Know Your Enemy - US Open Cup Edition: Rhode Island Football Club

Tonight, Hearts of Pine continue their US Open Cup run against local Championship club Rhode Island Football Club. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT at Lewiston High School. This may be Hearts’ final game in Lewiston as Fitzpatrick Stadium’s upgrades will be completed by the next round of the Open Cup should we advance. The match is to be streamed live on CBS Goalazo Network which is available on both Paramount+ with a subscription and PlutoTV for free.

History

Rhode Island had a slow start to last season but by the end turned it all around finishing 5th in the USLC East and making it to the USLC Playoff Final. Blazing Musket

Rhode Island Football Club was founded in 2019 at a dark time for sports in the Ocean State as the PawSox announced their departure to Worcester. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhode Island would take several additional years to finally field a team, but they finally took to the pitch for their first match last season. Club management made a great selection in hiring Birmingham Legion assistant coach Khano Smith, a Bermudian tactician, to serve as their first head coach. Smith made strides to bring in positive talent last season and took his side to 5th place in the USLC East, qualifying for the playoff competition. In that contest, Rhode Island fought their way through several fraught matches including a major hurdle in league runners-up Charleston Battery in the semi-finals before making their way to the playoff final itself. In that match against Colorado Spring Switchbacks, Rhode Island would fall 3-0 but the determination and grit of the first-year squad could not be doubted.

In a few short weeks, RIFC will begin playing at their brand-new stadium, Centerville Bank Stadium (formerly Tidewater Landing) in Pawtucket. A 10,500-seater and (for now, anyway) the premier soccer-specific stadium in New England. The Hearts of Pine will visit for their Jägermeister Cup match against RIFC on June 27th. The Ocean State side also has a very active supporters’ group, the Defiance 1636, which reportedly will be sending a contingent to Lewiston for the Open Cup match. Independent coverage of RIFC is provided by the news-based podcast Raising Anchor, the fan-based podcast Tide Talk, the Blazing Musket, and the Providence Journal.

It should be noted that while this will be the first official match between the 2 clubs, both sides played each other to a 0-0 draw in Bermuda and a 2-2 draw in Pawtucket during pre-season friendlies this year. Unconfirmed rumors state the game in Pawtucket saw both teams play their starting XI.

Key Players

While its possible Khano Smith may not start his best players in Lewiston, the Bermudian has a lot of depth to pull from and should they come on as subs, the likes of Williams and Holstad will be felt. Michael Wiser / Charleston Battery

Starting from back to front with the defenders, Rhode Island benefits from the leadership of their Captain Koke Vegas, a Spaniard who is a veteran of Rhode Island’s campaign last season. That said according to Raising Anchor, it is more likely we see cup keeper Jackson Lee start in goal. Lee, who joined RIFC last season from LAFC, saw a combined total of 1046 minutes last season with 3 clean sheets and a save percentage of 65%. Unlike Rhode Island’s midfield and front line, their defensive line is somewhat stable in terms of player selection. Typically, from left to right you will see Frank Nodarse, Karifa Yao, and Grant Stoneman, all of whom are veterans of their playoff run last year. It’s possible of course, Khano Smith may play some of his more junior players given he has a match against Detroit City on Saturday such as Aldair Sanchez, Cole Dewhurst & Rio Hope-Gund (who is halfway through a 25-day contract).

In the midfield, I think its fair to expect that some of the star midfielders like Clay Holstead and Mark Ybarra may start the match from the bench. In their stead I would expect Kevin Vang, Taimu Okiyoshi and Issac Angking to possible take the field. I will note that several Rhode Island players can play multiple positions in the midfield and front lines which makes predicting exact player selection a challenge. Don’t be shocked if you see Noah Fuson come down to play as a midfielder or Aldair Sanchez come up from the defensive line. Its very hard to tell with Rhode Island’s versatility how this line will stack up but Rhode Island certainly has a lot of choices.

For the front 3 positions, much like the midfield there is a lot of possible variations. Likely we may see the likes of Joe Brito with maybe Maxi Rodriguez and one of their big 3 (JJ Williams, Albert “Chico” Dikwa, & Noah Fuson). Brito saw about 1000 minutes of play last season, scoring 3 goals while Rodriguez was a star player for Detroit City with 10 goals who has been adapting well to life in Rhode Island. So far this year he has seen 7 shots but none of ended with the ball in the back of the net. It’s likely though, if the match isn’t going RIFC’s way in the second half that we see Williams, Dikwa, or Fuson make an appearance.

Tactical Overview

Rhode Island's victory over the Oakland Roots shows what an unhindered Rhode Island attack looks like.

Defensively, expect to see Rhode Island’s center backs compress laterally as the left and right midfielders come back to form a formidable 5-across back line. Both center midfielders and often 1 attacking player then come back down to provide support in the defensive action and attempt to win back the ball. Always expect to see 1 or 2 of Rhode Island’s attackers, generally either Diwka or Williams, to remain high up the pitch ready to take advantage of a quick change in possession. In many ways is when they are at their most dangerous (see goal 2 of Oak vs. RI below). Rhode Island does occasionally leave space between the wingers coming down from center field and the compacting CB which at times leaves open a space for a team to exploit. Oakland tried this a few weeks ago with little to show for it. One thing I do want to mention is that Rhode Island has a strong tactical identity. Expect them to maintain their shape and their system for the full 90 minutes in both defense and offense.

In transition and into attack, Rhode Island’s right and left midfielder work up the pitch as wingers while the 3 attacking players up top look for space to move into to free up options. Balls typically work their way up from the wings using the attacking midfielders to keep the ball moving. As the ball approaches the box, Rhode Island usually assesses their options. With 3 attackers high up in the box, chances present themselves across the field. Even if an opposition side is able to recover the ball, RIFC is not afraid to chase and press in the opposing half.

Such was the case in Rhode Island’s first goal 2 weeks ago against the Oakland Roots. After driving the ball up the left wing, Oakland recovered the ball at the top left of the box. Eager to get the ball away from a charging Dikwa the ball was transitioned back and across the field to the defender on the right. Once transitioned to the right though Kwizera moved up and wrestled the ball away from the Oakland defender which gave him the opportunity to cross the ball into the box where Dikwa had moved in to finish the play he had provoked.

At times the crush of players moving forward can also be dangerous as was proved by the second goal of that match in which the ball moved up the right side, was crossed over to JJ Williams on the left side of the box. Williams, blocked from a shot by defenders sent the ball back, finding Maxi Rodriguez who fired a shot that was deflected by the keeper. Unfortunately for Oakland, with a plethora of RIFC men baring down on them the ball went right into the feet of the onrushing Holstead. He fired and scored. At that moment, Rhode Island had 3 players in the box and 3 more just at the top of the box. Not 20 seconds prior to this, the ball was in Oakland’s possession in the Rhode Island half. A relentless transition.

What to Expect on Matchday

This will be the most consequential match of these first few months of the season. Photo Courtesy of Chris Linscott

This is the match I have personally been waiting for since well before the Hearts even had a name or kit or head coach. Full disclosure, when I learned Portland would be getting a USL team Rhode Island FC was about 8 months away from their opening season in the USLC. Curious about the league and what it’s like starting a team from scratch, I started listening to episodes of Raising Anchor, then in their first few weeks of coverage. Not unlike several other Hearts fans, I also made the trip last season down to the Ocean State to see what a game at Bernie Stadium was like. Since we’ve started up as a club, I’ve seen a lot of parallels in the our opening few weeks not the least because both teams share a relentless pressing style of soccer.

From a gameplay perspective, this will certainly be the most difficult match of the season so far and quite possibly the most difficult match until we return to Rhode Island on June 27th. From a defensive point of view our back line will need to keep tabs on RIFC’s positioning given their love for keeping 1 or 2 strikers far up the pitch to make the most of quick transitions. They will also need to mark effectively to prevent RI from taking advantage of too much space and to reduce their options as they move the ball up on the wings. In attack, hopefully we see RI commit a common error in their strategy and leave space open between their wingers coming back and their center backs compressing into the box. A Messer-to-Wright-to-Striker (Wada seems likely tonight) combination could be just what we need to get past Jackson Lee.

While one could argue that all single-elimination tournament games have consequence, something about this game feels different. Should we win tonight and move on to the 4th round, we have the chance to play one of 16 MLS teams that enter at that stage. Its hard to imagine more at stake then in this match. For a club like ours, such an accomplishment as to play an MLS team in our first season would be incredible - demonstrating the magic of soccer by allowing "minor league" teams to go up against the first division. Furthermore it'll prove to everyone in US Soccer that Portland means business. To have that glorious opportunity though, we need to get through Rhode Island. It will certainly not be an easy game and the chances may well be stacked against us but our pre-season record against RIFC shows we can go toe-tot-toe with the Championship side. For the fans, tonight's mission is to ensure our XI hear our voices to the fullest. All 3,000 people in attendance must come out strong to support our boys as we battle for our next steps towards the Open Cup. Up The Hearts!