Rhode Island FC Hosts Regional Rival Hartford Athletic in U.S. Open Cup Second Round Tomorrow
USL Rhode Island FC

Rhode Island FC Hosts Regional Rival Hartford Athletic in U.S. Open Cup Second Round Tomorrow

Published on March 31, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Led by Head Coach Brendan Burke, who won the Open Cup as an assistant coach with Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo in 2023, Hartford Athletic began its 2026 Open Cup with a hard-fought 2-0 win at USL League Two side FC Motown to punch its ticket to the Second Round. Last season, the club entered the competition in the Second Round, where it fell in a heartbreaking penalty-shootout loss at USL League One side Portland Hearts of Pine after conceding a late equalizer in extra time. The loss marked the second-consecutive year Hartford gave up a lead in extra time to end its Open Cup campaign, and it currently holds a 4W-5L all-time record in the competitions dating back to 2019. Hartford travels to RIFC looking to win back-to-back U.S. Open Cup games, and advance to the Round of 32, for the first time in the club's eight-year history.

Rhode Island FC opened up its 2026 U.S. Open Cup campaign with a dominant 4-0 win over amateur side CD Faialense, dispatching the Cambridge-based club through a trio of first-time goalscorers while keeping its first-ever clean sheet in the historic competition. Defenders Dani Rovira, CJ Williams and Nick Scardina all scored their first career RIFC goals in the win, with Williams doing so in his first professional start. Defender Hugo Bacharach and midfielder Kevin Vang also tallied their first career RIFC assists vs. CD Faialense. A win vs. Hartford in the Second Round would see RIFC reach the Round of 32 for the second-straight year, setting up a matchup vs. Major League Soccer opposition for just the second time in club history. On May 7, 2025, RIFC fell 2-1 to Major League Soccer club New England Revolution in last season's Round of 32.

WHAT

Rhode Island FC hosts Hartford Athletic at Centreville Bank Stadium in the Second Round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

WHO

Rhode Island FC

Hartford Athletic

WHEN

Wednesday, April 1

7:00 p.m. ET

WHERE

Centreville Bank Stadium

11 Tidewater St.

Pawtucket, R.I. 02860

BROADCAST

Paramount+

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 31, 2026


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