
After returning to winning ways with a dominant 3-0 win in its first-ever regional home derby match against Hartford Athletic, Rhode Island FC returns home on Saturday to finish its homestand against Oakland Roots SC. With both teams looking to move up the table in their respective conferences, and with a potential playoff hosting top-four spot on the line for the Ocean State club, Saturday’s match is a crucial one as the final third of the season gets underway. Ahead of Saturday’s interconference match, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, August 17
Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET
Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield, RI
Broadcast | NESN+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #RIvsOAK
OAKLAND ROOTS SC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 20-Paul Blanchette, 60-Timothy Syrel, 61-Edwin Rodriguez
DEFENDERS (12): 2-Baboucarr Njie, 3-Niall Logue, 4-Gagi Margvelashvili, 5-Camden Riley, 14-Justin Rasmussen, 15-Neveal Hackshaw, 21-Bryan Tamacas, 23-Memo Diaz, 40-Ilya Alekseev, 49-Tomas Caminos, 50-Thomas Camier, 65-Matteo Carbone
MIDFIELDERS (10): 6-Daniel Gomez, 7-Napo Matsoso, 8-Irakoze Donasiyano, 10-Lindo Mfeka, 11-Trayvone Reid, 19-Wolfgang Prentice, 39-Javier Bedolla-Vera, 41-Eli Wachs, 45-Ali Elmasnaouy, 46-Kieran Bracken Serra
FORWARDS (7): 9-Dom Dwyer, 17-Johnny Rodriguez, 27-Miche-Naider Chéry, 38-Etsgar Cruz, 47-Julio Martinez, 48-Luis Saldaña, 52-Juan Sanchez
Stabilizing Defensively
After giving up 10 goals in two matches in July in a pair of losses against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (5-0) and Sacramento Republic FC (5-2), Oakland Roots SC has gotten back on track with two-straight wins, limiting its opponents to just one goal in both matches and bringing its total record to seven wins in its last ten matches. Most recently, the club handed Eastern Conference side Loudoun United FC a 3-1 loss at home, using a dominant second-half performance to unlock a 1-1 tie at halftime. Oakland defender Gagi Margvelashvili earned his first career multi-assist match with a pair of assists while goals from three different scorers showcased a balanced Oakland attack.
Veterans Getting it Done
Two of Oakland’s all-time stats leaders linked up on Saturday for the match-winner in the 62nd minute. The Western Conference club’s all-time leading scorer, Johnny Rodriguez, buried his fourth goal in three matches to break the deadlock. The goal was his team-leading 10th of the season, making him the sixth USL Championship player to score in double-figures this season. The strike also marked the second consecutive double-digit scoring season for the 26-year-old, who has spent all four years of his career in Oakland dating back to before the club’s introduction to the USL Championship in 2021. Rodriguez’s 29th career goal was set up by the club’s all-time assists leader, Memo Diaz, who recorded his team-leading fifth assist of 2024. His third goal contribution in three matches, the fullback now has six goals and 14 assists to his name in 111 appearances for Oakland.
Chasing the Top Spot
As one of just two Western Conference clubs to eclipse the 10-win mark this season (11W-10L-2D), Oakland’s recent run of form has established itself as a top-three team in the West, tied with Sacramento for second place on 34 points, and seven points back from first-place New Mexico United. Despite the uncharacteristic stretch of 10 goals allowed in two matches, Oakland has amassed 21 points from its last 10 matches, and are the only team in the Western Conference to take all six points from its last two matches. Three points at Beirne Stadium would give Oakland a huge boost in chasing the top conference spot.
RHODE ISLAND FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 22-Jackson Lee, 30-Nate Silveira
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Nathan Messer, 3-Stephen Turnbull, 4-Collin Smith, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao
MIDFIELDERS (11): 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 21-Kofi Twumasi, 23-Marc Ybarra, 25-Kevin Orduy, 28-Conor McGlynn, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 80-Isaac Angking
FORWARDS (4): 9-JJ Williams, 10-Chico, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Mark Doyle
Bounceback win
After dropping a midweek match 1-0 at Indy Eleven and snapping a historic eight-match unbeaten run, Rhode Island FC’s attack got back to its usual production on Saturday in dominant fashion as it swept past regional rival Hartford Athletic. RIFC controlled the stat sheet during the contest, outshooting Hartford 20-6 with 30 touches and 12 shots inside the visitor’s box. Grant Stoneman opened the scoring with his first career RIFC goal, Frank Nodarse buried his fifth header of the season and Connecticut native Joe Brito sealed the win in second-half stoppage time, getting on the end of a goal line pass from Albert Dikwa “Chico”. The trio of goals marked the sixth time the club has scored three or more and the 11th multi-goal performance. The win matched the largest margin of victory for the Ocean State club, whose two other three-goal wins came at Louisville City FC (5-2) and at home against El Paso Locomotive FC (3-0). RIFC has now scored 25 goals in its last 10 matches to average 2.5 goals per match. The club is currently fourth in the league with 36 goals.
You Shall Not Pass
Despite eight multi-goal scoring efforts in the last ten matches, earning clean sheets has been less frequent for RIFC. The importance of Saturday’s win was not only the three-goal output, but also the fact that the club kept its opponent out of the net for the first time in seven matches. The shutout was the third this season for team captain Koke Vegas, and the club’s sixth overall. After its first four clean sheets came from scoreless ties, Rhode Island FC has now put three unanswered goals past its opponent twice at Beirne Stadium and will look to maintain that momentum to keep back-to-back shutout wins for the first time in club history against an Oakland side that has put away 30 goals this season.
Chasing the Final Four
Saturday’s win saw RIFC continue to make moves into uncharted territory in the Eastern Conference standings, moving the club into sixth position after dropping as low as 11th through the first half of the season. Now sitting two points clear of the playoff line and just three points back from Birmingham Legion FC and Indy Eleven, who are tied on 35 points, a win on Saturday could see the Ocean State club rise into the top four for the first time. With Indy taking a bye-week, a Brimingham loss would clear the way for RIFC to take sole possession of fourth place, as Khano Smith’s proficient attack is ahead of both clubs in the goal differential tiebreaker.