Hartford Athletic Return to Pawtucket for Jägermeister Cup Matchup with RIFC

First place in Group 4 is on the line on Saturday night, as both clubs seek to advance to the quarter-finals

A week on from a hard-fought draw, Hartford Athletic return to Pawtucket to take on RIFC in a USL Jägermeister Cup game with significant implications for both clubs. The bottom line for both teams is simple: win in regulation, and advance to the next round of the Jägermeister Cup as group winners.

For RIFC, things are even simple: a point will be enough to see them through. The Latics, however, would need help if they fall short of the maximum three points, although a bonus point from the penalty shootout would likely be enough to see them go through to the quarter-finals as one of the wildcards.

Last weekend’s nil-nil draw at Tidewater Landing was hardly a great advert for the beautiful game on national television but it was an extremely pragmatic result for Brendan Burke’s men as they claimed a valuable point at the end of a week that saw them play three games in eight days.

Despite — or perhaps because of — the somewhat sluggish performance on the field things were plenty heated between the two sides at the final whistle, with Hartford keeper Antony Siaha “shushing” the Rhode Island fans, which Noah Fuson took objection too, with the RIFC player having to be restrained by his teammates and staff. Siaha cited the ‘disrespect’ shown to Hartford by RIFC in the week leading up to the game, saying that it “felt pretty good” to keep a clean sheet, and that he “felt like shushing them,” especially “after they [RIFC] talked all week.”

Things were heated off the field too, with a Hartford fan being assaulted by an RIFC fan as the traveling supporters returned to their bus. While Burke wants to see the heat on the field, he called for more caution in the stands.

“I would not want to see violence at any point,” Burke said. “But I love the heat and the rivalry. I think it's great. I think it's important for the teams, for the players. We all want to be part of games like we're walking into tomorrow. It creates one of the biggest challenges you get as a coach or a player to be in an environment like that on either side of the ball. For them too, they're carrying the weight of expectations with all their resources. So, you know, I think it's great, but I would caution everyone to be disciplined about the way they do it.”

As for the teams that will take the pitch in what may be a heated encounter, both sides will likely look a little different on Saturday with key players returning to the lineup. For the hosts, JJ Williams is almost certainly available for more minutes, and RIFC’s best chances in the last fixture almost all flowed through him. Their single best chance — a close-range effort from Albert Dikwa that required a Antony Siaha to make a great stop with his legs — was generated by Williams receiving the ball in space and driving an excellent ball across the box. RIFC’s other two attempts on target both came via Williams: once from a free kick and once from a close-range header but Siaha was equal to the task again on both occasions. His physicality and ability to create space for his teammates will test Hartford’s defense this weekend, especially if he’s available for a more featured role.

For Hartford, a heavily-rotated squad saw Michee Ngalina, Kyle Edwards and Deshane Beckford all start on the bench, alongside Samuel Careaga and Adewale Obalola. While the Latics attack has not fully clicked in 2025, that’s a fair number of options for Brendan Burke to call in if he wants to take a less pragmatic approach than he did last Saturday. Edwards in particular — whose 10 minutes at the end of Saturdays game was his first action in almost a month — would seem to be in line for more time on the pitch, as Hartford’s best performances this season have come when he is available.

In terms of what these changes might mean for the product on the field, Burke predicted something a little more “entertaining” than the previous encounter.

A more entertaining fixture would probably satisfy the fans, especially those traveling from Hartford and with both teams likely to be pressing for a result, there could certainly be more open play. With both teams also struggling a little in the league at the halfway point of the USL Championship season, the Jägermeister Cup represents an opportunity and the stakes will likely add fuel to the fire of what is showing signs of becoming a heated rivalry.