Rhode Island FC will close out its 2026 regular-season home slate at Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, taking on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in a rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Final for Fan Appreciation Night. With its third-straight appearance in the USL Championship playoffs secured in Wednesday’s 1-0 win vs. Loudoun United FC, a chance for the first home playoff game in club history remains at stake with two regular-season home games remaining. With both Pittsburgh and RIFC boasting a 12W-11L-5T record, RIFC needs every point possible against the reigning champions to put itself in a position to bring playoff soccer to Pawtucket for the first time. Ahead of RIFC’s Fan Appreciation Night, here is everything you need to know.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW
Tickets for Saturday’s Fan Appreciation Night are available here! Lock in your seat to cheer on RIFC in its home regular season finale!
HOME PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
RI clinches first-ever home playoff home playoff game IF…
- Rhode Island FC wins its final two regular-season games vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (10/17) and at Hartford Athletic (10/24)
- Louisville City FC loses or ties at least one of its remaining three regular-season games
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, Oct. 17
Kickoff | 7:30 p.m. ET
Location | Centreville Bank Stadium – Pawtucket, R.I.
Broadcast | myRITV, ESPN Select
Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)
Digital | WPRI 12+ App
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)
Game Hashtag | #RIvsPIT
Last Meeting | July 25, 2026: RI 1-0 PIT– 2025 Eastern Conference Final – Pittsburgh, Pa.
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Nico Campuzano, 20-Mitch Budler, 24-Mike Sheridan
DEFENDERS (8): 3-Perrin Barnes, 4-Lasse Kelp, 5-Victor Souza, 6-Owen Mikoy, 16-Beto Ydrach, 23-Guillaume Vacter, 28-Illal Osumanu, 36-Yu Tsukanome,
MIDFIELDERS (11): 2-Danny Griffin, 8-Junior Etou, 10-Charles Ahl, 11-Israel Neto, 13-Max Viera, 14-Robbie Mertz, 15-Bradley Sample, 18-Jorge Garcia, 19-Sam Bassett, 37-Eliot Goldthorp, 42-Jackson Walti
FORWARDS (4): 7-Trevor Amann, 9-Albert Dikwa, 17-Brigham Larsen, 27-Aldi Flowers-Gamboa
Champs are Back
The ‘Hounds will return to the USL playoffs for the ninth-straight season in 2026, maintaining the second-longest active postseason streak in the USL Championship after clinching its spot with a 2-1 win over Hartford Athletic. Pittsburgh currently sits in the final home playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings, just above RIFC due to the league’s tiebreaker rules. The Riverhounds have had success from that position, securing its first-ever USL Championship title as the fourth seed in a penalty-shootout win at FC Tulsa in 2025. Pittsburgh defeated RIFC in the 2025 Eastern Conference Final en route to that victory, ending RIFC’s season in a tight 1-0 battle.
Low Scoring Success
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has developed into one of the strongest defensive sides in the USL Championship in the final stretch of the season. Since Aug. 1, the squad has allowed just eight goals in 11 games. Despite taking the second-fewest shots on target in the USL Championship (90), the Riverhounds have managed to earn points off some of the league’s top clubs through defensive battles. Those results include results vs. two of the Eastern Conference’s top three teams with 3-1 victory over the Charleston Battery (Aug. 15) and a 0-0 tie over the league-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies (Aug. 29). Pittsburgh’s nine clean sheets on the season – including five since Aug. 1 – means that RIFC will need to battle to find goals on Saturday.
Last Time Out
Pittsburgh officially booked a USL Championship playoff berth with a 2-1 home win over Hartford Athletic on Oct. 10. After taking an early lead in the sixth minute off Trevor Amann’s near-post header, the ‘Hounds did not let it up. Although Hartford secured the tying goal on its first shot of the contest in the 41st minute, the Riverhounds found the game-winner in the 66th minute to earn the full three points. The result pushed the home side ahead of Hartford in the playoff race, with the Connecticut club now sitting sixth in the USL Eastern Conference standings. The 2-1 win marked Pittsburgh’s eighth-straight game decided by one goal or fewer.
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
Playoff Bound
Rhode Island FC has officially booked its third-straight trip to the USL Championship playoffs with a 1-0 home win against Loudoun United FC on Wednesday night. The tight victory saw RIFC officially clinch the playoffs earlier than it ever has before, and marked the first time the club has clinched at home. RIFC has the chance to chase more history beginning on Saturday, as the squad is still in contention for its first-ever home playoff game. Standing in the way of that berth are its final two regular-season opponents: Pittsburgh, who holds the tie-breaker over the Ocean State Club, and Hartford Athletic, who sits at 40 points. A win at home against Pittsburgh is critical in bringing the RIFC faithful back to Centreville Bank Stadium for a playoff matchup, and would set the stage for a decisive season finale at Hartford Athletic on Oct. 24.
Fan Appreciation Finale
RIFC’s critical matchup with Pittsburgh marks the club’s final regular-season game at Centreville Bank Stadium, where it will celebrate its third-annual Fan Appreciation Night. The Ocean State club has played exceptionally well in front of its home supporters this season, losing just two games across all competitions at Centreville Bank Stadium in 2026. Historically, RIFC’s dominance in its home stadium has been particularly strong on Fan Appreciation Night. In each of the last two seasons, Rhode Island FC has earned its largest win of the season in its final home matchup, blanking the Tampa Bay Rowdies 5-0 on Oct. 11, 2025 and pummelling Miami FC 8-1 in its largest win in club history on Oct. 26, 2024. The Ocean State club will need to capture that scoring magic to push past a potent Pittsburgh side on Saturday.
For the Recordbooks
For a matchup with strong playoff implications, RIFC has a plethora of history to draw back on against Pittsburgh. Despite Pittsburgh holding the advantage in the all time series over RIFC (4W-2L-1T), Rhode Island has taken some critical victories against the ‘Hounds. Most recently, the Ocean State club got its revenge after a 2025 Eastern Conference Final defeat, earning its first-ever regular season win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on July 25. In a classic tight, gritty battle between the two clubs, RIFC took the lead on a late-game header before holding Pittsburgh at bay in the ensuing scramble. With Pittsburgh proving a strong defensive side, another close, tooth-and-nail contest may be on the docket for these two clubs.
