Rhode Island FC matched up against San Antonio FC on Saturday night with both teams battling for playoff placement in their respective conferences. With the hope of a home playoff game slipping away, Rhode Island FC were looking to shake off their recent road form, where they’ve failed to score a goal in their last four away matches.

Rhode Island went on to win the match with two second half goals giving them the 3-1 away victory. It was a massive three points to secure in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race – especially with 3rd place Tampa Bay Rowdies coming to Rhode Island next weekend.

Rhode Island have now won two straight, and have secured nine points in their last five matches – tied for fourth best in the Eastern Conference during that time.

Matt and Ryan gave their thoughts on the Tide Talk post match reaction pod.

Here are my player ratings for Rhode Island FC vs. San Antonio FC on Saturday, September 28, 2024.

Koke Vegas (GK) – 5/10

Koke was fine in this match. He wasn’t asked too many questions by San Antonio, but did make two saves. There’s certainly nothing more he could’ve done on the San Antonio goal, which was caused by a defensive lapse.

His distribution was just ok – I’m not sure why he seemed to target Noah Fuson often for long balls since winning those is not a strength in his game.

Grant Stoneman (D) – 6/10

Stoneman was a key piece in getting Rhode Island on the scoresheet early, as he hit the very well-placed long ball over the top to Noah Fuson leading to Dikwa’s goal in the first minute of the match.

While San Antonio had a lot of the ball, the possession was mostly not threatening thanks to solid team defending by Rhode Island. Stoneman had the least responsibility in the SAFC goal out of the three central defenders, and he led all players with three interceptions.

He also made a crucial goal line clearance, with “help” from Karifa Yao, in the 82nd minute.

Karifa Yao (D) – 5/10

Most fans of soccer in the United States have at least heard the name Juan Agudelo, and know the threat that he poses in front of goal. Unfortunately, in the 21st minute, this bit of information seemed to escape Karifa Yao as he let Agudelo get behind him and score a free header from point blank range.

Frank Nodarse (D) – 5/10

Defensively it was a strong game for Nodarse, as he led all Rhode Island players with five clearances and won 10 out of his 13 total duels. I’m not quite sure what went wrong in possession here, as Nodarse completed just 52% of his passes – which is quite low for a central defender and more than 30% below his own average for the season.

Zachary Herivaux (MF) – 7/10

Herivaux put in a complete midfield performance in this match – with Clay Holstad playing a slightly more progressive role due to the additional midfield presence, Herivaux did a lot of dirty work as he was tied for a game high seven ball recoveries, and 11 out of 16 duels won.

Marc Ybarra (MF) – 6/10

I wouldn’t have thought that playing Holstad, Ybarra, and Herivaux all together would work, but all three midfielders seemed to thrive in this setup. Ybarra was the most conservative of the three with 89% pass accuracy and a team-high nine defensive actions.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 7/10

Clay was especially lively in attack in this match – likely due to the added cover of having both Herivaux and Ybarra in the midfield. In the 49th minute, Clay had a shot from the top of the 18-yard box that didn’t miss by much. Just two minutes later, he had another opportunity and scored a massive goal in the context of RIFC’s season. He would have two more shots from similar positions before the game was over and all of them were dangerous, even if slightly off target.

Take a moment to appreciate this textbook Clay Holstad curling goal. Not that it was ever really in doubt, but this sealed my vote for Clay as the Defiance 1636 Player of the Year.

Stephen Turnbull (MF) – 5/10

Turnbull had the quieter game of the two wingbacks. It was partially tactical and game management, but the left-sided SAFC players did keep Turnbull fairly pinned back for a lot of this game.

Noah Fuson (MF) – 7/10

Noah brought his form from last week to San Antonio as he tallied a pair of assists in this match. First, he used his head to flick on a long pass from Grant Stoneman into the path of a streaking Albert Dikwa. He then showed his skill and flair with a back-heeled pass inside the box that Joe Brito scored.

Given his current form, it’s disappointing that Noah will miss Rhode Island’s next match against Tampa Bay while serving a one match ban for receiving a red card. I certainly don’t hold the sending off against Noah. The ref had seemingly decided heading into the match that someone was going off, and Noah just ended up being the unlucky one.

Given this referee’s general lack of control over this match – and I don’t think either of Noah’s yellow cards were deserved – I wonder if Rhode Island will attempt an appeal to have the suspension reviewed and overturned. It’s not unheard of in the USL. I think it’s unlikely that either yellow would be overturned, but there’s no reason not to give it a shot.

Most importantly, bonus points for this celebration.

Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 6/10

Kwizera did not get on the scoresheet in this match, but it was by no fault of his own or for lack of effort. Kwizera was a terror down the left wing, as we’ve come to expect in every match. He led the team with 63 touches and three chances created.

Unfortunately, Kwizera will miss next match against Tampa Bay, along with Noah Fuson, due to yellow card accumulation. This is catastrophic for a couple of reasons…

1. Individually, Fuson and Kwizera are the two leaders of the team in chances created with 47 and 46 chances created respectively.
2. For at least the last two matches, they’ve also been our most progressive and threatening pair of players when it comes to build up play.
3. Fuson has been the best cover that we have for Kwizera when Kwizera is unavailable. For Fuson we have a like-for-like replacement available in Jack Panayotou. To replace Kwizera, we will likely go back to Gabi Alves – who has displayed his quality throughout the season, but not so much at the LWB position.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 7/10

Dikwa scored the stoppage time winner in Rhode Island last weekend, and like Noah, picked up right where he left off with a goal in the first 21 seconds of this match. It was a powerful strike on the half-volley that you expect last year’s USL Golden Boot winner to score. It’s a great time of year for Dikwa to hit a patch of good form.

Dikwa also spent a decent amount of time in this game dropping into the midfield to help link up play – and his selflessness was rewarded with an assist on Clay Holstad’s goal in the second half.

With a pair of goal contributions each in this match, Dikwa and Fuson remain tied as the top contributors on the team with 13 each.

Subs

JJ Williams (F) (69th minute) – 5/10

JJ didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he was involved in several positive RI attacking moves in his substitute appearance. First, he chested down a ball at the edge of the box for Albert Dikwa that resulted in a great scoring chance. He also won and held up the ball that led to the Joe Brito goal.

Joe Brito (MF) (77th minute) – 6/10

Brito came on and quickly helped to create the opportunity that he would ultimately score. The broadcast missed the beginning of the sequence (thanks, USL!), but Brito plays a great ball in to Noah Fuson, who draws in the keeper before playing it back to Brito to hit the open net.

10/10 troll job by Joe to shush the home fans, as well. Brito appears very mild mannered, but he’s actually a sneaky a-hole and I absolutely love it.

If Khano is going to trying something new next week with Fuson and Kwizera missing out, I’m not opposed at all to seeing Brito get a start. Brito is tied with Albert Dikwa with 0.55 goal contributions per 90 minutes.

Kofi Twumasi (MF) (90th minute) – 5/10

Very nice to see Kofi suited back up! Don’t forget, he put in a couple of very solid performances for us back in June before suffering an injury.

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.