Rhode Island FC Announces 2026 Schedule
USL Rhode Island FC

Rhode Island FC Announces 2026 Schedule

Published on December 16, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Today, Rhode Island FC announced its schedule for the 2026 USL Championship season. RIFC will play at least 34 games from March to October, including 30 regular-season games and four group stage matchups in the third edition of the newly-named Prinx Tires USL Cup. Rhode Island FC kicks off the 2026 season with its Home Opener on Saturday, March 7, vs. Loudoun United FC at 2:30 p.m.

Single-game tickets to RIFC's first five home games of the 2026 season are available here. For a limited time only, fans can score a free bonus game with the purchase of any 5-game plan!

"RIFC fans deliver the energy that drives our team," said Rhode Island FC President David Peart. "We look forward to welcoming the best fans in the USL back to award-winning Centreville Bank Stadium for another action-filled campaign in 2026 as we celebrate the summer of soccer in the Ocean State."

Rhode Island FC will split its 34-game schedule evenly, playing 17 games at home and 17 on the road. The club will compete in an expanded 13-team Eastern Conference, which includes expansion teams Sporting Club Jacksonville and Brooklyn FC. RIFC will play 24 intraconference games (12 home, 12 away) and six interconference games (3 home, 3 away) along with four Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage games (2 home, 2 away). It will also compete in the 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which will kick off with the First Round of play between March 17-19.

2026 Rhode Island FC Schedule

GAME DAY DATE TIME OPPONENT

1 Saturday March 7 2:30 p.m. Loudoun United FC

2 Saturday March 14 TBD Sporting Club Jacksonville

3 Saturday March 21 TBD Louisville City FC

4 Saturday March 28 TBD Miami FC

5 Saturday April 4 TBD Detroit City FC

6 Saturday April 11 TBD Lexington SC

7 Wednesday April 22 TBD Charleston Battery

8 Saturday April 25 TBD Hartford Athletic*

9 Saturday May 2 TBD Birmingham Legion FC

10 Saturday May 9 TBD Tampa Bay Rowdies

11 Saturday May 16 TBD Portland Hearts of Pine*

12 Saturday May 23 TBD Brooklyn FC

13 Saturday May 30 TBD Indy Eleven

14 Saturday June 6 TBD Westchester SC*

15 Saturday June 13 TBD Loudoun United FC

16 Saturday July 4 TBD Orange County SC

17 Wednesday July 8 TBD Sacramento Republic FC

18 Saturday July 11 TBD Brooklyn FC*

19 Saturday July 18 TBD Hartford Athletic

20 Saturday July 25 TBD Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

21 Saturday Aug. 1 TBD Birmingham Legion FC

22 Saturday Aug. 8 TBD Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

23 Saturday Aug. 15 TBD Tampa Bay Rowdies

24 Saturday Aug. 22 TBD Monterey Bay FC

25 Saturday Aug. 29 TBD FC Tulsa

26 Saturday Sept. 5 TBD Louisville City FC

27 Saturday Sept. 12 TBD Sporting Club Jacksonville

28 Saturday Sept. 19 TBD Miami FC

29 Saturday Sept. 26 TBD Charleston Battery

30 Wednesday Sept. 30 TBD Indy Eleven

31 Saturday Oct. 3 TBD Brooklyn FC

32 Saturday Oct. 10 TBD Detroit City FC

33 Saturday Oct. 17 TBD Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

34 Saturday Oct. 24 TBD Hartford Athletic

*Prinx Tires USL Cup Group Stage

Rhode Island FC kicks off the 2026 campaign with two-straight home games, first welcoming Loudoun United FC for its home opener before playing host to newly-established Sporting Club Jacksonville one week later. The Ocean State club will spend four of its first seven games at home through the end of April, rounding out that slate with home games vs. Eastern Conference foes Detroit City FC (April 4) and Charleston Battery (April 22).

RIFC's first road trip of the season will take it to Lynn Family Stadium on March 21, where it will take on Louisville City FC, who were undefeated at home in the 2025 regular season en route to its second-straight Players' Shield. On April 11, RIFC makes its first-ever trip to Lexington SC, who moved up to the USL Championship in 2025 after four successful seasons in USL League One.

On April 25, Rhode Island FC begins its second campaign in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, where it will compete in Group 5. RIFC kicks off the tournament when it travels to Trinity Health Stadium to take on regional rival Hartford Athletic in the opening game of the 43-team, World Cup-style tournament. It will spend the first two games of the group stage on the road, following its game in Hartford with a trip to Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, Maine, to take on USL League One side Portland Hearts of Pine on May 16. Rhode Island FC will round out the group stage with a pair of games at Centreville Bank Stadium when it welcomes Westchester SC on June 6, followed by a first-ever meeting with USL Championship expansion side Brooklyn FC on July 11.

RIFC returns to league action with an exciting stretch of games in July and August. The club kicks things off when it welcomes Hartford Athletic to Centreville Bank Stadium for the first regular-season meeting of the year between the two rivals on July 18. One week later, the Ocean State club returns to Highmark Stadium for a rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Final vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The beginning of August will bring yet another exciting rematch, as 2024 USL Championship Final winners Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC makes its first trip to Pawtucket on Aug. 8 to take on RIFC for the first time since the two clubs faced off in the 2024 USL Championship Final.

As the playoff push intensifies, RIFC's fall slate features several enticing road trips heading into September. In the final two months of the season, RIFC will travel to 2025 USL Championship finalists FC Tulsa (Aug. 29), make its first-ever trips to Jacksonville (Sept. 12) and Brooklyn (Oct. 3), and travel back to Patriots Point Soccer Stadium to take on Charleston Battery (Sept. 26), where it famously upset the No. 2 seed in back-to-back playoff campaigns, including the 2024 Eastern Conference Final.

After facing Pittsburgh at Centreville Bank Stadium on Oct. 17 to conclude its 2026 home slate, RIFC's third regular-season campaign will come to a thrilling finale when it heads back to Trinity Health Stadium on Oct. 24 to take on Hartford Athletic in the third and final derby match in 2026. Should RIFC finish in eighth place or higher in the Eastern Conference, a return to the single-elimination, fixed bracket format USL Championship Playoffs would kick off during the weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 2. After the conference semifinals and final, the postseason will conclude with the 2026 USL Championship Final on the CBS Television Network between Nov. 20-22.

For Rhode Island FC news and updates, visit rhodeislandfc.com, download the official team app, and follow the club on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from December 16, 2025


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