Rhode Island FC Getting Hot as Regular Season Nears End

Photo Courtesy of Rhode Island FC

Perhaps Rhode Island FC striker Albert “Chico” Dikwa has been reading the criticism of his play, more likely, he just knows he hasn’t been playing up to his usual standards; but he was everywhere on Saturday evening in RIFC’s latest victory.

In fairness, there weren’t many players for Rhode Island FC who weren’t everywhere. Special shoutouts as well to RIFC winger Noah Fuson and to midfielders Clay Holstad and Joe Brito. The win marks Rhode Island FC’s second win in a row in a playoff race that’s rapidly heating up, as the Tide now have 43 points and stand in sixth place with four matches remaining. In addition, they remain two draws away from setting the USL Championship’s record for draws in a season.

This is a different Rhode Island FC from the first half of the season. They haven’t drawn a single match in over a month, since their 0-0 draw against Loudoun United FC on August 24th.

Rhode Island FC started off its away match against San Antonio FC in the single best fashion possible, as Fuson flicked a beautiful header on to Dikwa only twenty seconds into the game and Chico buried it past San Antonio goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, who could do nothing to stop it. This would be a running theme on the night as San Antonio’s defenders repeatedly left Sisniega out to dry and were it not for several great stops from him, RIFC could have won by a score as high as 6-1.

San Antonio responded in the 20th minute, as winger Nelson Blanco fired a cross in past the outstretched foot of RIFC defender Stephen Turnbull and San Antonio (and former New England Revolution) striker Juan Agudelo leaped up over the heads of RIFC defenders Karifa Yao and Grant Stoneman — who notably did not jump to contest the ball — and Agudelo buried it home with a header past RIFC goalkeeper Koke Vegas who, like his counterpart, was hung out to dry. Luckily for Vegas and Rhode Island, this was their only truly poor moment of the match and the only time San Antonio was able to score.

The teams took the 1-1 score into the half. They also took a number of fouls into the half Rhode Island FC totaled eight yellow cards on the night (including two for Fuson, who was sent off after his second in the 85th minute), and San Antonio totaled four. Of these twelve cards, five were given in the first half.

Rhode Island FC scored early in the second half as in the 51st minute, Fuson, despite being bullied over, managed to pass the ball onto Dikwa, whose quick little pass found Holstad at the edge of the eighteen-yard box. Holstad absolutely blasted the shot home to give Rhode Island the 2-1 lead. He had multiple such long shots on the night — Holstad is always a threat to score from almost any distance, as he has proven — and only Sisniega prevented him from scoring even more.

Rhode Island FC scored its third and final goal in the 83rd minute, as Fuson broke free and drew Sisniega and another San Antonio defender to him, before backheeling a pass that left the entire San Antonio defense flat-footed and found Brito who simply passed the ball into the back of an empty net. The play was so silky and so devastating as to completely deflate San Antonio. Even after Rhode Island went down a man with Fuson being sent off a few minutes later, San Antonio seemed unable and unwilling to fight their way back to a result. Rhode Island FC cruised to a relatively easy 3-1 win.

Rhode Island FC returns to action next Saturday, October 5, at 7:30 pm ET against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island. RIFC lost 4-1 away to Tampa in the reverse fixture, all the way back in March, although they will be without star player Noah Fuson, who now has six goals and seven assists on the season.