Rhode Island FC Hands Hartford Athletic First Loss of 2026, Advances to U.S. Open Cup Round of 32
USL Rhode Island FC

Rhode Island FC Hands Hartford Athletic First Loss of 2026, Advances to U.S. Open Cup Round of 32

Published on April 1, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


JJ Williams of Rhode Island FC reacts after his goal against Hartford Athletic
JJ Williams of Rhode Island FC reacts after his goal against Hartford Athletic
(Rhode Island FC)

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - For the second-straight year, Rhode Island FC punched its ticket to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32, defeating Hartford Athletic 2-0 at Centreville Bank Stadium on Wednesday and picking up back-to-back wins in the historic cup for the first time. RIFC took control early and never looked back en route to the shutout rivalry win, advancing thanks to a pair of first-half goals from Aldair Sanchez and JJ Williams.

Rhode Island FC (2W-0L) started the game strong, scoring its earliest goal of the season when Williams and Sanchez combined to put away Kevin Vang's corner in the 12th minute. After Vang's corner kick from the right side found the head of Williams at the back post, Williams headed the ball back into the middle for Sanchez, who powered an acrobatic finish into the back of the net to give RIFC the lead.

RIFC continued to press into the first half, doubling its advantage on another corner kick 18 minutes later. Williams once again wreaked havoc in the box, connecting with Agustín "Pity" Rodríguez's cross. Although Williams' header was initially stopped by Hartford Athletic (1W-1L) goalkeeper Enzo Carvalho, he spilled the rebound, which Williams converted from close range to put the Ocean State club up 2-0.

After a trio of attacking changes at halftime, Hartford began to grow into the game, testing the goal for the first time in the 57th minute when Michee Ngalina broke into a one-on-one position and tore into the box. Ngalina curled a right-footed effort towards goal, but RIFC goalkeeper Koke Vegas came up huge with a heroic save to preserve the two-goal lead. In the 78th minute, Hartford nearly found the breakthrough once again when Sebastian Anderson got on the end of a loose ball in the box, firing a shot past Vegas that was cleared off the goal line by Frank Nodarse.

Despite a late effort, Rhode Island FC did enough to see out a comfortable 2-0 win, punching its ticket to the Round of 32 for the second-straight year and picking up back-to-back U.S. Open Cup wins for the first time in club history. RIFC will move on to face a Major League Soccer opponent in the next round, which will take place on April 14-15. RIFC's opponent will be determined during the Round of 32 draw, which will air live on CBS Golazo Network's Morning Footy on Thursday, April 2 at 9 a.m.

Up next, Rhode Island FC will return to USL Championship play at Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, April 4 at 4 p.m. vs. Detroit City FC for 401 Night. Tickets for the next home games are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

RI - Aldair Sanchez (JJ Williams), 12th minute: Sanchez drills home Williams' header from inside the box. RI 1, HFD 0

RI - JJ Williams, 30th minute: Williams converts a close-range rebound after his initial header was saved. RI 2, HFD 0

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Rhode Island FC tallied back-to-back shutout wins in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history.

Aldair Sanchez scored his first career goal for the Ocean State club.

JJ Williams assisted his second goal of the season across all competitions, and the tenth of his RIFC career. He is the second player in club history to tally double-digit assists behind Noah Fuson (15).

Williams scored his 20th career goal for the club, cementing himself as RIFC's all-time leading goalscorer. The goal was his first of the 2026 season.

Hamady Diop made his first start of 2026 across all competitions.

Kevin Vang made his second U.S. Open Cup start, and his third all-time for the club.

Koke Vegas kept his second-straight clean sheet in the U.S. Open Cup, doing so for the first time in club history. The clean sheet was the 22nd of his RIFC career.

The win vs. Hartford Athletic was RIFC's first at Centreville Bank Stadium, and second all-time. The game marked Hartford's first loss of 2026 across all competitions.

Rhode Island FC will play in the Round of 32 against an MLS opponent for the second-straight year. RIFC's opponent will be determined during the Round of 32 draw, which will air live on CBS Golazo Network's Morning Footy on Thursday, April 2 at 9 a.m.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: JJ Williams

Check out the Rhode Island FC Statistics

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



Images from this story

JJ Williams of Rhode Island FC reacts after his goal against Hartford Athletic
JJ Williams of Rhode Island FC reacts after his goal against Hartford Athletic
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 1, 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