Game Preview: Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies: May 9, 2026
USL Rhode Island FC

Game Preview: Rhode Island FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies: May 9, 2026

Published on May 6, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Rhode Island FC will look to rebound on Saturday after a 3-1 loss vs. Birmingham Legion FC last time out interrupted its four-game unbeaten streak against USL Championship competition. It will return to Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to welcome the league-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies, who are the last remaining unbeaten team in the USL Championship with a 5W-0L-2T record through its first seven games. RIFC, who is 3W-1L-0T all-time against the Rowdies, will look to get back into the win column by picking up its fourth-straight victory in the all-time series. The last time the two squads met at Centreville Bank Stadium, RIFC picked up its largest shutout victory in club history with a 5-0 win on Oct. 11, 2025. Ahead of Hometown Heroes Night at Centreville Bank Stadium, here is everything you need to know.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, May 9

Kickoff | 7:30 p.m. ET

Location | Centreville Bank Stadium - Pawtucket, R.I.

Broadcast | myRITV, ESPN Select

Digital | WPRI 12+ Streaming App

Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)

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

Game Hashtag | #RIvTBR

Last Meeting | Oct. 11, 2025: RI 5-0 TBR - Pawtucket, R.I.

TAMPA BAY ROWDIES

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (4): 1-Jahmali White, 24-Austin Pack, 35-Caleb Klepacz, 41-Joshua Kachurak

DEFENDERS (11): 3-Brian Schaefer, 5-Yanis Leerman, 20-Charlie Ostrem, 22-Gennaro Nigro, 26-Dion Acoff, 27-Laurence Wyke, 30-Sebastian Cruz, 36-Alex Rodriguez, 37-Jesse Tita, 55-Leland Archer, 62-Nate Dossantos

MIDFIELDERS (6): 4-Lewis Hilton, 8-Pedo Dolabella, 13-Louis Perez, 16-Marco Micaletto, 17-Mattheus Oliveira, 23-Max Schneider

FORWARDS (6): 7-Evan Conway, 9-MD Myers, 10-Russell Cicerone, 11-Gino Vivi, 14-Karsen Henderlong, 21-Endri Mustali

League-Leading Form

For the first time in more than two seasons, a team other than Louisville City FC leads the USL Championship. The Tampa Bay Rowdies are in unstoppable form coming into Saturday's matchup, standing as the lone unbeaten team in the league with a near-perfect 5W-0L-2T record through their first seven games. Dating back to last season, the Rowdies are unbeaten in nine-straight regular-season games under head coach Dominic Casciato, matching the club's longest unbeaten run since July 2023. Tampa Bay is one of just three teams in the USL Championship to score in every game it has played in this season, and the only team in the Eastern Conference to avoid a shutout so far, leading the league with a +8 goal differential while allowing a league-low four goals.

Last Time Out

After out-scoring its opponents 8-1 through four-straight wins to kick off the 2026 regular season, Tampa Bay were held to two-straight ties, temporarily suspending its winning form. The club returned to the win column vs. Indy Eleven with a 1-0 victory on May 2, coming out on top of the tightly-contested battle thanks to Mattheus Oliveira's first goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Oliveira was the seventh Rowdie to find the scoresheet this season, joining Rowdies newcomers Evan Conway, Sebastian Cruz, Marco Micaletto, MD Myers and Russell Cicerone, who all have two apiece. A large part of Tampa Bay's success early on is due to Casciato's massive roster rebuild in his first full offseason with the team: Incredibly, after returning just three players from the 2025 roster that finished 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, 100 percent of the Rowdies' goalscoring this season has come from players who are playing their first season with Tampa Bay.

Defensive Stability

Tampa Bay's defensive structure has been near-airtight this season. While the club has been firing on all cylinders offensively with a league fourth-best 106 shots and 12 goals, it has faced a league-low 57 shots on the other end - 11 fewer than the next-best shot-preventing defense in the league, Louisville City FC. The Rowdies are second in the league with four clean sheets and have conceded a league-low four goals in seven games, conceding multiple goals on just one occasion. In stark contrast to the Rowdies team that conceded eight unanswered goals in two games against Rhode Island FC last season, Tampa Bay will make its second trip to Pawtucket hoping to snap a three-game winless run against the Ocean State club and add to its historic run of form.

RHODE ISLAND FC

Roster

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

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 25-CJ Williams, 32-Hamady Diop

MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín "Pity" Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Zachary Herivaux, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson

FORWARDS (5): 8-Leo Afonso, 9-JJ Williams, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Logan Dorsey, 20-Jamin Gogo Peters

Back on Track

After maintaining a 3W-0L-2T record through its first five games at Centreville Bank Stadium in 2026, RIFC suffered its first home loss of the season last time out when it fell 3-1 to Birmingham Legion FC. The loss marked the first time an otherwise very strong RIFC defense had conceded three goals at Centreville Bank Stadium, giving up a pair of goals less than three minutes into each half. Against a Tampa Bay Rowdies team that has scored the third-most goals in the league in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, starting strong defensively will be a critical key to keeping the Rowdies' offense quiet on Saturday. With the exception of the Birmingham loss, however, RIFC has been exceptional at home: Saturday's defeat was RIFC's first regulation loss at home in its last 11 games at Centreville Bank Stadium dating back to Sept. 6, 2025. Saturday will give the Ocean State club an opportunity to return to winning ways where it is strongest: in front of its home supporters.

Leo Finds the Net

After going down 1-0 inside of three minutes on Saturday, RIFC responded with resilience, temporarily equalizing the game when Leo Afonso found the back of the net in the 17th minute, scoring his first career goal at Centreville Bank Stadium. RIFC sprung in transition when Clay Holstad forced a turnover in the midfield, quickly playing Afonso forward. Afonso, showing a keen eye for goal with a well-timed run into the box, quickly took a touch to his right foot before curling a low shot around the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The goal, which was Afonso's second for the club, and second in as many regular-season games, put RIFC's attacking strengths on display: turning defense into offense with lightning-quick transition play and the ability to get numbers forward quickly.

For the Recordbooks

Since falling 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in its third game in club history on March 30, 2024, RIFC is unbeaten in three-straight games against Tampa Bay in the all-time series, holding a 3W-1L-0T record. Last season, Rhode Island FC was perfect against Tampa Bay, scoring eight unanswered goals in two meetings. The dominant run began with a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 17 that matched RIFC's joint-largest road margin of victory in club history. In the return fixture at Centerville Bank Stadium on Oct. 11, RIFC rounded out its 2025 home slate with a commanding 5-0 win - its largest shutout win of all time. On Saturday, RIFC will look to return to winning ways with its fourth-straight win against a new-look Rowdies side.

Check out the Rhode Island FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 6, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central