Rhode Island Fall to Pittsburgh in Eastern Conference Final
Despite the loss Rhode Island put together another season to be proud of, despite early season concerns.
Rhode Island FC’s sophomore season came to an end in the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the road. Head coach Khano Smith made two changes to the starting line-up from the semi-final match-up against North Carolina as Jojea Kwizera returned from suspension, and Marc Ybarra earned the nod.
Rhode Island saw their first opportunity of the night in the 10th minute after an offensive counter saw Noah Fuson and J.J. Williams put together a quick give-and-go, with Fuson able to get off a one-time shot from the top of Pittsburgh’s box and forcing the keeper to make the save.
On the resulting corner kick, which was played right onto the Pittsburgh 6-yard line, Hugo Bacharach was able to get his head on the ball but it ended up just above the crossbar.
In the 35th minute, Pittsburgh was able to play a dangerous ball just over the Rhode Island back line and into the box, forcing Koke Vegas into action as he batted away the Pittsburgh striker’s attempt to chip the ball over him.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the 55th minute when Robbie Mertz received the ball in Rhode Island’s box and, taking on three defenders, got off a shot that Vegas was just unable to get his hands on.
Rhode Island FC found themselves at a disadvantage in the 60th minute after Ybarra was shown his second yellow, leaving the Ocean State to play down a man for the remainder of the match.
RIFC made their first substitutions of the match in the 68th minute, swapping out Aldair Sanchez and Amos Shapiro-Thompson for Albert Dikwa and Zachary Herivaux.
In the 77th minute, Rhode Island earned a free kick at the top of Pittsburgh’s box, with Williams and Hamady Diop standing over the ball, it was Diop who took the kick. He was able to bend a low shot around the Riverhounds’ wall, but the keeper came up with another big save to keep RIFC off the scoresheet.
Rhode Island made another pair of changes in the 82nd minute as Dwayne Atkinson and Maxi Rodriguez checked in for Kwizera and Karifa Yao respectively. The Ocean State’s final change came in the 88th minute when Clay Holstad entered the match for Diop.
In the 94th minute, Vegas was called into action once more when Pittsburgh’s attacker was able to get into the box one-on-one, but Vegas was able to deny a second goal with a kick save.
Despite a disappointing end to the season, Rhode Island was once again able to make history in just its second year as a club. RIFC was just the second seven-seed in USL Championship history to make it to the Eastern Conference Final and the second team to reach a conference final in each of its first two seasons.
With 2025 officially in the books, the team will now look to the future as they prepare for their third season in the USL Championship and another exciting season of soccer in the Ocean State.