RIFC to Face Charlotte Independence in US Open Cup
Rhode Island FC will play its first ever US Open Cup game away to Charlotte Independence as their historic first season continues
The U.S. Open Cup held its draw for the third round of the tournament today and Rhode Island FC was drawn against a USL League One opponent, Charlotte Independence. The club will be away on April 16 in its first ever game in the famous Cup competition.
RIFC had been placed in a regional grouping that also contained Hartford Athletic and the New York Yankees Triple A team, sorry, NYCFC II. The chance for RIFC and Hartford to face each other for the first time didn’t come to pass, the two rival fan bases will have to wait a little longer for their first official go at one another.
Unlike Rhode Island, Charlotte does have history in the U.S. Open Cup; this is their eighth campaign in the tournament. Charlotte exited in the third round last season with a 1-0 loss to Charleston Battery after entering and winning in the second round. Charlotte had its best ever run in the Cup in their first year competing in it all the way back in 2015. That year saw them knockout the New England Revolution in the round of 32 before falling to the Chicago Fire in the round of 16. Since then, its been a series of second and third round exits for the Club, nicknamed The Jacks.
Charlotte is in its third season as a USL League One team having spent 2015 to 2021 in the USL Championship, as it became to be known in 2019. The Jacks get their nickname from Captain James Jack and a dubious historical claim that he rode from Charlotte, North Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1775 carrying the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. It was claimed as early as 1819 that this declaration preceded the United States Declaration of Independence and was thus the first declaration of freedom from British rule to come from the 13 colonies. However, historians disagree saying it was not actually a full and formal declaration.
New Englanders all know the real document that kicked off our nation’s battle for independence was written in 1776, thanks in large part to John Adams from Quincy, after the battles of Lexington and Concord and the ride of Paul Revere, from Boston. And it was Rhode Island who was the first colony to renounce the British crown on May 4, 1776 and the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, before North Carolina.
It now surely falls upon Rhode Island FC, on behalf of all of New England to vanquish The Jacks, and their inaccurate historical claim, from the country’s longest running and most historic soccer competition.
Charlotte finished last season in fourth place before advancing to and losing the USL League One final. In 2022, Charlotte finished sixth and went out at the quarterfinal stage of the playoffs. Their best USL Championship finish was fourth in the Eastern Conference in 2021. So far this season in just two games they have one win and one loss and have scored three goals while conceding three.
Through just four rounds of the League One season, Charlotte lead the league in shots on target per match with 6 but have had just 43% possession in their two matches so far. Defensively, they are second in the league in interceptions, tackles and clearances per game. They have had good discipline despite defending more than attacking as they have averaged a mere 7 fouls per game, the only team in the league averaging less than 10.
Charlotte has already navigated two rounds of the U.S. Open Cup defeating Vereinigung Erzgebirge in the first round, 2-0, before advancing on penalties against South Carolina United Heat in the second round. Charlotte will have one additional day’s rest for the game against RIFC, they play Friday April 12 while Rhode Island plays on Saturday the 13th at home against Pittsburgh.
RIFC fans will be excited to see their team step into this competition for the first time in just a few weeks. And they’ll want to avoid their first Open Cup game being their first time getting cupset as they bid to be the last team from New England standing in this famous competition.