USL CUP Preview: Rhode Island FC at Portland Hearts of Pine: May 16, 2026
USL Rhode Island FC

USL CUP Preview: Rhode Island FC at Portland Hearts of Pine: May 16, 2026

Published on May 12, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Rhode Island FC will continue its journey in the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup on Saturday, playing its first inter-league game of the season when it travels to Fitzpatrick Stadium to take on USL League One club Portland Hearts of Pine. Both clubs went the distance in their respective opening games of the group stage - RIFC defeated regional rival Hartford Athletic in a penalty shootout on April 25, while Portland fell in penalties to fellow USL League One rival Westchester SC. As a result, Rhode Island FC sits in third in Group 5 with two points, just one spot above Portland, setting up a crucial early battle between two squads fighting to solidify their place in the top half of the group. Ahead of RIFC's first-ever trip to Fitzpatrick Stadium, here is everything you need to know.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, May 16

Kickoff | 4:00 p.m. ET

Location | Fitzpatrick Stadium - Portland, Maine

Broadcast | NESN, ESPN Select

Radio | 790 The Score (WPRV 790 AM)

Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)

Game Hashtag | #PORvRI

Last Meeting | June 27, 2025: RI 4-1 POR - Pawtucket, R.I.

About the Prinx Tires USL Cup

The 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup is the third edition of the USL's interleague cup competition, a World Cup-style tournament which features all 43 teams across the USL Championship and League One. The 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup will kick off on Saturday, April 25, with teams split into seven regional groups. Six groups will include six teams and one will include seven teams, with each club set to play four group stage games in the opening phase of the tournament, which will conclude on Saturday, July 11. The seven group winners and one wild card will advance to the knockout stage, with the wild card to be awarded to the second-placed team with the most points in group play, followed by the first tiebreaker of most goals scored. The Quarterfinals will be held on Wednesday, August 13, followed by the Semifinals on Wednesday, September 9, before the final on the weekend of October 2-4, 2026.

Rhode Island FC will compete in Group 5 of the tournament, joining Hartford Athletic, Brooklyn FC, and USL League One clubs Portland Hearts of Pine, Westchester SC and New York Cosmos.

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 0-Peter Morrell, 1-Hunter Morse, 23-Kash Oladapo

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Jaden Jones-Riley, 17-Zion Scarlett, 22-Brecc Evans, 25-Esteban Espinosa, 27-Ernest Mensah Jr., 44-Sergine Mbacke Faye, 66-Kemali Green, 99-Joshua Drack

MIDFIELDERS (9): 5-Mikey Lopez, 6-Mo Mohammed, 8-Michel Poon-Angeron, 10-Ollie Wright, 18-Diogo Barbosam 19-Khalid Hersi, 21-Konstantinos Georgallides, 35-Tyler Huck, 98-Matteo Kid

FORWARDS (6): 7-Walter Varela, 9-Aboubacar Camara, 11-Jay Tee Kamara, 14-Titus Washington, 32-Emiliano Terzaghi, 70-Lagos Kunga

The Homestand Begins

Portland Hearts of Pine will begin a three-game homestand with its game vs. Rhode Island FC, and it could not come at a better time. Hearts have struggled to begin the 2026 campaign, picking up just two wins in their first 10 games of 2026 across all competitions with a 2W-2L-6T record. Much of the time, however, was spent on a challenging road stretch, with Portland playing just three of its first ten games of the season at Fitzpatrick Stadium. It is unbeaten (1W-0L-2T) at home so far, and will look to snap a two-game winless skid when it kicks off the first of three-straight home games on Saturday. Across the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Prinx Tires USL Cup - the two non-regular season competitions Portland has participated in this season - the club is 0W-1T-1L, and will look for its second-ever win in the competition this weekend.

Hearts in the Cup

In its Prinx Tires USL Cup opener vs. Westchester SC on April 25, Esteban Espinosa gave Hearts an early advantage before Westchester scored two-straight goals to take a come-from-behind lead. Although Ollie Wright bagged one of his team-leading four goals on the year in the 84th minute to draw the game level, the visitors ultimately lost the penalty shootout and were forced to settle for a point. With only one non-group winner set to advance from the knockout round, a result on Saturday is necessary for Portland to keep themselves in the race for knockout round contention, and a win would see the club leapfrog RIFC in the Group 5 standings. In its inaugural USL Cup journey last season, Hearts were eliminated in the group stage after going 1W-2L-1T, with its lone win coming in an impressive 4-2 victory vs. USL Championship side Detroit City FC.

Last Time Out

After a 3-0 road loss to USL League One expansion side Fort Wayne FC the week prior, Hearts rebounded last time out in another tough road contest vs. 2024 USL League One champions Union Omaha. Portland showed their attacking firepower on the road in Nebraska, taking a 2-0 in the first half. Tyler Huck broke the deadlock in style just seven minutes in, picking out the top corner with a superb strike from distance to open his professional account. In first-half stoppage time, Titus Washington bagged his first goal of the season with a left-footed missile through traffic. Despite a very positive first half, things began to unravel in the 60th minute when Omaha pulled a goal back. The hosts eventually went on to equalize deep into second-half stoppage time, stunning Portland and denying what would have been one of its strongest road performances of the season. Although Portland showcased their attacking potential on the road, it has given up eight second-half goals and dropped four points from winning positions - both totals are the second-most in USL League One.

RHODE ISLAND FC

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 13-Will Meyer, 29-Jacob Castro

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Dani Rovira, 3-Aldair Sanchez, 4-Hugo Bacharach, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 22-Nick Scardina, 24-Karifa Yao, 25-CJ Williams, 32-Hamady Diop

MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Dwayne Atkinson, 10-Agustín "Pity" Rodríguez, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Zachary Herivaux, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson

FORWARDS (5): 8-Leo Afonso, 9-JJ Williams, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Logan Dorsey, 20-Jamin Gogo Peters

Back From Behind

For the first time since July 5, 2025, Rhode Island FC rallied back from a losing position to earn a result in the regular season, doing so vs. the top team in the USL Championship. After going down 1-0 in the first half to the league-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies - who had given up just four goals in seven games coming into their game vs. RIFC - the Ocean State club refused to back down. It eventually found the equalizer in the 85th minute when second-half substitute Nick Scardina found JJ Williams with an inch-perfect cross, and Williams drilled a header into the back of the net to secure a come-from-behind tie. The goal was Williams's team-leading fifth of the season across all competitions, and his club-leading 25th career goal for Rhode Island FC. He has scored three goals in RIFC's last three regular-season games. Scardina's assist was the first of his USL Championship career, and helped RIFC become just the third team this season to keep Tampa Bay out of the win column. RIFC is unbeaten in six of its last seven games against USL Championship competition across the USL Cup and regular season.

RIFC in the Cup

In its Prinx Tires USL Cup opener at regional rival Hartford Athletic on April 25, the Ocean State club prevailed in dramatic fashion, winning in a penalty shootout after fighting to a scoreless tie. Goalkeeper Koke Vegas was the hero in the shootout, making a crucial stop to give RIFC its first-ever penalty shootout win in the competition, and its second in club history. In Rhode Island FC's first-ever appearance in the cup last season, it found some of its most proficient attacking play. It led Group 4 with 11 goals through four group stage games, including a 4-1 win vs. Portland Hearts of Pine at Centreville Bank Stadium. It went 3W-0L-1T through the group stage in its inaugural USL Cup run, including a pair of 4-1 wins vs. Portland and Westchester SC, fueling its run to the semifinals of the World Cup-style competition. It defeated Birmingham Legion FC 1-0 in the quarterfinals before falling in a penalty-shootout loss to Sacramento Republic FC in the semifinals, ending an impressive cup run that saw the club come within two games of a trophy. In total, the run saw eight different players combine for 12 goals through six games.

For the Recordbooks

Rhode Island FC is 3W-1L-0T all-time vs. USL League One teams and 2W-0L-0T all-time vs. Portland Hearts of Pine, including the fourth-biggest win in club history in last season's group stage. The all-time series began in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup, where the Ocean State club became the first team to defeat Portland in its temporary home venue in Lewiston, Maine with a 2-1 win in the Second Round on April 15, 2025. In total, RIFC has out-scored Portland 6-2 across two all-time meetings, and has out-scored USL League One opponents 14-7 in four all-time meetings. Saturday will be RIFC's second trip to Maine, and its first-ever visit to Portland's 'Fort Fitzy,' where it will look for its third-straight win against the Hearts of Pine.

Check out the Rhode Island FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 12, 2026


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