After earning its first-ever shutout win at Centreville Bank Stadium with a 1-0 win over Detroit City FC, Rhode Island FC will look to maintain its momentum when it welcomes Loudoun United FC to Pawtucket for its second home game in four days. With the club now sitting above the playoff line and boasting the addition of several new and returning faces to the gameday roster, Saturday’s game presents a fantastic opportunity to string together back-to-back home wins for the first time, and continue to collect much-needed points in an extremely tight playoff race. Ahead of Folklore Night at Centreville Bank Stadium, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, Aug. 9
Kickoff | 7 p.m. ET
Location | Centreville Bank Stadium – Pawtucket, R.I.
Broadcast | NESN+, ESPN+
Radio | 790 The Score (790 AM)
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Game Hashtag | #RIvLDN
Last Meeting | March 29, 2025: LDN 2-0 RI – Leesburg, Va.
LOUDOUN UNITED FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): 1-Dane Jacomen, 23-Hugo Fauroux, 30-Ryan Jack, 89-Lorenzo Herrera-Rauda
DEFENDERS (7): 3-Keegan Tingey, 5-Yanis Leerman, 6-Kwame Awuah, 16-Cole Turner, 22-Robby Dambrot, 24-Jacob Erlandson, 33-Luca Piras
MIDFIELDERS (10): 4-Tommy McCabe, 8-Moses Nyeman, 10-Florian Valot, 12-Drew Skundrich, 13-Alex Nagy, 19-Surafel Dagnachew, 17-Pedro Santos, 20-Ben Mines, 21-Jeremy Garay, 26-Omari Glasgow
FORWARDS (6): 7-Wesley Leggett, 9-Arquímides Ordónez, 11-Abdellatif Aboukoura, 14-Zach Ryan, 15-Riley Bidois, 31-Hakim Karamoko
Slipping and Sliding
After a red-hot, 8W-3L-1T start to the season saw Loudoun United FC lose just three of its first 12 USL Championship games, the club found itself sitting atop the Eastern Conference for the first time in its history as it approached June. However, ever since a 3-0 loss at Hartford Athletic on June 14, things have quickly turned sour for the Virginia club. Although it still holds third place in the Eastern Conference standings, it is winless in its last eight games across all competitions, including an 0W-4L-2T mark in the regular season. In its most recent road loss against FC Tulsa, Loudoun looked set to snap the poor run of form when it led 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to play, but the game quickly unraveled when Loudoun gave up goals in the 84th minute and fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to come away empty-handed in heartbreaking fashion. In its previous outing, it also slipped up late, giving up a last-second equalizing goal in the 13th minute of second-half stoppage time against North Carolina FC in the USL Jägermeister Cup, before losing the ensuing penalty shootout.
Astounding Abdellatif
At just 20 years old, Loudoun forward Abdellatif Aboukoura is enjoying a breakout season, leading the USL Championship Golden Boot race with 11 goals in 16 appearances. The Fairfax, Virginia native had one of his best performances of the season in the first meeting between Rhode Island FC and Loudoun United FC on March 29, scoring his first brace of the season to seal a 2-0 win for the hosts. The brace was his fourth goal in four games, and saw him become the youngest player in USL Championship history to earn the league’s Player of the Month Award. Since then, Aboukoura has shown no signs of slowing down, netting five goals in his last eight appearances for a club looking to regain what was some of the league’s best form early in the season.
Scouting the Series
In three meetings dating back to last season, Loudoun United FC leads the all-time series over Rhode Island FC, 1W-0L-2T. After RIFC’s 1-0 win over Detroit City FC on Wednesday, Loudoun United FC stands as the only remaining Eastern Conference team that has never lost to Rhode Island FC across all competitions. The two clubs played to a pair of 0-0 ties in 2024, before Loudoun finally broke the deadlock with its 2-0 win in March. In Loudoun’s first-ever visit to Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, it will look for its fourth-straight shutout vs. Rhode Island FC in the USL Championship regular season — something only one other club has ever managed to do against the Ocean State club.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jackson Lee, 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer
DEFENDERS (7): 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
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, 36-Matthew Corcoran, 7-Dwayne Atkinson
FORWARDS (3): 10-Albert Dikwa, 11-Noah Fuson, 9-JJ Williams
*Out on loan
Clutch Gene
In a tense, end-to-end midweek battle vs. Detroit City FC, the difference once again came down to a penalty kick from Maxi Rodriguez, who buried his third and perhaps most meaningful spot kick of the season to give RIFC a vital three points. After the Ocean State club began testing Detroit’s defense with a handful of chances in the second half, Clay Holstad sent in a cross that hit the outstretched arm of a defender, winning the Ocean State club a penalty in the 60th minute. Although Rodriguez was not on the field at the time, he was promptly substituted on to take the kick, and immediately delivered with his first touch of the game to power RIFC in front against his former club. Rodriguez now leads Rhode Island FC with six goals across all competitions in 2025, and has converted each of his last six USL Championship penalty kicks dating back to his time with Detroit last season.
El Capitán Returns
After missing 11 games with a lower body injury, RIFC captain Koke Vegas made his long-awaited return between the sticks on Wednesday. Just 35 minutes into his return from the longest injury absence of his career, the Spaniard came up huge with a close-range, one-on-one diving save to deny Darren Smith his eighth goal of the year, keeping the Ocean State club in the game. Vegas would go on to come up with two more athletic saves to complete the 12th clean sheet of his Rhode Island FC career, keeping tight command of the 18-yard box to shut down Detroit’s attack and claim the first-ever clean sheet win at Centreville Bank Stadium.
New Additions
19-year-old Matthew Corcoran made his Rhode Island FC debut on Wednesday after joining the club on loan from Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. Getting the start on his debut, the young midfielder put in an impressive 86-minute shift, holding a 93 percent pass accuracy in a defensive midfield role. The teenager showed impressive leadership and cohesion playing in front of the back line, and played an important role organizing the midfield throughout the night. In addition to Corcoran’s debut, RIFC fans can look forward to the introduction of newly-signed Jamaican International Dwayne Atkinson, who joined the club after leading his hometown Cavalier FC to three Jamaican Premier League titles in a five-year stint. The 23-year-old midfielder brings a decorated scoring resume to the Ocean State, scoring 50 goals in more than 130 appearances with Cavalier FC.
