Goalkeeper earns honor after fourth-straight home shutout
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (Sept. 2, 2025) – Rhode Island FC announced today that goalkeeper Koke Vegas has been named to the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 26. The Spaniard played a vital role in the Ocean State club’s 1-0 win over second-place Charleston Battery on Saturday, shutting out the league’s highest-scoring attack for just the third time in the regular season and extending his club-record home shutout streak to four games.
Vegas was called into action twice during Saturday’s win, first corralling Nanan Houssou’s long-range effort in the 36th minute to keep the game scoreless. In the 63rd minute, Jeremy Kelly received the ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a powerful shot on frame, only to be denied by a diving Vegas. The second-half stop proved decisive, as it was the Battery’s final shot on target before JJ Williams went on to score the game-winner for Rhode Island FC just six minutes later. The clean sheet was Vegas’ seventh of the regular season, which is tied for third in the USL Championship. It was also the 15th clean sheet of Vegas’ RIFC career.
Ever since returning from an 11-game injury absence on Aug. 6, Vegas has led a near-impenetrable Rhode Island FC back line to some of the best defensive form in club history. In five games since his return, Vegas has made eight saves and kept four shutouts. With Vegas between the sticks, Rhode Island FC has kept opponents out of the back of the net for a club-record 367 minutes at Centreville Bank Stadium, going more than a month without conceding a goal in front of its home fans.
The honor is the third of Vegas’ Rhode Island FC career. He also got the nod to the Team of the Week’s bench in Week 11. Vegas is the seventh RIFC honoree named to the USL Championship’s Team of the Week in 2025:
| WEEK | DATE | NAME | HONOR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3/25/25 | JJ Williams | Team of the Week |
| 5 | 4/8/25 | Clay Holstad | Team of the Week |
| 5 | 4/8/25 | Albert Dikwa “Chico” | Team of the Week |
| 5 | 4/8/25 | Jojea Kwizera | Team of the Week |
| 11 | 5/20/25 | Koke Vegas | Team of the Week (Bench) |
| 11 | 5/20/25 | Khano Smith | Coach of the Week |
| 15 | 6/17/25 | Maxi Rodriguez | Team of the Week |
| 26 | 9/2/25 | Koke Vegas | Team of the Week |
Up next, Vegas and the rest of the Rhode Island FC squad will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 6 when RIFC hosts Louisville City FC at Centreville Bank Stadium for Kids Night. Tickets to the next home game are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.
