Khano Smith Earns First Coach of the Month Honor
Khano Smith Earns First Coach of the Month Honor
Rhode Island FC general manager and head coach Khano Smith has earned his first USL Coach of the Month honor
Rhode Island FC general manager and head coach Khano Smith has earned his first USL Coach of the Month honor after seeing his team go undefeated in the month of July, extending the team’s unbeaten streak to eight matches.
After beginning the 2024 season with what can best be described as an extremely rocky start — with just one win over the course of their first thirteen games — RIFC have seemingly found their stride and look like a completely different team as they were able to go almost two months without a loss. With twelve matches remaining in the regular season Smith’s club finds themselves sitting above the playoff line.
In the four games that Rhode Island played during the month of July, Smith’s club found themselves leading the league in goals scored with a total of eleven. Impressively, after struggling to find the back of the net in their early games RIFC’s attack has been able to score a league-leading twenty-two goals over the course of their unbeaten run and currently have the fourth most across the league with a total of thirty-three.
With this honor, Smith becomes the seventeenth Rhode Island FC member to earn recognition from the league and just the first to earn a monthly honor.
As the end of the inaugural season draws near, it will be interesting to watch how Rhode Island builds on its success as the team continues to learn how to work together and get results, picking up crucial points they missed out on in the beginning of the season.
RIFC will return to action Saturday August 10 when they head home to Beirne Stadium, welcoming rivals Hartford Athletic for the first-ever home derby match.