After falling 2-0 at Charleston Battery in its 2025 USL Championship opener, Rhode Island FC will look to bounce back in its first Western Conference road test of the season on Saturday when it travels to Arizona to take on Phoenix Rising FC. Phoenix, who is coming off a thrilling 4-4 comeback tie vs. El Paso Locomotive FC, is also in search of its first win of the season, and its first goal in front of the home fans. With both teams hungry for points as the 2025 season kicks into full gear, the Ocean State club will aim to build off of a positive finish in Charleston in order to get a result in its first-ever trip to Phoenix. Ahead of this weekend’s interconference game, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, March 22
Kickoff | 10 p.m. ET
Location | Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium – Phoenix, Ariz.
Broadcast | NESN+, ESPN+
Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Game Hashtag | #PHXvRI
Last Meeting | April 26, 2024: PHX 3, RI 1 – Smithfield, R.I.
PHOENIX RISING FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Patrick Rakovsky, 13-Triston Henry
DEFENDERS (8): 2-Collin Smith, 3-Harvey Neville, 4-Pape Mar Boye, 5-Mohamed Traore, 15-Alex Araneda, 23-Ryan Flood, 25-Casey Walls, 34-Braxton Montgomery
MIDFIELDERS (8): 6-Carl Sainte, 8-Noble Okello, 10-Hope Avayevu, 12-Charlie Dennis, 14-Emil Cuello, 17-JP Scearce, 44-Jamison Ping, 70-Giulio Doratiotto
FORWARDS (6): 7-Jearl Margaritha 9-Ihsan Sacko, 19-Damian Rivera, 22-Darius Johnson, 29-Dariusz Formella, 91-Remi Cabral
Highlight Reel Comeback
In the 53rd minute of Phoenix’s Week 2 matchup at El Paso, the 2023 USL Championship Final winner found itself down 4-1. Having fallen 1-0 to FC Tulsa in its home opener the week prior, Phoenix was left searching for answers, and those answers finally came in a resurgent second half. It started in the 69th minute, when Phoenix’s 2024 leading scorer, Rémi Cabral, made it a two-goal game with a low shot to the bottom-left corner from inside the box. Then, with just ten minutes to play in regulation, Ihsan Sacko and Mohamed Traore netted their first goals for the club in a six-minute span to complete the improbable comeback. Traore’s goal, which tied the game in the 86th minute, came when he launched a left-footed laser from inside the center circle, finding the back of the net from nearly 50 yards out.
Sharing the Wealth
Cabral, who led Phoenix with seven goals last season – including a brace in the club’s first meeting with Rhode Island FC on April 26 – was the only returning player to score a goal in the eight-goal thriller vs. El Paso. In total, five players tallied their first goal contributions with the club, including former RIFC player Collin Smith, who assisted Cabral’s goal to kickstart the second-half comeback. Nobel Okello (45+3’), Sacko (80’) and Traore (86’) all scored their first goals, while newcomer Hope Avayevu also recorded his first assist.
Early Deficits
Entering Week 3, Phoenix finds itself sitting third in the league with five goals conceded through two games. All five goals have come before the 54th minute, creating a need for significant comebacks. After conceding midway through the first half and falling 1-0 to FC Tulsa in its season opener at home, the Arizona club will have to keep RIFC out of the back of the net early in order to earn its first result in front of the home fans. In the only other meeting between the two clubs last April, Phoenix delivered RIFC its first-ever loss at home, going up 2-0 in the first half and keeping the Ocean State club out of the back of the net until second-half stoppage time.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jackson Lee, 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer
DEFENDERS (7): 4-Hugo Bacharach, 15-Frank Nodarse, 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 5-Grant Stoneman, 24-Karifa Yao, 16-Cole Dewhurst
MIDFIELDERS (10): 80-Isaac Angking, 18-Joe Brito, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 8-Taimu Okiyoshi, 21-Maxi Rodriguez, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 19-Kevin Vang, 23-Marc Ybarra
FORWARDS (3): 10-Albert Dikwa, 11-Noah Fuson, 9-JJ Williams
Defending Set Pieces
Although Rhode Island FC strung together a positive final 20 minutes in Charleston, it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback after the club went down early, conceding on a pair of first-half set pieces. The opening goal came in the 15th minute of action, when the Ocean State club could not clear a dangerous corner kick before Cal Jennings pounced on the loose ball first, poking the ball into the back of the net. RIFC once again struggled to contain Jennings 22 minutes later when the striker snuck towards the near post and nodded yet another corner into the back of the net, catching the visitors off guard for a second time. In an otherwise positive road performance, RIFC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith said the corners were “just one area of the game where we let ourselves down.”
Positive Changes
Through the first 68 minutes of the season-opening loss vs. Charleston, RIFC was outshot 12-3 without recording a single shot on target. After struggling to string together passes and create dangerous chances, a slew of second-half substitutes eventually gave RIFC new life. After Zack Herivaux, JJ Williams, Joe Brito, Grant Stoneman and Amos Shapiro-Thompson all made their 2025 season debuts off the bench, the Ocean State club ended the match outshooting Charleston 8-0 through the final 22 minutes. Substitute Joe Brito was responsible for the only two shots on target for RIFC and nearly pulled a goal back in the 87th minute when his close-range header was saved.
Rhode Ride Continues
Dating back to the beginning of Rhode Island FC’s 2024 playoff run, Saturday’s trip to Phoenix will mark the club’s sixth-straight game on the road, and second of six to begin the 2025 season. In 2024, RIFC defeated three of the Eastern Conference’s top four seeds on the road to become just the third club in league history to advance to the USL Championship Final in its inaugural season. In its first-ever trip to Phoenix, RIFC will need to find a way to re-discover its “Rhode Warriors” mentality while it patiently awaits the first game at its new home on May 3.