On Saturday night, Rhode Island FC welcomed Miami FC to Smithfield for the last game of the regular season. Miami FC technically did put 11 men out on the field, but it’s hard to say that a professional game of football really happened here.

RIFC got exactly the playoff tune up that they were looking for as they dismantled the worst team in USL Championship league history.

The game was so lopsided, I actually don’t know that there’s much we can take away from it. Accordingly, I’m going to forego the traditional individual player ratings and say this was a 9 / 10 team performance. I will share my usual notes on individual player performances, but don’t see much sense in scoring them and genuinely can’t think of a way to score these performances in a way that would be at all consistent with the rest of the season.

First you might ask – how only 9/10? For starters, I would’ve liked to see a clean sheet. The Miami FC goal came from a broken play and was not anything particularly bad on our end – but it’s the first goal Miami has scored in seven matches. Furthermore, Rhode Island did play very well but Miami completely rolled over – so we got away with some mistakes that could cost us against better teams.

With that said, this was an extremely professional performance from Rhode Island FC. I’ll admit that I was nervous heading into the match, as it had all the makings of a trap game where RIFC were already looking ahead to the playoffs next week.

They proved me entirely wrong as they played with great intensity right from the first whistle. When in possession, RIFC looked to attack constantly and relentlessly. They exploited (repeatedly) Miami’s very undisciplined high defensive line. In the spells when Miami had the ball, Rhode Island’s team press was highly coordinated and they won the ball back quickly. On the few other Miami FC chances in front of goal our defenders were switched on, resulting in three blocked shots.

Here are my player notes for Rhode Island FC vs. Miami FC on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

I’m not going to bother breaking the highlights up into individual clips, because your thumb will get tired of scrolling if I slide EIGHT different goal clips into the blog. Here are the full highlights from the match, including all eight goals (plus the one that RIFC conceded):

Koke Vegas (GK)

Koke was simply not challenged in this game. Koke faced zero shots outside of the Miami goal – where there really isn’t anything he could’ve done, as it took a bad deflection off of Karifa Yao.

Grant Stoneman (D)

Stoneman was exceptional in the victory over Miami. He made the biggest defensive play of the game with a block in the 26th minute, and his distribution from the back was just what the doctor ordered. He was crucial in the build up to the first goal, as he played the long ball to JJ Williams which was eventually laid off to Noah Fuson.

I’m actually not sure we’ve given Stoneman enough credit for how our defense turned around when he re-entered the starting lineup on July 17th.

For comparison, we conceded 11 goals in the 6 games prior to Stoneman’s return to the starting lineup, and conceded only 5 goals in the 6 games after his return. Since his return, RIFC have conceded more than one goal just once (against Pittsburgh).

Karifa Yao (D)

Miami FC didn’t give Yao much to do – and even less so when he has Duggan and Stoneman on either side of him. He must’ve seen what I said last week about him looking more comfortable on the ball… because he had a moment in the first half where he dribbled into the midfield too confidently and immediately lost the ball.

It was probably a good reminder for Yao before visiting Indy next weekend – who is more likely to punish us for a move like that. He also arguably could’ve done better to get a head on the cross that led to Miami’s one goal.

Morris Duggan (D)

Unlike Yao – who has improved a lot on the ball throughout this season – Duggan is extremely smooth and calm on the ball. This may be unpopular, but I think our best 11 for Indy has Duggan starting at left center back and Nodarse on the bench.

As an aside – I eavesdropped as Duggan spoke to the family in the section next to me after the match. He came across as a genuinely kind and humble person, and I really appreciated hearing it. I’d love if there is any way we can bring him back next year.

Frank Nodarse (MF)

Frank started at right wing back again, and it turns out his ~10 minutes against Charleston may not have been such a fluke. He looked very competent playing in this role – getting on the end of through balls down the wing, even beating his man off the dribble once or twice, and delivering some decent crosses. It’s a great option to have, and gives us a good bit of additional versatility knowing he can play at right wing back.

Early in the second half, Nodarse made an interception (on a pretty awful Miami pass) which he dribbled up the field, and played in Jojea Kwizera. The ball was cleared and fell to Frank again, who curled it into the bottom right corner of the net for a goal of his own.

Clay Holstad (MF)

The midfield trio of Holstad, Herivaux, and Ybarra was back at their best in this match. They passed and dribbled their way through the Miami FC midfield with relative ease, provided outlets for the Rhode Island wingbacks to make entry passes into the midfield, and ran a well-coordinated press to win the ball back quickly when Miami did have possession.

Holstad, the Defiance Player of the Year, played only the first half and didn’t get on the score sheet, but to my eye he looked and played more like himself than he has in the last few matches.

Zachary Herivaux (MF)

Herivaux, like Clay, looked back to himself after a bit of a shaky match against Charleston. Even outside of his two assists in the first half, Herivaux was a monster in the midfield. His pressing was especially tenacious on the night as he recovered the ball a team-high seven times and led all players with four interceptions (in less than 60 minutes). It was Herivaux’s pressure that helped create the turnover for Fuson’s first assist to JJ Williams in the 10th minute.

He also earned two assists of his own in the first half. First, Herivaux got on the end of a well-placed through ball from Frank Nodarse. He hit an inch-perfect cutback cross that found Marc Ybarra, in between three Miami FC defenders, for a goal. Next, Herivaux took a hit to play another one-timed through ball to get JJ Williams one on one with the Miami keeper, which he scored again.

It was a very complete midfield performance from Herivaux.

Jojea Kwizera (MF)

Kwizera returned to the starting lineup, and he was back to being one of the main avenues of attack for RIFC. He converted just one of his game-high four shots, but he could easily have had a couple more. In the first half, he forced the Miami keeper into a diving save, and in the second half he dragged a shot barely wide of the far post.

Kwizera scored the eighth and final goal of the game on a great ball over the top from Jack Panayotou. It was a quality finish at the near post, but the Miami keeper probably should’ve done better.

Marc Ybarra (MF)

Ybarra had another very good game where he was tied for the team lead in defensive actions (not that there was much to do defensively), and he chipped in with his first goal of the season. As mentioned above, it was a very precise one-time finish on a low cutback cross from his midfield partner, Zach Herivaux.

I think everyone, Ybarra included, was a bit surprised that the ball made it through – so I give him even more credit for the finish.

JJ Williams (F)

JJ Williams has found his form at the perfect moment in the season. Miami did not have an answer for Williams in the first half. He hit the scoresheet just 10 minutes into the game with an assist to Noah Fuson. Five minutes later he made a perfectly timed run, Fuson played him in, and he was in alone on goal. It was a good finish, but you’d expect any attacking player to finish that chance.

Next up, in the 40th minute, Williams scored on a penalty kick. This could be a hugely underrated moment for the team heading into the playoffs. Given our woes from the penalty spot throughout the season (with Dikwa and Fuson both missing their own penalty chances), it’s significant to have at least one player entering the playoffs with confidence from the penalty spot, should the need arise.

For Williams’ third and final goal, in first half stoppage time, he was alone with the keeper yet again and dribbled around him before slotting the ball into the open net.

Noah Fuson (F)

Noah was incredibly bright as he scored the first goal of the game just 10 minutes into the game. Only five minutes after that, he and Herivaux created a turnover in the midfield, which Fuson picked a perfect pass to get Williams behind the defense. This would be the assist that sealed Fuson as the 2024 USL Golden Playmaker.

Noah won the club award for Player of the Year, and you’d have to say it was well deserved. Noah finished the season with 18 goal contributions total (8 goals and 10 assists), with eight of those contributions coming since September 21st, when the team desperately needed them.

Subs

Amos Shapiro-Thompson (MF) (46th minute)

It was a pleasure seeing Shapiro-Thompson take the field for the first time since preseason for Rhode Island FC. He was solid and mostly safe in his debut. He didn’t need to do much more than that, considering he entered the match with a 5-1 lead.

Jack Panayotou (MF) (57th minute)

As usual, Panayotou came on and was relentless in his pushing forward every time he received the ball. He was eventually rewarded for his efforts on a great ball over the top that he played to Kwizera, where Kwizera scored the final goal of the game.

Panayotou tied with Fuson and Herviaux for a team-high two chances created in this match – but Panayotou did it in about half as many minutes and with roughly half as many touches. He could be a major weapon in the playoffs, as he’s been looking increasingly threatening over the last few weeks.

Albert Dikwa (F) (58th minute)

Dikwa returned to the pitch for the first time since suffering an injury against Tampa at the beginning of October. Fittingly, he returned and scored a goal on an assist from Joe Brito – not the first time these two have linked up late in a game to score in the second half of this season.

Coach has an interesting decision to make heading into Indy next weekend around Dikwa. Dikwa looks fit enough to start, but I don’t think it would be wise to make any changes to having JJ and Noah up top, with the three-man midfield of Ybarra, Holstad, and Herivaux playing behind them. In this situation, Dikwa could be used as a very luxury super sub, as he was in this match.

Stephen Turnbull (MF) (66th minute)

Turnbull played only 20 minutes but he suffered what looked like knee-to-knee contact with a Miami player in the final minutes of the game. He got back up on his own accord and looked ready to come back to the game… but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him on the injury report next week.

Fortunately, if that is the case, I think we have a solution at right wingback in Frank Nodarse. This would also allow Morris Duggan to maintain his spot in the center back unit.

Joe Brito (MF) (71st minute)

Brito, like Jack P, came on and was relentless in his desire to always move the ball forward. He too was rewarded for his efforts, when he jumped on a loose back pass from a Miami midfielder, and played a great through ball for Albert Dikwa who shot across his body and scored at the far post. He’s another sub who I expect to impact a game for us in the playoffs.

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.