Match Preview: Rhode Island FC vs. Hartford Athletic: August 10, 2024

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Rhode Island FC

Match Preview: Rhode Island FC vs. Hartford Athletic: August 10, 2024

August 8, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Following a narrow 1-0 midweek loss to Indy Eleven that saw Rhode Island FC's club-record eight-match unbeaten streak come to an end on Wednesday, the Ocean State club will look to bounce back as it welcomes Hartford Athletic to Beirne Stadium on Saturday for its first-ever home derby match, completing a stretch of three matches in eight days. After the two sides fought to a 1-1 draw on June 1 in Hartford during their first-ever meeting, Khano Smith's men will be hungry to defend their home turf the second time around, and will look to rebound against a Hartford team that is unbeaten in four of its last five matches. Ahead of one of the USL Championship's most anticipated rivalry matches of the season, here is everything you need to know.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, August 10

Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET

Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield, RI

Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+

Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)

Match Hashtag | #RIvsHFD

HARTFORD ATHLETIC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Greg Monroe, 40-Renan Ribeiro, 44-Justin DiCarlo

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Younes Boudadi, 3-Joey Akpunonu, 4-Jordan Scarlett, 5-Triston Hodge, 15-Joe Farrell, 23-Thomas Vancaeyezeele, 24-Michael DeShields, 27-Pele Ousmanou

MIDFIELDERS (6): 6-Beverly Malangila, 10-Danny Barrera, 1-Anderson Asiedu, 29-Emmanuel Samadia, 43-Ian Shaul, 94-Marlon Hairston

FORWARDS (6): 7-Marcus Epps, 11-Michee Ngalina, 17-Kyle Edwards, 31 Deshane Beckford, 33-Mamdoou Dieng, 37-Dantouoma "Yaya" Toure

Unbeaten in Three

While Hartford Athletic has struggled through the majority of the season to string together consecutive results, the Connecticut club finds itself in the midst of a season-best three-match unbeaten run, capped off by its recent 2-2 draw at Birmingham Legion FC. The Green and Blue overcame a two-goal deficit for the first since August 2022 to earn a result. Facing a 2-0 deficit at halftime with a 0W-8L-1D record on the road to that point, Hartford dug deep and fought back in the final 20 minutes with a performance Brendan Burke's side had not seen all season. The comeback effort started in the 72nd minute, when 20-year-old striker Mamadou Dieng headed home his third goal of the season, and third goal in five matches, to cut the lead in half. Then, with just four minutes remaining in regulation, Dieng was fouled in the box fighting for a rebound, earning a vital penalty that 2022 USL Championship Young Player of the Year Michee Ngalina converted to rescue a late point for the visitors, slotting home his team-leading seventh strike of the season.

Experience in the Back

Former Sporting CP goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro has been vitally important to Hartford in his debut season in the USL Championship, making several key saves in all of the club's last three matches to keep The Green and Blue's undefeated streak alive. The 34-year-old European soccer veteran is currently tied for sixth in the league with 56 saves despite spending the first six matches of the season sidelined due to injury. Ribeiro has held three clean sheets in 14 appearances with the club and his 79.7 save percentage leads the league. The Brazilian has stopped 56 of the 69 shots on target his opponents have put up against him. Nine of those saves, and two of his three total clean sheets, have come during the club's last three unbeaten matches, including a five-save performance in a 1-0 win over Detroit City FC, supplementing a run of form that has seen the club put out some of its best defensive performances of the season.

Road Woes

Hartford's 2-2 draw at Birmingham was only its second road result of the season, snapping an eight-match losing skid away from Trinity Health Stadium, dating back to the club's season opening 1-0 win at El Paso Locomotive FC. Through 10 road contests, Burke's squad has been outscored 23-6, and went more than five months without a win or draw. Hartford only registered one multi-goal performance in that time, which came against Birmingham last week, and have lost by multiple goals four times. On average, Hartford has conceded an average of 2.3 goals per match on the road while scoring less than one. Against a Rhode Island FC side that is unbeaten in its last three matches at Beirne Stadium, it will be crucial for the visitors to use its recent defensive momentum in order to secure a second-straight result on the road.

RHODE ISLAND FC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 22-Jackson Lee, 30-Nate Silveira

DEFENDERS (7): 2-Nathan Messer, 3-Stephen Turnbull, 4-Collin Smith, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao

MIDFIELDERS (11): 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 20-Zachary Herivaux, 21-Kofi Twumasi, 23-Marc Ybarra, 25-Kevin Orduy, 28-Conor McGlynn, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson, 80-Isaac Angking

FORWARDS (4): 9-JJ Williams, 10-Chico, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Mark Doyle

Home Sweet Home

After suffering a midweek loss that snapped the fourth-longest undefeated streak in the USL Championship this season, there is no better place for Rhode Island FC to look to rebound than Beirne Stadium, where it is unbeaten in five of its last six matches. The Ocean State club hasn't lost at home in more than two months and has scored eight goals across three matches during that time. In its last two home matches, RIFC has fought back from behind to claim important results against Eastern Conference clubs with a 2-1 win vs. North Carolina FC and a 3-3 draw vs. Indy Eleven. All five goals came late in the match, showcasing the team's ability to put on complete 90-minute performances week in and week out. Against a Hartford team that is finally starting to find its form, another hard-fought effort will be necessary to create further separation from the New England rival in the Eastern Conference standings.

Back to Winning Ways

Wednesday's loss was a rare slump in form for the RIFC attack, which has revealed itself as one of the most efficient goalscoring units in the USL Championship. During the eight matches the club went without a loss, RIFC put away a staggering 22 goals, which stood as the most in the league and accounted for an average of nearly three goals per match, totaling an impressive 66 percent of its 33-goal output in under one-third of the club's total matches. Even after the 1-0 loss, which marked the first time the Ocean State side had been shut out in nearly two months, RIFC still average a goal every 60 minutes. The explosive eight-match run took the club from bottom-six in the league to fourth-most in goals scored. During the historic stretch, the first seven matches were multi-goal showings, including all of its last three home matches, and five matches featured at least three RIFC goals. Against Hartford, who's starting goalkeeper boasts the highest save percentage in the league, the formula is simple: get back to the relentless attack and hammer the opposition's goal.

Rotation, rotation, rotation

Faced with the struggle of playing three matches in eight days, Wednesday's loss at Indy Eleven featured a season-high six changes to USL Championship Coach of the Month Khano Smith's starting lineup, showcasing his squad's depth. The changes included a second start of the season for defender Colin Smith and the 11th start between the sticks for goalkeeper Jackson Lee. Conor McGlynn also featured as a starter for the first time since the club's 3-2 win at Miami FC, and Mark Doyle, Gabriel Alves and Joe Brito joined McGlynn as the other three changes. Doyle, who put in a Man of the Match performance, was responsible for one of the visitor's best chances of the night in the 18th minute when the forward forced a goalline save after linking up with a Brito cross. The two have a combined five goal contributions on the year. In total, Smith's bench has shown that they are capable of getting the starting nod whenever they are needed, as substitutes alone have accounted for a league-second-best nine goals on the season.

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