After picking up one of its most crucial wins of the 2025 USL Championship season on Saturday with its 1-0 victory vs. Indy Eleven, Rhode Island FC will look to build momentum in the thick of the playoff race as it heads to Miami FC on Friday for another huge Eastern Conference battle. While the win on Saturday saw the Ocean State club lift itself into the final playoff spot, it sits just one point clear of ninth-place Indy Eleven with just six games remaining in the regular season. With points at a premium and all 12 Eastern Conference teams still in playoff contention, Rhode Island FC will need to take advantage of its three remaining in-conference games to distance itself from the bottom four spots. Ahead of the first of RIFC’s two-game road trip, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Friday, Sept. 19
Kickoff | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location | FIU Soccer Stadium – Miami, Fla.
Broadcast | NESN+, ESPN+
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Game Hashtag | #MIAvRI
Last Meeting | June 7, 2025: RI 0-1 MIA – Pawtucket, R.I.
MIAMI FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Nicolás Campisi, 12-Rafael Martell, 31-Felipe Rodriguez
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Jonathan Ricketts, 3-Alejandro Mitrano, 4-Nicolas Cardona, 6-Tulu, 13-Daltyn Knutson, 34-Victor Arana, 93-Danco Garcia
MIDFIELDERS (10): 5-Diego Mercado, 7-Allen Gavilanes, 8-Matias Romero, 10-Sebastian Blanco, 11-Deian Veron, 16-Gerald Diaz, 22-Francesco Celeste, 23-Tobias Mas, 25-Juan Jiminez, 30-Cristian Vazquez
FORWARDS (10): 9-Francisco Bonfiglio, 17-Ricardo Rivera, 18-Tobias Zarate, 19-Michael Lawrence, 6-Lucas Melano, 29-Kevin Hoyos, 35-Brandon Bent, 36-Alex Naranjo, 37-Diego Mello, 77-Felipe Rodriguez
Snapping the Streak
Although Miami FC’s 2025 season got off to a positive start after finishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2024, it has fallen back into poor form through in the last three months. Since defeating Rhode Island FC 1-0 at Centreville Bank Stadium on June 7, Miami has fallen back to the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference with a 5W-13L-6T overall record, and it is tied with Tampa Bay Rowdies and Monterey Bay FC for the most losses in the 2025 regular season. Although it recently held a clean sheet on the road in a scoreless tie vs. Las Vegas Lights FC on Sept. 13, It is one of just two teams in the USL Championship who is winless in its last 11 games (0W-7L-4T). Its last victory came back on June 18 when it defeated second-place Charleston Battery 1-0, but it has since been outscored 22-9, conceding an average of two goals per game.
Big-Time Bonfiglio
Although Miami FC’s 22 goals are the third-fewest in the USL Championship this season, Francisco Bonfliglio has continued to shine in the attack, and is responsible for more than half of Miami FC’s goalscoring. Sitting second in the Golden Boot race with a team-leading 13 goals, the striker is enjoying a career-best season in his first year in the USL Championship. The star signing in the offseason for Miami has produced a goal every 159 minutes for the South Florida club, has scored six goals in his last 11 appearances, and is truly a one-man band. Only five other players have found the back of the net for Miami, with only three others contributing multiple goals. Daltyn Knutson is closest to Bonfliglio with three goals to his name, while Kevin Hoyos and Lucas Melano both have two this season.
Keep it Tight
Miami FC has conceded 38 goals this season, good for fifth-most in the league, and its -16 goal differential is the second-worst. However, Miami FC has shown that it can be successful when taking advantage of thin margins. It has limited its opponent to one goal or fewer on 12 occasions this season with four shutouts, including its 1-0 win over RIFC in June, and has lost just twice (5W-2L-5T) when doing so. Against an RIFC team who has been held to one goal or fewer in 20 of its 23 games this season, Miami FC will look to take advantage of the Ocean State club’s attacking struggles to get a much-needed win and avoid falling further behind in the race for the postseason.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jackson Lee, 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer
DEFENDERS (8): 4-Hugo Bacharach, 6-Aimé Mabika, 14-Rio Hope-Gund, 15-Frank Nodarse, 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 5-Grant Stoneman, 24-Karifa Yao, 16-Cole Dewhurst, 32-Hamady Diop
MIDFIELDERS (12): 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, 7-Dwayne Atkinson
FORWARDS (4): 10-Albert Dikwa, 11-Noah Fuson, 9-JJ Williams, 27-Mathieu Ndongo
*Out on loan
Hitting the Century Mark
After Rhode Island FC fell victim to back-to-back shutouts in the span of four days, it finally broke its dry spell when it mattered on Saturday. In the 64th minute of a tense matchup vs. Indy, Noah Fuson broke through the back line and dribbled to the goal line before cutting a low pass across the goalmouth. The dangerous cross forced Indy defender James Musa to slide in to intercept the pass, but his attempted clearance hit the post and flew into the back of his own net to give the Ocean State club the advantage. The goal was the 100th goal in Rhode Island FC history in its 71st all-time game across all competitions, and was perhaps one of the most important of the 2025 season, as it was enough for the homeside to hold on for a massive three points.
Holding Form on the Road
Rhode Island FC continued its trend of lockdown defense on Saturday, finishing its four-game homestand by keeping yet another shutout. Tied for third in the USL Championship with eight clean sheets, goalkeeper Koke Vegas kept his second-straight shutout, and his sixth in his last eight games across all competitions. Although the Rhode Island FC defense has been near-impossible to beat in front of the home fans, conceding just once in its last seven home games, it has not been quite as strong on the road. Holding an overall record of 3W-7L-1T away from Centreville Bank Stadium, RIFC has been outscored 8-1 in its last four road games, falling victim to three-straight shoutout losses. Its last road win was a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the USL Jägermeister Cup Group Stage on May 31. RIFC will hope to turn that record around against a struggling Miami FC side, feeding off of the best defensive form in club history over the last two months.
Scouting the Series
After Rhode Island FC held a perfect 2W-0L-0T against Miami in its inaugural season in 2024, the South Florida club enacted its revenge on RIFC in its first-ever visit to Centreville Bank Stadium on June 7, blanking the Ocean State club 1-0. Fueled by a second-half Sebastián Blanco free kick, the win was Miami’s first in three all-time meetings between the two clubs. In Rhode Island FC’s first and only other visit to Miami, an Albert Dikwa “Chico” brace led it to a 3-2 win on July 14, 2024. Later that season, Rhode Island FC earned the biggest win in club history in its regular-season finale on Oct. 26 vs. Miami in front of a sellout crowd at Beirne Stadium. Scoring a whopping eight goals in a resounding 8-1 win that included a JJ Williams hat trick and goals from five other players, the win kickstarted the Ocean State club’s historic run to the USL Championship Final in its first year. Rhode Island FC will look to keep a perfect all-time record in Miami when it makes the trip on Friday.
