Rhode Island FC will hit the road for its 2026 regular-season finale on Saturday to take on regional rival Hartford Athletic in an Eastern Conference derby with playoff implications. RIFC is not only looking to stay unbeaten against its regional rival this season, but can also lift itself as high as fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with a win on the final day of the regular season. Hartford will be just as hungry to jump the Ocean State club in the standings, with both squads already qualified for the playoffs but still fighting to secure final seeding. Ahead of Saturday’s derby between two playoff-bound New England clubs, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, Oct. 24
Kickoff | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location | Trinity Health Stadium —Hartford, CT
Broadcast |NESN, ESPN Select
Radio | WPRO 99.7 FM (AM 630)
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)
Game Hashtag | #HFDvsRI
Last Meeting | July 18, 2026: RI 1-0 HFD — Pawtucket, R.I.
HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Enzo Carvalho, 77-Antony Siaha
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Sebastian Anderson, 3-Matt Real, 4-Jordan Scarlett, 5-Baboucarr Njie, 15-Arturo Diz Pe, 22-TJ Presthus, 25-Britton Fischer
MIDFIELDERS (8): 6-Beverly Makangila, 8-Junior Moreira, 10-Samuel Careaga, 16-Barry Coffey, 18-Christos Hadjipaschalis, 19-Emmanuel Samadia, 24-Galen Flynn, 33-Sean Canada
FORWARDS (6): 9-Augi Williams, 11-Michee Ngalina, 17-Sadat Anaku, 27-Spencer Gordon, 29-Abdullah Trofeek, 81-Adewale Obalola
Taking the Ties
Hartford Athletic has put together a strong defensive showing to power its lock in its second-straight playoff berth this season. Although the squad has scored an average of just 1.22 goals per game and sits at nine wins on the year, Hartford has proven extremely difficult to beat down the stretch, holding several opponents from taking all three points. The Connecticut club’s 13 ties lead the USL Championship, with its latest 1-1 result against Charleston Battery on Aug. 14 securing the squad’s spot in the USL Playoffs. A string of low-scoring, back-and-forth contests have slowly added up in Hartford’s favor, and has taken it to the playoffs for the second-straight season.
Super Siaha
Much of Hartford Athletic’s defensive success comes from goalkeeper Antony Siaha. Hartford’s lead shot-stopper has stepped it up in his second season with the Connecticut club, proving himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the USL Championship. After winning the club’s MVP award for the 2025 season, Siaha has thrown himself into Goalkeeper of the Year conversation in 2026, posting the second-best overall save percentage in the league (75.61) and best save percentage from shots in the penalty box (71.11). Every save has been critical for Siaha, as six of the keeper’s nine clean sheets in the regular season have secured Hartford Athletic a shutout point in a scoreless tie. His highest-save outing came in the opening month of the season, where a 10-save performance powered Hartford Athletic past Brooklyn FC on March 21.
Last Time Out
In its most recent matchup on Oct. 17, Hartford Athletic dropped a back-and-forth contest at home against Brooklyn FC. Michael Adedokun started Hartford’s attack by firing an uncontested shot from the top of the box past Brooklyn goalkeeper Jackson Lee in the 21st minute, opening the scoring with the only attacking action of the first half. Brooklyn leveled the game in the second half with a 55th minute goal, setting up a back-and-forth scoring frenzy to close out the game. Just two minutes after the equalizer, Sadat Anaku’s header powered the homeside in front once again. However, Brooklyn was not done, scoring goals in the 63rd and 79th minute to steal all three points from Hartford despite playing one man down due to a late red card. The 3-2 score marked Hartford’s sixth-straight winless result across all competitions dating back to Sept. 19, moving the club down to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings ahead of Saturday’s finale.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer, 29-Jacob Castro, 31-Nate DiLoreto^^
DEFENDERS (9): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 25-CJ Williams, 28-Cai McLean
MIDFIELDERS (8): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín “Pity” Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad*, 16-Eric Klein, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Zachary Herivaux, 30-Kevin Medina^, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson
FORWARDS (7): 8-Leo Afonso, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Yutaro Tsukada, 18-Osman Foyo, 20-Jamin Gogo Peters, 27-Nikolai Pierre, 37-Stas Korzeniowski
*Out on loan for 2026 season | ^USL Academy Contract | ^^25-Day Contract
Final Push
With just one game to go in the USL regular season, Eastern Conference standings are beginning to shake out into their final form. Rhode Island FC currently sits in sixth ahead of its season finale against Hartford, with the opportunity to move as high as fifth or drop as low as seventh to close out the year. With a win or a tie against Hartford, RIFC will guarantee at least a sixth-place finish in the standings. To jump Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and take the fifth seed, the Ocean State club needs to win vs, Hartford, and for Pittsburgh to drop points in its final contest against Birmingham Legion FC. Rhode Island FC’s three possible finishes will see it matchup against either Charleston Battery, Detroit City FC or Louisville City FC in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Friday, 10/30.
Weekly Honors
Nick Scardina and Amos Shapiro-Thompson were named to the USL Championship Week 33 Team of the Week for their vital performances in Rhode Island FC’s two final home contests of the regular season vs. Loudoun United FC (1-0, Oct. 14) and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (1-1, Oct. 17). The honor is Scardina’s third of the season, with Shapiro-Thompson earning his third selection to the Team of the Week’s bench this season. Scardina scored the game-winning goal to send RIFC to the playoffs in the 1-0 victory vs. Loudoun, and assisted RIFC’s go-ahead goal in the tie vs. Pittsburgh. Shapiro-Thompson led the team with six chances created and four dribbles in the Loudoun win, playing a pivotal role in the midfield to help secure a playoff-clinching win.
For the Recordbooks
Between league play, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Prinx Tires USL Cup, Rhode Island FC remains undefeated against Hartford Athletic in three matchups this season, holding a 2W-1T-0L record vs. its regional rivals in 2026. In the last meeting between the two clubs on July 18, Frank Nodarse was the hero in the 20th minute, burying Jojea Kwizera’s corner kick to take an important 1-0 victory on a rainy night at Centreville Bank Stadium. Earlier in the season in Hartford on April 25, RIFC emerged victorious in penalty kicks in the Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage after a 0-0 tie in regulation. That win followed up the first meeting of the season in the U.S. Open Cup, which ended in a 2-0 RIFC win on April 1 at Centreville Bank Stadium. The Ocean state club has lost just once in eight all-time derby matchups, holding a 3W-1L-4T advantage against its regional rival across all competitions.
