Game Preview: Rhode Island FC at North Carolina FC: Oct 18, 2025
USL Rhode Island FC

Game Preview: Rhode Island FC at North Carolina FC: Oct 18, 2025

Published on October 14, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


This weekend, the formula is simple: win and in. The race to the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs is coming to a dramatic conclusion with just two games remaining in the regular season, and Rhode Island FC is one of four teams fighting for two remaining spots in the Eastern Conference standings. After a commanding 5-0 win over fellow playoff hopefuls Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, the Ocean State club is at the doorstep of clinching a second-straight playoff berth, and can do so this weekend with a result when it visits North Carolina FC. After collecting its first-ever win at Centreville Bank Stadium on June 14 against North Carolina FC, RIFC will look to repeat history with everything on the line in its penultimate regular season fixture in the Tar Heel State. Ahead of a massive Eastern Conference battle, here is everything you need to know.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, Oct. 18

Kickoff | 7:00 p.m. ET

Location | First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary, N.C.

Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+

Radio | WPRO 99.7 FM (AM 630)

Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)

Game Hashtag | #NCvRI

Last Meeting | June 14, 2025: RI 2-1 NC - Pawtucket, R.I.

NORTH CAROLINA FC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (4): 1-Jake McGuire, 22-Oliver Semmle, 24-Trevor Mulqueen, 25-Akira Fitzgerald

DEFENDERS (9): 5-Paco Craig, 11-Patrick Burner, 14-Rafa Mentzingen, 20-Conor Donovan, 23-Jahlane Forbes, 27-Bryce Washington, 42-Ezra Armstrong, 55-Triston Hodge, 66-Finn Sundstrom

MIDFIELDERS (10): 6-Thomas Roberts IV, 8-Pedro Dolabella, 10-Jaden Servania, 13-Louis Perez, 15-Mikey Maldonado, 16-Rodrigo Da Costa, 17-Collin Martin, 19-Ahmad Al-Qaq, 44-Raheem Somersall, 71-Jayson Quintanilla

FORWARDS (4): 7-Evan Conway, 9-Oalex Anderson, 26-Adam Luckhurst, 30-Raul Avalos

Snap the Slide

Although North Carolina FC has been strong at WakeMed Soccer Park with a 8W-4L-2T record, it is winless in its last three games - and has just one win in its last five - after suffering its second-straight shutout loss last time out. Despite already clinching its spot in the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs, a pair of 2-0 losses vs. Detroit City FC and Phoenix Rising FC in its last two games have hurt its chances at securing a home playoff game. Last week's loss saw it fall out of the top four in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Week 11 - marking the the end of an impressive 22-week stretch in a home playoff spot. Now, sitting just one point removed from re-taking fourth place, it will hope to close out its regular-season home slate with an important result vs. Rhode Island FC and return to better form ahead of the postseason.

Efficient Up Top

NCFC's last two losses marked the first time the club has suffered back-to-back shutouts since August 2024, and the first time it has done so this season. Prior to its last two games, it had scored in 12-straight USL Championship games, and had only suffered two shutouts. At its best, North Carolina boasts a dangerous team that is no stranger to finding the back of the net, as it has scored 39 goals in 28 games this season. The Eastern Conference club has been without its top scorer, Evan Conway, who has not appeared in the last three games. Prior to his absence, he had scored in three-straight games, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory vs. Miami FC on Sept. 26. Conway leads North Carolina with nine goals, while Pedro Dolabella is not far behind him with seven. Although Dolabella has struggled to find the back of the net recently, four of his goals came in a six-game span in August, and NCFC has only lost once in seven games that he has found a goal. If Dolabella can re-discover his red-hot summer form, North Carolina will be a dangerous team to face on Saturday.

Score First

North Carolina FC is strongest when it sets the tone early. It is unbeaten in its last six USL Championship games when scoring the opening goal, and is fourth in the USL Championship with 22 first-half goals in 28 games. Sixteen of those first-half goals have been scored in front of its home fans, which is the second-highest total in the USL Championship. Defensively, North Carolina FC has six clean sheets and has a perfectly balanced goal differential with 39 conceded goals. North Carolina FC games are frequently exciting contests that involve scoring on both sides, so it is imperative that the homeside gets on the front foot early in order to get back into the win column vs. Rhode Island FC.

RHODE ISLAND FC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jackson Lee, 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer

DEFENDERS (7): 4-Hugo Bacharach, 6-Aimé Mabika, 14-Rio Hope-Gund, 15-Frank Nodarse, 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 5-Grant Stoneman, 24-Karifa Yao, 16-Cole Dewhurst

MIDFIELDERS (12): 80-Isaac Angking*, 18-Joe Brito, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 8-Taimu Okiyoshi*, 21-Maxi Rodriguez, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 19-Kevin Vang, 23-Marc Ybarra, 7-Dwayne Atkinson

FORWARDS (3): 10-Albert Dikwa, 11-Noah Fuson, 9-JJ Williams

*Out on loan

Getting Hot at the Right Time

Similar to its historic run to the 2024 USL Championship Final, Rhode Island FC is getting hot when it matters. It has not lost a game in more than a month, boasting a 4W-0L-1T record since the beginning of September. The red-hot run of form is the second-best in the entire league behind only league-leaders Louisville City FC. Rhode Island FC joins Louisville and Hartford Athletic as the only USL Championship teams with four wins in their last five games, and has nearly doubled its season-long goalscoring production in that short stretch with 12 goals in its last five games. After averaging less than a goal per game in its opening 23 games of the season, that total has skyrocketed to an average of 2.4 goals per game in its last five, including a season-best 5-0 win last time out. The emphatic win vs. the Tampa Bay Rowdies was not only the largest win of the season, but it was also the second-largest win in Rhode Island FC history, behind only last season's historic 8-1 win vs. Miami FC on Oct. 26, 2024. It also marked the third time RIFC has ever scored five goals in a single game, and the second time it has won by three or more goals in the 2025 regular season.

Williams, Fuson Continue to Shine

For the second-straight game, JJ WIlliams and Noah Fuson were the focal point of a blistering RIFC attack that has burst out of its shell in the last month. Williams led the way with his first brace of the regular season vs. Tampa Bay, and the fourth multi-goal performance of his Rhode Island FC career, opening the scoring with the fastest goal in Centreville Bank Stadium history just eight minutes into the game. Williams leads the team with six goals in 2025, and is the club's all-time leading scorer across all competitions with 19 career goals in two seasons. He also added one assist, logging three goal contributions in just 45 minutes to put the Ocean State club up 3-0 at halftime and earn a selection to the USL Championship Week 32 Team of the Week. Fuson, who assisted Williams' first goal before scoring off of a Williams assist to double the lead just 20 minutes later, now has three goal contributions in his last two games. After Fuson also assisted Williams in the club's 2-2 tie at El Paso Locomotive FC on Sept. 26, the link-up play vs. Tampa Bay marked the first time this season that two players have combined to score in back-to-back games, and the first time that two players have combined to score multiple goals in a single game this season. Although RIFC's 3-1 win vs. Las Vegas Lights FC on Oct. 5 was later scratched from the record and recorded as a 3-0 forfeit win, the pair also combined to score in that contest.

Clinching Scenarios

Rhode Island FC is within touching distance of a second-straight playoff berth, rising to seventh place in the USL Championship Power Rankings with multiple clinching scenarios at play this weekend. The club is unbeaten (2W-0L-1T) in three all-time meetings vs. North Carolina FC, including its first-ever win at Centreville Bank Stadium on June 14, and will look to repeat history with a win to officially clinch its spot in the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs. Three points in North Carolina would not only seal a postseason berth, but also bring RIFC within one point of NCFC, who currently occupy the fifth place spot in the Eastern Conference standings. However, regardless of the result in North Carolina, an Indy Eleven tie or loss at Loudoun United FC would also be enough to seal a playoff spot for the Ocean State club.

Check out the Rhode Island FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 14, 2025


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