Welcome back to another edition of The Tide Chart! As always, the goal here is to highlight the biggest changes in player form over the past month.
September brought a mixed bag of results, both in terms of the team’s record and overall performance. After a disappointing August (three losses in six games), the slump continued into September with a rough performance in Pittsburgh, followed by another frustrating loss to Orange County. However, the team rallied, winning an exciting home match against Tulsa FC on the back of a blistering second half, and then securing a gritty away win in San Antonio.
It’s still tough to get a clear sense of this RIFC team. We know what they’re capable of at their best, but performances have been inconsistent both at the team and individual levels. When RIFC plays at its peak, there’s no USL Championship club they can’t beat. But on an off night, they’ll struggle against anyone. By the end of August, RIFC sat in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, just one point off 4th place. Unfortunately, September’s rocky start led to them dropping to 6th, making a first-round playoff match at home increasingly unlikely (but not impossible).
With that backdrop, let’s dive into The Tide Chart for September. A reminder: a “rising tide” doesn’t necessarily mean a player is performing great, just as a “falling tide” doesn’t automatically mean the player is underperforming. This is all about player form relative to last month and general expectations.
Rising Tide 📈
Noah Fuson
What a month for Noah Fuson, who earned Tide Talk’s selection for September’s renowned “Lord of the Tides” award. From scoring a spectacular goal to assisting on two more, earning a controversial red card, and playing arguably the best half of soccer any player has all season (that being the second half against Tulsa FC which earned him a spot in the USL Team of the Week), Fuson’s impact has been immense.
Fuson has made himself indispensable in the starting XI after spending time earlier in the year as a ‘super sub.’ He has become Rhode Island’s most dynamic offensive weapon, with his link-up play, dribbling, passing, and calculated risk-taking putting him at the heart of every attacking move. He’s also been highly adaptable in the different positions he’s been asked to play, of which there have been many. There’s no doubt Noah is one of Rhode Island’s most important pieces heading into the playoffs. He’s easily one of our top two most important players, alongside…
Clay Holstad
This might be a bit of a cheat since Holstad didn’t necessarily “rise” this month—he’s been consistently excellent all season. But it’s about time he gets his due. His versatility is key as he’s been asked to play across multiple positions—whether at center back, at wingback, as a defensive midfielder, or in an attacking midfield role. This flexibility has given Coach Khano Smith the ability to adjust his tactics while managing injuries and suspensions. Roy Kent would be proud watching Clay go to work every week because he’s here, he’s there, he’s every-fucking-where.
This combination of consistency and flexibility makes Holstad one of RIFC’s most reliable players all season. He’s also a joy to watch anytime he gets the ball near the top of the box—the dude exclusively scores bangers. All of these factors make him my pick for Defiance 1636 Player of the Year.
Now let’s take a look at his latest gem: a go-ahead (and ultimately game-winning) blast sent through with his WEAKER foot. Oh, and it also earned him a spot in the USL Team of the Week alongside teammates Albert Dikwa and Jojea Kwizera. What can’t the guy do??
Joe Brito
Joe Brito has now made it to the ‘Rising Tide’ section of the Tide Chart in back-to-back months, which is a first in the short, but illustrious, history of this blog.
I said it last month, but Brito has settled into a productive supporting role and a staple off the bench. When given enough time on the pitch, he’s made a tangible impact, particularly with his work rate and smart positioning. He scored another goal this month off a cheeky backheel from Fuson, but it was his awareness and movement that made the opportunity possible. In a must-win game against San Antonio, Coach Khano opted to replace Albert Dikwa with Brito rather than Jack Panayotou, which says a lot about the trust placed in him. Expect Brito to remain a key figure off the bench, especially when Rhode Island needs an offensive boost.
Falling Tide 📉
Mark Doyle
After getting a lot of minutes in August, perhaps due to JJ Williams getting some rest while dealing with an injury, Mark Doyle really struggled to get on the field much throughout September. That is despite only seeing a JJ-Dikwa pairing in one of the four matches during the month. Coach Khano has preferred to throw in an additional attacking midfielder instead of a second striker in three of those matches, which speaks to how Coach views the overall state of the team’s attacking abilities at this stage in the season. Doyle always brings a ton of energy and passion to the pitch, but his contributions have not warranted more playing time. I’d love to see him develop into a key piece off the bench when we are in need of an offensive spark, but he’ll need to show more in training and in his limited playing time to earn that.
Jack Panayotou
The return of golden boy Jack Panayotou has not gone as many of us had hoped. His first loan spell with Rhode Island was hugely impactful, and when news of his return broke, excitement was high. I mean, our boy Ryan was so excited that he put on his Blog Hat and quickly produced this Tide Take discussing how Jack P will fit into the squad. Unfortunately, the second stint hasn’t delivered the same results this time around. This could be because the team is in much better form offensively than it was when he first joined. (Remember, at that time the team was desperate to find ANY attacking flow or rhythm.) It could also be that Jack isn’t playing with the same confidence..
Whatever the reason, RIFC’s play has looked disjointed at times with him on the field, and it doesn’t seem like the pairing of Jack and Noah has worked as well as it looks on paper. They’ve tried playing dual number 10 roles, and they’ve also tried keeping one player higher up the field alongside the striker, rotating positions with each other to drag defenders with them as they swap places. None of that has worked. As mentioned earlier, not only did Jack fail to crack the starting XI for the first time against San Antonio, he wasn’t even brought off the bench in a tight must-win game. Coach Khano elected to only use 3 of his 5 substitutions that match, in fact. My guess is Coach wants to give Jack some time to rest and mentally refresh because he is too talented to give up on, even with only a few matches left in the season. I’m really hoping that Jack becomes an obvious candidate for next month’s ‘Rising Tide’ section of this blog.
Conor McGlynn
Not a whole lot to say here. Conor just hasn’t seen the field lately and wasn’t even on the game sheet for the last two matches. His last appearance was a 17-minute cameo against Loudoun on August 24, and before that, he was subbed out at halftime against Indy Eleven on August 7. I’m not sure where things went wrong for Conor and why he’s lost Coach Khano’s trust. Whether it’s due to his two red cards or the depth of options in his positions, McGlynn has fallen out of favor. With only four regular season matches left, it’s hard to imagine him seeing significant time unless injuries create the opportunity.
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I’ll see you back next month to look back at the final month of the regular season. Just 4 matches left to go with a lot of work left to do to secure a playoff spot in the club’s inaugural season. Let’s hope the team is firing on all cylinders by the time the next The Tide Chart drops because it will come out right before the opening round of the playoffs.
Comment below or on socials to let me know what I got wrong or if you agree with my takes.
Also don’t forget to follow and subscribe to all the great content that Tide Talk produces each week. The Post-Match Beacon by Matt H and Player Ratings by Timmy S are both a great way to follow player performances from week to week so be sure to give them some love. You can also subscribe to our newsletter by visiting our website here. This is another great way to stay current on all the great work this group produces to help fill the RIFC badge-sized void in your hearts between matches.
And as always…
Up The Tide!
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