Breeze Cup Preview: Rhode Island FC at Charleston Battery: September 26, 2026
USL Rhode Island FC

Breeze Cup Preview: Rhode Island FC at Charleston Battery: September 26, 2026

Published on September 23, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Rhode Island FC hits the road on Saturday, traveling to Patriots Point Soccer Stadium to take on the Charleston Battery for the second leg of the inaugural Breeze Cup at 7 p.m. RIFC will look to bounce back after a 2-1 loss against Miami FC last time out, suffering just its second loss at Centreville Bank Stadium in 2026. While Charleston clinched a playoff berth in its last outing, the hunt to return to the postseason remains in full swing for the Ocean State club. RIFC stands at eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, five points clear of ninth-place Miami FC, but is still in the hunt for a home playoff spot. Ahead of the Breeze Cup finale, here is everything you need to know.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, Sept. 26

Kickoff | 7 p.m. ET

Location | Patriots Point Soccer Stadium - Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Broadcast | NESN, ESPN Select

Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)

Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)

Game Hashtag | #CHSvsRI

Last Meeting | April 22, 2026: RI 4-0 CHS - Pawtucket, R.I.

CHARLESTON BATTERY

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (4): 0-Cohen Rigsby, 1-John Berner, 24-Daniel Kuzemka, 56-Luis Zamudio

DEFENDERS (6): 3-Nathan Messer, 5-Sean Suber, 7-Langston Blackstock, 16-Graham Smith, 22-Joey Akpunonu, 42-Douglas Martínez

MIDFIELDERS (7): 4-Chris Allan, 8-Emilio Ycaza, 10-Laurent Kissiedou, 13-Wilmer Cabrera, 36-Briggs Gwozdo, 88-Kirill Pakhomov, 91-Houssou Landry

FORWARDS (7): 9-Camilo Sanchez, 12-Alec Hughes, 29-Jeremy Swan, 30-Colton Swan, 44-Aarav Nihalani, 90-Miguel Berry, 99-Maalique Foster

Two-way Dominance

Charleston Battery comes into the contest as one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference. The squad leads the USL Championship with 50 in the regular season. Forward Maalique Foster leads the way for the South Carolina club, tallying nine goals in regular season play to round out the top-10 scorers in the USL Championship. However, contributions for Charleston come from every corner. Besides Foster, four other Charleston players have scored four or more goals on the season. The club also boasts a stout defense, earning nine clean sheets in 25 games. Both of those marks power Charleston's second-best goal differential in the USL at +19, making the quest for a result against the South Carolina side challenging.

Comforts of Home

RIFC will enter a fortress at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium, as Charleston Battery are one of the strongest teams on its home pitch in the league. The squad's nine regular season home wins leads the USL in 2026. Thirty-five of Charleston's 50 goals have been scored on its home field, including a pair of 5-0 victories against Brooklyn FC (Aug. 1) and Miami FC (Aug. 24). This home dominance is nothing new for the South Carolina club. Charleston has won double-digit games at home in three-straight seasons and looks to extend that streak with a win on Saturday.

Last Time Out

Charleston Battery secured a 2026 playoff berth with a 1-0 win against Monterey Bay at home on Saturday. In a back-and-forth defensive battle, it was the unexpected contributions that pushed the hosts ahead. New acquisition Camilo Sánchez scored in the 78th minute in his Patriots Point debut to give Charleston the lead. Goalkeeper Daniel Kuzemka finished the job, earning a shutout in his first appearance for the club since 2024 to send Charleston Battery to the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs for the fourth-straight season.

RHODE ISLAND FC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer, 29-Jacob Castro

DEFENDERS (9): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 25-CJ Williams, 28-Cai McLean

MIDFIELDERS (8): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín "Pity" Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad*, 16-Eric Klein, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Zachary Herivaux, 30-Kevin Medina^, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson

FORWARDS (7): 8-Leo Afonso, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Yutaro Tsukada, 18-Osman Foyo, 20-Jamin Gogo Peters, 27-Nikolai Pierre, 37-Stas Korzeniowski

*Out on loan for 2026 season | ^USL Academy Contract

Critical Final Stretch

With just seven games remaining in the 2026 regular season, Rhode Island FC faces a gauntlet in the final push to the playoffs. Beginning with Saturday's contest against Charleston Battery, RIFC will take on five out of the seven teams ahead of it in the Eastern Conference standings. The Ocean State Club currently sits in the eighth place, six points out of the final home playoff position with at least one game in hand on every team ahead of it, making every point in this final stretch critical to bringing playoff soccer to Centreville Bank Stadium for the first time. Charleston is the highest-seeded opponent remaining on RIFC's schedule, posting a 13W-8L-4T record in the 2026 regular season.

International Absences

Rhode Island FC will be without two of its midfielders during this crucial postseason push. Midfielders Jojea Kwizera and Dwayne Atkinson will miss three contests, beginning Saturday against Charleston, for international obligations in the upcoming September/October FIFA international window. Kwizera returns for his club-leading eleventh international call-up for Rwanda and his third this season, joining the squad for two qualifying games for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Kwizera has played every minute in the month of September for RIFC, tallying a goal and an assist in that three-game span. Atkinson joins Jamaica for the third time this season for the CONCACAF Nations League Group Stage. He has appeared for the Ocean State club in every regular season game since May 30.

For the Recordbooks

Rhode Island FC holds a favorable head-to-head record against Charleston Battery, finishing 4W-1L-2T in seven meetings against the South Carolina side and winning the last three matchups between the two sides. In the two teams' latest matchup, RIFC took its largest-margin victory of the season, blanking Charleston in a memorable 4-0 win at Centreville Bank Stadium in the first leg of the inaugural Breeze Cup. For a game that could hold heavy playoff implications, RIFC has existing postseason experience against Charleston to draw back on, as the Ocean State club has eliminated Charleston in back-to-back seasons. In 2025, RIFC booked an Eastern Conference Finals appearance after besting the No.2-seeded Battery in penalty kicks on Nov. 2. In RIFC's inaugural season, the squad took a gutsy 2-1 victory in Charleston, downing the No. 2 seed to lift the USL Championship East Conference title - the first trophy in club history.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 23, 2026


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