a dangerous turnover in the attacking third, eventually lacing a cross into the box from the right wing. Although Deshane Beckford was able to get his head on the end of the cross, he couldn’t keep it on frame as the best chance of the first half sailed wide of the far post. Hartford came close again off of a corner in first-half stoppage time, but Mamdou Dieng couldn’t redirect Joe Farrell’s header at the back post in time as RIFC held onto the 1-0 lead going into the halftime break.
Rhode Island FC didn’t take long to double its lead out of the break, striking again in the 49th minute when Frank Nodarse powered home another close-range header, this time from Noah Fuson’s team-leading sixth assist of the season that once again came from a set piece. The goal was the fifth of the season for the RIFC defender.
In the 56th minute, it was Stephen Turnbull that nearly got in on the action as RIFC’s set-piece dominance continued. Working off a corner that came to the top of the 18-yard-box, Turnbull perfectly picked a volley out of the air with his right foot, nailing a powerful strike against the crossbar. In the 70th minute, Zachary Herivaux unleashed a similar shot from distance, forcing a sharp save from Hartford goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro.
RIFC continued to pile the pressure on in the second half, slamming the door shut with a third goal in second half stoppage time. This time, the assist came from Chico, who sliced through the Hartford defense before squaring a goalline pass to Connecticut native Joe Brito, who poked home his second goal of the season into an open net to make it 3-0.
In total, RIFC outshot Hartford 20-7, allowing just two shots on target in the second half while peppering Ribeiro with 11 shots inside the box compared to Hartford’s five. The dominant display ultimately helped the club hold on for the win, keeping a shutout and winning the inaugural season series against Hartford.
Up next, RIFC will complete a two-match homestand when it hosts Western Conference side Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the next home match are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
RI – Grant Stoneman (Jojea Kwizera), 29th minute: Grant Stoneman heads Jojea Kwizera’s free kick in from close range for his first career RIFC goal. RI 1, HFD 0
RI – Frank Nodarse (Noah Fuson), 49th minute: Nodarse heads home his fifth goal of the season from close range. RI 2, HFD 0
RI – Joe Brito (Albert Dikwa “Chico”), 90+1 minute: Joe Brito pokes Chico’s pass into the open net. RI 3, HFD 0
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- A sold-out crowd of 5,252 packed Beirne Stadium for the historic win.
- The win matches the biggest margin of victory in club history. The Ocean State club’s two other three-goal wins came in a 5-2 win at Louisville City FC and a 3-0 home win over El Paso Locomotive FC.
- RIFC is now unbeaten in nine of its last ten matches.
- After scoring three goals in five appearances off the bench, Zack Herivaux made his first start for Rhode Island FC.
- Grant Stoneman’s goal in the 29th minute was his first career goal for RIFC, and his fifth in the USL Championship. The goal marked the 12th time RIFC has scored first in a match, and the sixth time it has taken all three points when doing so, including both matches against Hartford.
- Frank Nodarse’s goal was his fifth of the season, all of which have been headers. The goal puts him second on the team in scoring behind Chico, who has six.
- Joe Brito’s goal was his second of the season.
- Jojea Kwizera and Albert Dikwa “Chico” both picked up their third assists of the season.
- Noah Fuson now leads the team and is third in the USL Championship with six assists.
- The 1-0 halftime lead marked the 14th time that Rhode Island FC has kept its opponent scoreless in the first half.
- Koke Vegas earned his third RIFC clean sheet in the win, and the club’s seventh overall.
- Defender Morris Duggan made his RIFC debut in the second half after signing with the club on Friday, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute.
- The 3-0 final score marked the sixth time in the last ten matches RIFC has scored three or more goals, and the eighth multi-goal performance in that stretch.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Frank Nodarse
Match stats and information available here.