Rhode Island FC Travels to Regional Rival Hartford Athletic in Opening Game of 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup
USL Rhode Island FC

Rhode Island FC Travels to Regional Rival Hartford Athletic in Opening Game of 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup

Published on April 25, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Rhode Island FC travels to Trinity Health Stadium to take on Hartford Athletic in the group stage of the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup.

WHO

Hartford Athletic

Rhode Island FC

WHEN

Saturday, April 25

7:00 p.m. ET

WHERE

Trinity Health Stadium

250 Huyshope Ave.

Hartford, CT 06106

BROADCAST

CBS Sports Network

RADIO

790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)

GAME PREVIEW

After a red-hot start to the season that saw Hartford get off to a 3W-0L-2T record across all competitions, its 2-0 loss at Rhode Island FC on April 1 marked its first loss of the 2026 season. Since then, it is winless and scoreless in its last three games, including a 4-0 home loss vs. El Paso Locomotive FC and a pair of 0-0 ties vs. Miami FC and Loudoun United FC. After scoring the second-most goals in the league (7) through its opening four games, the Connecticut club finds itself on the wrong end of a four-game scoreless streak across all competitions, and will look to bounce back against its closest rivals to return to the win column for the first time in more than a month. Despite the drop in form, goalkeeper Antony Siaha has continued to be a foundational pillar of Hartford's resilient defense. The experienced USL shot-stopper leads the USL Championship with 25 saves and is second with four shutouts in seven games.

Rhode Island FC has scored seven goals in its last two USL Championship games, recording back-to-back wins for the first time in 2026. RIFC most recently took down Charleston Battery 4-0 in its second-largest shutout victory in club history on Wednesday, fueled by a four-goal showing in the second half. JJ Williams highlighted the historic performance with his 49th and 50th career regular-season goals, logging his sixth career multi-goal game for the club to open his regular-season account in 2026. In total, the Ocean State club's all-time leading scorer has logged three goals and one assist in his last four games across all competitions. Jojea Kwizera joined Williams on the scoresheet, surpassing his 2025 goal total just six games into the regular season. He netted his team-leading third goal in USL Championship play, scoring in back-to-back games for just the second time in his RIFC career. In total, RIFC's last seven goals in the league have been scored by five different players.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 25, 2026


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