After scoring its first-ever goal at Centreville Bank Stadium in a hard-fought U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 loss to Major League Soccer club New England Revolution on Wednesday, Rhode Island FC returns to USL Championship regular-season action on Saturday when it hosts Monterey Bay FC for its third home game in seven days. After fighting to a scoreless draw with the Western Conference-leading San Antonio FC in its first home game last weekend, the Ocean State club will look to carry its positive momentum from the last two home games into Saturday as it searches for its first-ever win at Centreville Bank Stadium. Ahead of RIFC’s second-straight intra-conference clash, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, May 10
Kickoff | 4 p.m. ET
Location | Centreville Bank Stadium – Pawtucket, R.I.
Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+
Radio | WPRO 99.7
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Game Hashtag | #RIvMB
Last Meeting | March 24, 2024: MB 2-2 RI – Seaside, California
MONTEREY BAY FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Nico Campuzano, 18-Sam Gomez, 25-Dallas Odle
DEFENDERS (8): 2-Nico Gordon, 3-Jacob Muir, 4-Alex Lara, 5-Carlos Guzmán, 12-Grant Robinson, 15-Miles Lyons, 22-Joel Garcia Jr, 28-Sami Guediri
MIDFIELDERS (6): 6-Wes Fonguck, 7-Adrian Rebollar, 8-Ethan Bryant, 13-Mobi Fehr, 14-Pierce Gallaway, 88-Xavi Gnaulati
FORWARDS (8): 9-Adam Larsson, 10-Alex Dixon, 11-Mayele Malango, 16-Diego Gutierrez, 17-Luther Archimède, 20-Ilijah Paul, 21-Anton Sojberg, 31-Luke Ivanovic
Back on Track
After stringing together three-straight wins in March to propel itself to the top of the Western Conference in the first month of the regular season, Monterey Bay FC has won just one of its last six games since then and has been shutout three times in that stretch. The Crisp-and-Kelp netted an impressive nine goals during the three-game win streak in March, but has only managed two goals in six games since then and has struggled to sustain what was one of the league’s best attacks early on in 2025. Defensively, however, the Western Conference club has been solid, conceding just seven goals through nine games – the third-lowest tally in the USL Championship. The club also sits third in the league with three clean sheets. With Monterey Bay playing to two scoreless draws in its last four games and RIFC’s game vs. Antonio finishing scoreless last weekend, Saturday’s contest could be decided by the finest of defensive margins.
Late Drama
In its last matchup vs. Miami FC, Monterey Bay finally broke a two-game scoreless streak when Ilijah Paul buried his team-leading fourth goal of the year just nine minutes into the game. From there, Monterey Bay displayed the defensive resilience it has become well known for in the USL Championship this year, absorbing 16 shots and relying on an eight-save performance from goalkeeper Nico Campuzano – who now leads the league with 34 saves – to keep an in-form Miami attack out of the back of the net. However, Miami eventually did find an equalizer late in the game, scoring in the 87th minute to deny Monterey Bay a home win at Cardinale Stadium for the first time all season and stretch the Crisp-and-Kelp’s longest winless run of the year to three games.
Back on the Road
Saturday’s draw vs. Miami was Monterey Bay’s only stop at home in a busy five-game stretch. This weekend’s matchup against Rhode Island FC will be the third road game in four games for the Western Conference club, who will not return home again until May 24. Three of the club’s four league wins this year have come at home, and a 3-0 road win at Orange County SC on March 22 stands as the only regular-season road win for Monterey Bay in 2025 so far. The club is 1W-2L-2T on the road so far this season, with its only Eastern Conference road trip ending in a 0-0 tie at Detroit City FC on April 5.
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 (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
Maxi Makes History
After joining the team in the offseason ahead of the 2025 season, midfielder Maxi Rodriguez has come to life in his last three games in all competitions, registering a goal and an assist in the club’s 4-1 Jägermeister Cup win at Westchester SC on April 27 before burying RIFC’s first-ever goal at Centreville Bank Stadium in Wednesdays’ Open Cup loss to the New England Revolution. Rodriguez also led the team with seven shots in RIFC’s inaugural home opener vs. San Antonio FC. The midfielder etched his name in the Ocean State history books with a quality finish from the top of the 18-yard box vs. New England, and has shown an impressive eye for goal and ability to craft open space in the attacking third throughout RIFC’s last three games. For a team that has been shutout four times in six games this season, Rodriguez’s recent surge will be a huge piece of the puzzle as RIFC aims to turn momentum into goals.
Defensive Reinforcements
Saturday’s game will pin two of the USL Championship’s top defensive units against each other. While Monterey Bay has proven difficult to crack, Rhode Island FC sit right behind the Western Conference club with just eight goals conceded on the year and two clean sheets. The draw with San Antonio was perhaps the most convincing of RIFC’s defensive performances in 2025, and saw it smother one of the league’s most dangerous attacks, limiting it to just six touches in RIFC’s box and keeping it scoreless through 90 minutes for the first time all season. With the addition of newly-signed defender Aimé Mabika, who brings 50 MLS appearances to the Ocean State, and the return of defender Frank Nodarse from red-card suspension, RIFC’s defensive depth has only gotten stronger since the draw in San Antonio.
A Look Ahead
Despite a strong start to life at Centreville Bank Stadium and the momentum that has come with it, Rhode Island FC still has work to do in the league. With just one of its three total wins on the year coming in the regular season, RIFC sits tenth in the Eastern Conference with five points through six league games. However, the Ocean State club is kicking it into gear at the right time, holding multiple games in hand on other Eastern Conference clubs and looking ahead to 10 home games through the end of August. With a draw against one of the league’s best teams already in the books at RIFC’s new home, its next four games after Monterey Bay will all be against Eastern Conference teams separated from RIFC by just two points in the standings. With just two points separating tenth place from sixth place in the East, a first-ever home win vs. Monterey Bay could go a long way in turning a slow start to the season in the right direction for RIFC.