Rhode Island FC traveled to First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Park in Cary, North Carolina, to face off against North Carolina FC in the Eastern Conference semi-final on Saturday night, a team that they have never lost to. That remained the case as RIFC is headed to its second straight Eastern Conference Final with a 2-0 victory.
“It is just another step in the way,” head coach Khano Smith said postgame. “At this point, anybody can win. We have to be at our best and take our moments when they happen. Tonight, we took our moments.”
There was only one change to the starting eleven from the quarter-final match against Charleston as Aldair Sanchez stepped in for Jojea Kwizera, who was unavailable due to a red card suspension.
In just the 3rd minute, Koke Vegas was called into action when North Carolina’s attacker was able to dribble his way into the Rhode Island box, forcing Vegas to pressure and ultimately deny the close-range shot attempt.
North Carolina was able to generate another attempt in the 27th minute after a well-placed ball in over the defensive line allowed their forward to get off a shot across the box that just ended up just barely wide of the far post after Vegas was able to get his fingertips on it.
Rhode Island made their first change of the match in the 65th minute as Dwayne Atkinson replaced Zachary Herivaux after the midfielder was injured. In the 75th minute, Rhode Island made a pair of substitutions as Maxi Rodriguez and Albert Dikwa checked into the match for Clay Holstad and Amos Shapiro-Thompson, respectively.
The game would be forever changed.
It was Rhode Island with the breakthrough in the 81st minute when Dikwa was able to get his head on the end of a cross from Noah Fuson inside the North Carolina box, beating the keeper at the near post.
In the 93rd minute, it was Dikwa who found the back of the net once again, putting the nail in the coffin and sealing the victory for Rhode Island. After a poor turnover from North Carolina Dikwa found himself with the ball just around midfield, taking advantage of North Carolina’s out-of-position keeper with a shot from distance that found its way to the back of the net.
RIFC made their final changes as the clock continued to wind down, with Aimé Mabika and Grant Stoneman replacing Sanchez and Fuson.
Rhode Island will travel to Highmark Stadium to take on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday, November 15th, with kick-off scheduled for 6:30 PM EST. The 2025 Eastern Conference Finals will be streamed on ESPN+.