Three Reasons To Be Excited About RIFC v. Louisville
Playoff soccer is fun, plus two more reasons to watch Saturday's game.
Rhode Island FC extended their dream first season in the USL Championship by defeating Indy Eleven 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
A tough test awaits them as they travel to face Louisville City SC, who won the 2024 USL Championship Players’ Shield.
The match, which will be broadcast on ESPN+, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Here are three reasons to be excited.
Playoff Soccer
Let’s start with the obvious: Playoff soccer is fun!
Louisville is an intimidating opponent. They easily grasped the No. 1 seed by collecting 76 points, 12 more than the next closest team.
They’re particularly good at home and only lost once in 17 regular-season matches while managing 3.4 goals per match.
RIFC face a tall task but this is single-elimination soccer and anything can happen.
Rhode Island is on a seven-game unbeaten run, having scored 20 goals during that stretch. J.J. Williams has been on fire, earning back-to-back hat tricks.
Rhode Island has played Louisville tough this year. The two teams battled to a 0-0 draw at Beirne Stadium on May 25.
RIFC grabbed all three points on June 22 with a 5-2 win at Lynn Family Stadium. It was Louisville’s only home loss and multi-goal loss of the season.
Sounds like a fun encounter is on tap for Saturday.
New England Connections
Rhode Island, branded as a team for all of Rhode Island, has plenty of ties to New England.
Zachary Herivaux was traded to RIFC from the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 3. The former New England Revolution Youth Player of the Year was coming off a MCL injury. He ultimately amassed four goals and four assists en route to being named the USLPA’s Comeback Player of the Year.
Joe Brito is another Revolution Academy product who found his way to RIFC. The midfielder, who previously played for Union Omaha, has three goals and four assists in 32 games. Brito has been coming off the bench lately, but the Connecticut native (Hi, Jake) is a talented player.
Jack Panayotou, on loan from the Revolution, is also an option this weekend. Like Brito, he’s largely started on the bench. While he didn’t see game minutes in the opening round of the playoffs, he did provide some excitement during the final regular-season game.
RIFC has a few more players with local connections, such as Nate Silveira and Kevin Vang. They also have Michael Parkhurst as a co-founder and Khano Smith as a head coach. While Smith is retired, he’s still finding ways to contribute on goals.
History
RIFC have already made history by collecting the most regular-season draws (15) in league history.
If they defeat Louisville, they will etch their name in league lore as the first expansion team to qualify for a conference final since El Paso Locomotive did it in 2019.
Rhode Island has had a successful year by making the playoffs and winning their first-round match. With a new stadium on the horizon, there’s plenty to be excited about.
RIFC’s match on Saturday is difficult, but their never-say-die attitude could push them over the top.