Sporting JAX Men Earn First Point After Frantic Finish in Rhode Island
USL Sporting Club Jacksonville

Sporting JAX Men Earn First Point After Frantic Finish in Rhode Island

Published on March 14, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sporting Club Jacksonville News Release


Sporting Club Jacksonville (0-1-1, 1 pt) earned the first point in the club's USL Championship history via a scrappy 1-1 draw against Rhode Island FC (0-1-1, 1 pt) on Saturday.

An energetic crowd filed into Centreville Bank Stadium on a cold and windy March afternoon for what had become the team's season opener following a weather-related postponement of last week's match.

Rhode Island may have not played last week, but it didn't show as the home side pounced on the attack to begin the match. Sporting JAX dug in their heels and settled in, though. An early sign of life for the Jacksonville offense came from a defender, when defender Tyshawn Rose launched a shot at the goal in the 24th minute, forcing an impressive save by Rhode Island keeper Koke Vegas.

One key descriptor for the first half, and much of the match, was chippy. It was a physical affair, with plenty of aggressive play taking place throughout. This would continue later into the match, especially in its latter moments.

Coming into this match, Sporting JAX had Rhode Island forward JJ William's name circled. This proved accurate, as Williams was all over the pitch firing shots left and right. One of these came in the 43rd minute, when he sent a screamer off the right post. There had been close calls, but Sporting JAX hung on to enter the half time break all even.

There were more offensive fireworks from the home side to open the second half, but Sporting JAX goalkeeper Christian Olivares and his back line held strong throughout. That was until an unfortunate deflection caught Jacksonville in a bad spot in the 79th minute, allowing Rhode Island's Logan Dorsey to fire the ball into the net.

"With 10 minutes to play, there was a mistake made by me, but I think the boys did well to bounce back," Olivares said. "They came through and bailed me out; [I'm] upset about the mistake, but really happy with how the boys reacted."

With just over 10 minutes left in regular time, Jacksonville had their work cut out for them. An opportunity arose when Emil Jaaskelainen fired a shot on goal, bouncing off of Vegas' hands. Midfielder Rafferty Pedder, who has been with the team for less than two weeks, was there to capitalize, firing the ball into the net to equalize in the 84th minute.

The match was tied, but the squad wanted more. Staying tied became the main objective when midfielder Jordan Rossiter drew his second yellow card, ejecting him from the match. Now down a man, Sporting JAX had to survive for roughly 10 more minutes.

Sporting JAX Head Coach Liam Fox was pleased with the resilience that his squad showed despite facing tough circumstances.

"I was pleased that when we went behind a goal, we didn't roll over and stayed in the game," Fox said. "I'm really pleased with lots of aspects from the performance."

A great save by Olivares highlighted an impressive stand by Sporting JAX, who managed a 1-1 result to earn the team's first point of the season.

"It was fun; I'm happy," Pedder said in reference to the first goal with his new club. "It was a tough game, but when you play away, it's better to come away with something rather than nothing."

Ultimately, Fox noted that there is room for improvement, especially regarding offensive possession. This was highlighted by the number of shots taken, with Rhode Island recording nearly 20 more than Sporting JAX.

"Today, we were nowhere near the level I want us to be at with possession of the ball, but we hung in there," Fox said. "Sometimes in soccer, you have to hang in there and we did that today."

The Sporting JAX men will return to Hodges Stadium for their next action, hosting Miami FC on Wednesday, March 25.

Check out the Sporting Club Jacksonville Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 14, 2026


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