Rhode Island FC traveled south to play Loudoun United FC in Virginia on Saturday night in yet another matchup between two teams with playoff aspirations. In fact, with 33 points each, the two teams entered the night four points shy of fourth place (who will host a home playoff match), and only four points ahead of ninth place (who will miss the playoffs entirely).

The match resulted in a 0-0 draw – but not for lack of scoring chances. The key play of the game came in the 90+2 minute when RIFC keeper Koke Vegas made a diving stop on Zach Ryan’s penalty kick. The two teams were close to even in possession and shots on target, so a draw feels like the right result. RIFC have left the primary tiebreaker (head-to-head record) in their hands for the home rematch with Loudoun United on October 13th.

For additional Tide Talk post match content, you have several options:

• Matt breaks down the scoreless draw alongside my fellow blogger, Andrew Quadros – making his podcast debut – on the Tide Talk pod.
• Fans can also discuss the game with FQB (@FluffyQuahogBoi) Monday night on Twitter on The Quahog Corner.

Here are my player ratings for Rhode Island FC vs. Loudoun United FC on Saturday, August 24th, 2024.

Koke Vegas (GK) – 7/10

This is up there with one of Koke’s best performances for Rhode Island FC. He made five saves total including a diving save on a curling shot in the 78th minute, and a huge penalty save on Zach Ryan in stoppage time.

Koke’s distribution was solid in this match, and he often helped to launch a counterattack with long balls down the wing. With that reward comes some risk, as he did send a fair few out of bounds in this match.

Morris Duggan (D) – 7/10

It was a strong first showing in the starting XI for Duggan. He already is looking like Rhode Island’s most press-resistant defender, as he is very composed on the ball and not afraid to invite pressure. His long ball accuracy (4/5 for 80%) was very good, and he delivered some of those under heavy pressure.

I did question his defending at a couple of moments… particularly the sequence below, where he not only failed to defend the far post, but recovered rather clumsily and – I thought – flirted with giving away a penalty whether via an almost-hand ball, or the half-challenge that followed it.

Karifa Yao (D) – 7/10

Many folks expected Duggan to enter the starting lineup for this match – but most expected it would be Karifa Yao who made way rather than Frank Nodarse. Yao made a strong case to maintain his starting position in this match. He continues to be the ultimate garbage man in and around our box, with a game-high seven clearances. I lost count of how many times Yao intervened and broke up a dangerous attack or situation in this game.

Grant Stoneman (D) – 6/10

It was a quieter performance for Stoneman, which is generally a good thing for a central defender. He chipped in with his usual distribution from the back with a very serviceable seven out of eleven (64%) accurate long balls to help jump start Rhode Island attacks.

He picked up a yellow card in the 80th minute from a tactical foul to break up a Loudoun counter attack. I’m not sure it was a foul he needed to commit in this particular instance… but, better safe than sorry.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 5/10

Not one of Clay’s stronger performances, but it wasn’t bad by any means. He had a couple of shot attempts from outside the box (one from WAY outside the box, the other from the edge of the box) that he didn’t get quite right – but we all know Clay has a license to shoot from anywhere, any time, so I positively don’t hold this against him.

He displayed his usual exceptional passing range and field vision with a big cross field switch – but also had some uncharacteristic turnovers in build up play. Thanks to his high levels of fitness, I felt he was one of our stronger players in the final 20 minutes of the game as he won or recovered the ball multiple times – he finished with a game-high eight ball recoveries.

Marc Ybarra (MF) – 6/10

Like Clay, there were a couple of moments of uncharacteristic sloppiness from Ybarra in this match, particularly in the first half. Outside of that, he was his usual self with five ball recoveries and three interceptions – and led all players with 13 passes into the final third (significantly more than any of his last three starts).

Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 5/10

Credit to Loudoun United FC, they largely shut down our wingbacks, which is usually one of our most reliable sources of attack. Kwizera and Mark Doyle combined for a handful of chances in the first half – at least one of which really deserved a finish (a cross from Kwizera to Doyle on the penalty spot that sailed over the net).

Despite being somewhat stifled on offense, Kwizera was having a solid defensive game and finished with seven total defensive actions. He did commit the most fouls in the game with four. He received a yellow card for one of these due to a shirt pull, and even more importantly, gave away a penalty kick in stoppage time that would have cost us crucial points had Koke Vegas not saved it.

Stephen Turnbull (MF) – 5/10

Similar story as Kwizera here where Turnbull had a hard time getting involved on offense due to the Loudoun United system but still worked hard for the team. He attempted the second most crosses in the game with five – some of them were pretty dangerous, but a couple were claimed by the Loudoun goalkeeper as well. To me, it looked like Turnbull was attempting the crosses earlier and from more shallow positions on the right wing, since he was being closed down by the Loudoun defense.

Noah Fuson (MF) – 6/10

Fuson continues to work well connecting with both combinations of wingbacks and forwards to pass the ball up the field and generate scoring chances. He is also an active defender and recovered the ball seven times in this match – second most out of all RIFC players.

Unfortunately, in the attacking third there was roughly an equal number of passes that caught my attention for being the wrong decision and/or mishit, than ones that really unlocked the defense in any meaningful way.

Mark Doyle (F) – 6/10

I’m not done caping up for Mark Doyle yet, as I still believe he is getting undue criticism from RIFC fans. I don’t think Mark Doyle is perfect. I’m not sure how many teams in the USL he would get into their starting line up. But he’s one of our three forward options right now, and I think he’s done just as much as either Dikwa or Williams have over the last couple of matches.

He has lacked a finishing touch all season, and it’s been more noticeable in the last four games since he has started. But it’s not like Williams or Dikwa are exactly lighting it up either when it comes to finishing.

Doyle had a couple of chances that he should have done better with in this match. But he also created Rhode Island’s best scoring chance – which Dikwa was not able to put away.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 6/10

I counted seven scoring chances that Dikwa was either involved in and/or where he was the intended finisher. It’s exciting to see Dikwa play a bigger part in build up and he works very well dropping deep and linking up with Fuson and the wingbacks. On the other hand – when Dikwa is out wide, he’s not in the box to finish the chances he’s helping to create.

As for the chances that he was on the end of – you’d expect the reigning USL Championship Player of the Year to finish at least one of them. Particularly the chance created by Doyle in the 21st minute.

Subs

JJ Williams (F) (66th minute) – 5/10

You can’t say JJ didn’t make himself involved in this game in his ~30 minute cameo. He came on and quickly created a good scoring chance for Albert Dikwa. Later, he tried to swipe the ball from Zach Ryan as Ryan was juggling while he walked up to the penalty spot – and then Williams received a yellow card for hitting his man in the face during a foot race before a throw in.

Most inexplicably, JJ had a strange moment as Rhode Island marched up the field for one of their final attacks of the match. FotMob’s interpretation of events is… charitable:

Williams picked up the ball with little pressure (I’m estimating around 35 yards out?) and just sent the thing into orbit. Obviously it was a shot attempt, but it was one of the most confusing decisions I’ve seen in awhile.

Conor McGlynn (MF) (73rd minute) – 5/10

Not enough to evaluate – McGlynn came on and blocked a shot, as well as having a shot of his own blocked.

Frank Nodarse (D) (82nd minute) – 5/10

Frank had a couple of clearances in his brief appearance.

Joe Brito (MF) (82nd minute) – 6/10

Another brief appearance, but I thought Joe Brito looked bright. However, my favorite moment of Brito’s came as he was trying to take a quick throw-in in the 99th minute. Tommy McCabe went down like he’d been shot after JJ Williams brushed his face, and Brito gently threw the ball in McCabe’s general direction, narrowly missing him. It was just gentle and nonchalant enough that Brito could claim plausible deniability – but there is absolutely no doubt what he was doing.

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For reference, my rating scale is as follows:

• 1/10 – Abysmal. You might as well have me on the pitch.
• 2/10 – Very bad
• 3/10 – Bad
• 4/10 – Below Average
• 5/10 – Average. The player didn’t necessarily stand out, but did their job.
• 6/10 – Good
• 7/10 – Very good
• 8/10 – Great
• 9/10 – Outstanding
• 10/10 – Transcendent performance. Watch out, because Real Madrid may come knocking.