After dropping a high-scoring 4-2 game at Louisville City FC over the weekend, Rhode Island FC will cap off its first road trip of the 2026 campaign when it heads south to take on Miami FC on Saturday. The Ocean State club holds a perfect 2W-0L-0T record vs. Miami in the Sunshine State, and will look to keep its unbeaten record alive to pick up its first win of the regular season. Ahead of RIFC’s second-straight road game, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, March 28
Kickoff | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location | Pitbull Stadium – Miami, Fla.
Broadcast | ESPN Select
Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)
Game Hashtag | #MIAvRI
Last Meeting | Sept. 19, 2026: MIA 1-0 RI – Miami, Fla.
MIAMI FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Eloy Room^, 31-Felipe Rodriguez=
DEFENDERS (8): 3-Preston Kilwien, 4-Angelo Calfo, 6-Tulu, 13-Daltyn Knutson, 14-Arthur Rogers, 21-Alessandro Milesi, 35-Brandon Bent, 39-Santiago Garcia
MIDFIELDERS (10): 5-Riyon Tori, 7-Mason Tunbridge, 8-Matias Romero, 9-Joel Sonora, 12-Bachir Ndiaye, 16-Gerald Diaz^, 22-Rodrigo Da Costa, 23-Thomas Musto, 26-Arney Rocha, 37-Diego Mella
FORWARDS (3): 10-Jürgen Locadia^, 27-Mathieu Ndongo, 36-Alexander Naranjo
^International Duty
Road Resilience
Miami FC picked up its first USL Championship win of the season on Wednesday with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory at Sporting Club Jacksonville. The visitors picked up all three points in historic fashion after trailing twice, including a 2-1 deficit at halftime, netting three unanswered goals in the second frame to turn the game around. The win was the first time in more than two seasons that Miami scored four goals in a regular-season game, doing so for the first time since a 4-3 win vs. Louisville City FC on Sept. 21, 2023. The come-from-behind victory also marked the first time since October 2023 that the South Florida club had taken all three points on the road after trailing at halftime. The club will return home after an impressive showing against its newest in-state rival, which matched the club’s third-best regular-season scoring output of all time.
Ndongo Makes his Mark
With forward Jürgen Locadia, midfielder Gerald Diaz and goalkeeper Eloy Room all away on international duty, Miami successfully utilized its depth to pick up all three points vs. Jacksonville. For just the sixth time in club history, and the first time since the 2023 season, Miami FC saw four different players score in Wednesday’s win. Former Rhode Island FC forward Mathieu Nodongo was one of Miami’s four goalscorers, netting his first professional goal – Miami’s fourth goal of the game – in the 84th minute, doing so in just the second start of his professional career. Ndongo finished the 87-minute shift with a team-high six shots, which stands as the highest single-game total of any Miami FC player in the USL Championship this season. Mason Tunbridge and Arney Rocha both scored their first goals of the season in the win, while Alessandro Milesi scored his second in three games. Rocha and Tunbridge also tallied one assist each in the win, complementing Miami’s most productive attacking game in more than two years.
Keep it Going at Home
Miami FC’s game vs. Rhode Island is its 2026 Home Opener. After going 1W-1L-1T through its opening three games on the road, and staying unbeaten in its last two, the club returns to Pitbull Stadium looking to keep its newfound momentum alive. Miami struggled to establish a true home field advantage last season, losing three of its final four home games to end the year. It won just one of its last eight home games across all competitions dating back to June 18, 2025, including a 1-0 loss vs. Rhode Island FC, and will look to take down the Ocean State club at home for the first time in the Sunshine State on Saturday.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer, 29-Jacob Castro
DEFENDERS (8): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 25-CJ Williams, 32-Hamady Diop
MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín “Pity” Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera^, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Zachary Herivaux, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson
FORWARDS (5): 8-Leo Afonso, 9-JJ Williams*, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Logan Dorsey, 20-Jamin Gogo Peters
*Red Card Suspension
^International Duty
Strength on the Attack
Despite Rhode Island FC’s 4-2 loss at Louisville City FC over the weekend, the club showed an impressive attacking firepower against the back-to-back Players’ Shield winners. RIFC peppered LouCity’s back line with eight shots on target, which stands as the Ocean State club’s third-highest total in a regular-season game, and the highest since its 1-0 win at Birmingham Legion FC on May 14, 2025. In four all-time trips to Lynn Family Stadium, the Ocean State club has scored 11 goals, and has never kept from scoring at one of the league’s toughest road venues. RIFC will hope to carry that momentum into a venue where it has never lost when it visits Pitbull Stadium on Saturday in search of its first regular-season win of the 2026 campaign.
Kwizera Curler
RIFC got on the front foot first in Louisville, taking the lead through Jojea Kwizera’s highlight-reel curling strike that was a finalist for the USL Championship Goal of the Week. Attacking quickly down the left wing, Leo Afonso tallied his first career assist in just his third appearance with Rhode Island FC when he dribbled his way down the wing before squaring the ball to Kwizera at the top of the box. Kwizera took a touch before quickly unleashing a curling shot that perfectly picked out the top-left corner, beating a full-stretch Hugo Fauroux in net and silencing the home crowd. The goal was Kwizera’s first of the season, and the sixth of his Rhode Island FC career. The performance earned him a selection to the Week 3 Team of the Week bench, which was his club-leading seventh career selection to the Team of the Week in three seasons. Kwizera was one of three original RIFC players to register a goal contribution in the loss at LouCity: forward JJ Williams assisted midfielder Clay Holstad for the club’s second goal in the second half. With Kwizera (international duty) and Williams (red card suspension) both unavailable on Saturday, RIFC will rely on its attacking depth to replicate its positive attacking showing.
For the Recordbooks
With the exception of the home stadiums of expansion clubs Brooklyn FC and Sporting JAX, Pitbull Stadium is RIFC’s least-visited Eastern Conference venue. On Saturday, the Ocean State club will make just its second trip to the stadium in three seasons, and its first since its 3-2 win on July 13, 2024. The Ocean State club is 2W-0L-0T in Miami after topping the South Florida club 1-0 last season, but that game was played at FIU Soccer Stadium due to venue availability. RIFC is 3W-0T-1L in four all-time meetings with Miami through two seasons, with Miami’s only win in the series coming in the form of a 1-0 victory at Centreville Bank Stadium on June 7, 2025.
