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USL Rhode Island FC

"Chico" and Khano Smith - Reunited in the Ocean State

March 28, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


In 2023, Rhode Island FC striker Albert Dikwa "Chico" had a career-best year in his fourth season with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. With 20 goals in 28 matches, Chico became the 13th player in USL Championship history to record 20 goals in a single-season. Chico topped off his breakout campaign with Golden Boot and Player of the Year honors.

Six years earlier, the Cameroonian first came stateside to play for Orlando City B (then of the USL Championship) in his first season as a professional. It was in Orlando where Chico first met Khano Smith, who worked in the same building as an assistant coach with Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League. The long-standing relationship eventually inspired a new challenge for the veteran striker in 2024.

"We shared the same meal room, same locker room," said Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith. "The coaches shared the same office side of the building, so there was quite a bit of interaction. Chico was always a pleasant, respectful kid and he's still that person today. He's very humble, friendly and warm. So, I think those interactions sometimes go a long way with people."

After plenty of offseason video calls and discussions, Chico chose to sign with Rhode Island FC amidst a number of other offers. Inspired by Smith's visions for the club, his desired style of play and the trust the two shared, Chico had no doubt he would easily adjust to life in the Ocean State.

"Looking back on my first season in Orlando, coach Khano was always kind to me," said Chico. "He always checked in on me and wanted to make sure that I was happy. I was a kid coming from Africa, adjusting to a new place. To feel that love, and I never told him that, but it's something that meant a lot to me. And after he joined Rhode Island FC and we started talking in the offseason, he was telling me, 'Chico, you've got to come to Rhode Island. We're building something special here.'"

Chico's four seasons in Pittsburgh defined the best stretch of his career. He scored 31 goals in his final two years with the Riverhounds and helped the club earn its first piece of silverware in history with the 2023 Players' Shield, given to the club with the best overall record at the end of the season. Chico averaged a goal every 114.7 minutes for the Riverhounds last season, and accounted for 40 percent of the clubs' total scoring output. His decorated season included three USL Championship Team of the Week selections.

In making the decision to leave the club where he spent four years of his career, Chico was unphased about adjusting to a new environment in Rhode Island.

"It's always easy when you have good players around you, and for me, we're playing a high level of football," said Chico. "It's a change, but it's not that big of a difference because I'm around people who know football. This coaching staff knows what they are doing. They were former players. They've played at a high level. And having so many good players around you, it makes my job easy."

True to his word, Chico did not take much time to adjust to his new team. In Sunday's 2-2 draw at Monterey Bay F.C., the veteran striker became the first RIFC player to score both a goal and a brace. In the 40th minute, after being fed a picture-perfect through ball by Noah Fuson, Chico was one-on-one with Monterey Bay F.C. goalkeeper Anthony Siaha. Chico slotted the ball between Siaha's legs and into the back of the net, providing Rhode Island FC with its first lead in club history.

With the match knotted at 1-1 through the hour mark, Chico's goal scoring prowess would once again shine in the 62nd minute as he pounced on a missed defensive clearance in the box to poke home his second of the match, and 46th of his USL Championship regular season career. The brace was the first in RIFC history, and Chico's seventh multi-goal match in the last two seasons. The performance also earned him a spot on the USL Championship Team of the Week.

"To be honest, it's kind of a dream," said Chico. "When I signed with Rhode Island FC, I was saying in my mind, 'Chico, you have to be the first player, you have to make history.' In my head, when I scored that goal, I was like, 'Wow, I can't believe it. I can't believe it.' I just wanted to make history with my teammates and I'm really happy to already be part of the club's story."

For Smith, Chico was an essential asset in building a roster that emphasized USL Championship experience. His leadership and work rate saw him selected to the team's player leadership group. Chico's mentorship and supportive qualities was so well known that he was voted into the leadership group by teammates while he was still in Cameroon, before he had even met most of them.

"We went after him because of his ability to score goals, but also his selflessness and ability to work hard out of possession for the team," said Smith. "So, when you have an attacker that is willing to do the dirty work, he just adds that extra dimension and sets an example that his teammates follow."

The nickname "Chico" was one given to him by his former teammates and staff in Pittsburgh.

Chico's decision to come to Rhode Island was one purely based on his passion for the sport, a league that has given him opportunity and the coach that was there with him in the beginning.

"For me, it's about how you want to keep growing in your game," said Chico. "I'm only 26 and still have a lot to learn. The coaching staff here is so experienced and I'm excited to keep learning from them every day."

Smith, Chico and Rhode Island FC returns to USL Championship action on Saturday, March 30 (7:30 p.m. ET) when the club travels south to Florida to take on Tampa Bay Rowdies. Ninety miles from Orlando, where the pair's origin story began, the soccer lifecycle of two great people comes full circle.

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