No.7 Rhode Island FC will begin its third-straight run in the USL Championship Playoffs on Friday vs. No. 2 Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium. The Eastern Conference Quarterfinal marks the third-straight time these two clubs will meet in the postseason, and the second-straight time that meeting will take place in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. In both of the previous playoff contests, RIFC has prevailed over the Battery on the road, including its historic Eastern Conference Final victory during its inaugural 2024 season. Ahead of Friday’s quarterfinal clash, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Friday, Oct. 30
Kickoff | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location | Patriots Point Soccer Stadium —Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Broadcast | ESPN Select
Radio | SiriusXM Channel 188
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)
Game Hashtag | #CHSvsRI
Last Meeting | September 26, 2026: CHS 2-0 RI — Mount Pleasant, S.C.
CHARLESTON BATTERY
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): 0-Cohen Rigsby, 1-John Berner, 24-Daniel Kuzemka, 56-Luis Zamudio
DEFENDERS (6): 3-Nathan Messer, 5-Sean Suber, 7-Langston Blackstock, 16-Graham Smith, 22-Joey Akpunonu, 42-Douglas Martinez
MIDFIELDERS (7): 4-Chris Allan, 8-Emilio Ycaza, 10-Laurent Kissiedou, 13-Wilmer Cabrera, 36-Briggs Gwozdo, 88-Kirill Pakhomov, 91-Houssou Landry
FORWARDS (7): 9-Camilo Sanchez, 12-Alec Hughes, 29-Jeremy Kelly, 30-Colton Swan, 44-Aarav Nihalani, 90-Miguel Berry, 99-Maalique Foster
Spreading Out the Offense
No. 2 Charleston Battery has one of the strongest offensive sides in the USL Championship, netting the second-most goals in the league (56) and the most in the Eastern Conference through the regular season. The balanced attack primarily comes off the boot of four players. Forwards Maalique Foster and Colton Swan have led the way, scoring nine goals each for the Battery, with forward Miguel Berry and midfielder Emilio Ycaza rounding out the top scorers with eight goals apiece. Despite these four players making up 61.8 percent of Charleston’s scoring, the South Carolina club has scored goals from 15 total players this season, with 18 different players logging at least one goal contribution (goal/assist).
Home Sweet Home
Charleston will have the benefit of its home crowd to draw from for its playoff campaign, where it has been exceptionally strong all season. The South Carolina club’s 11 home wins through the 2026 regular season are the most in the USL Championship. Since Sep. 1, however, that home success for Charleston began to slip. Through the Battery’s final five home games, the squad went 3W-2L-0T, suffering losses vs. Hartford Athletic (2-1, 9/2) and Louisville City FC (2-0, 10/10) in the thick of the playoff race. Although Charleston secured a home victory against RIFC on Sept. 26, the Ocean State club has found success at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium during the playoffs, and will look to feed off of that history in order to become just the third club in 2026 to defeat Charleston at home.
Last Time Out
Charleston closed out the USL Championship regular season strong Oct. 24, taking a 1-0 win at Patriots Point against Indy Eleven to help secure the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. Both sides traded chances in the opening half, but neither team could find the breakthrough until the 78th minute. Colton Swan found the game’s lone goal with a flying header, connecting with Langston Blackstock’s cross in the box to lock up the No. 2 seed for the Battery for the third-straight season. The win marked Charleston’s third-straight result, maintaining its momentum ahead of the USL Championship Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
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
Defense into Attack
Despite bringing a 1-0 lead into halftime in its regular-season finale at Hartford Athletic on Oct. 24, RIFC could not hold onto the lead against its regional rival, falling 2-1 at Trinity Health Stadium. Defender Karifa Yao scored the lone goal for the Ocean State club in the loss at Hartford, netting his third goal of the season, and fourth of his RIFC career. The defender-turned-goalscorer has unlocked a new dimension to his game in 2026, netting all three of his goals in his last eight games, all of which have come from the air. The physical defender has been the anchor of RIFC’s back line since the club’s inception, becoming the third player in club history to reach 100 appearances for the club on Oct. 17, and now has a trio of aerial goals to add to his impressive resume in the Ocean State.
Starting Strong
Rhode Island FC has lost just twice this season when it scores the first goal, aided by a defense that has been airtight in the opening 45 minutes. It has not conceded a first-half goal in seven-straight games dating back to Sept. 19, with all seven goals it has conceded in that stretch coming in the second half. That run included RIFC’s 2-0 loss in its last matchups at Charleston, where RIFC limited the Battery to just five of its 14 total shots, and two of its six shots on target, in the first half. If RIFC can take advantage of another strong start on the road, score early and showcase its historic playoff resilience late in the game, that could be the key to securing yet another upset win in the Lowcountry.
For the Recordbooks
Despite a 2-0 loss at Charleston Battery in their last meeting on Sept. 26, RIFC leads the all-time series 4W-2T-2L, highlighted by a 4-0 thrashing of the Battery at Centreville Bank Stadium on April 22. In the postseason, RIFC holds an unblemished record vs. Charleston, earning two-straight upset wins over the No. 2 seed at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium. On Nov. 2, 2025, RIFC defeated No. 2 Charleston in a penalty shootout following a scoreless tie in regulation, kicking off its second-straight run to the Eastern Conference Final. One year earlier, in Rhode Island FC’s inaugural season, the Ocean State club took down No. 4 Indy Eleven and No. 1 Louisville City FC before heading to No. 2 Charleston for the Eastern Conference Final, earning a 2-1 road win that saw the club lift its first trophy in club history.
