On the heels of three disappointing performances to open up the season, Rhode Island FC picked up their first win of the season against Oakland Roots SC on Saturday afternoon.

As far as football goes, it was a relatively comfortable 3-0 win for Rhode Island following a ten minute flurry at the end of the first half where they poured on three goals.

Perhaps more importantly than the result, Rhode Island FC looked much improved compared to their lackluster first three matches of the season. Khano Smith tinkered with the lineup and debuted a new 3-4-3 shape, and we saw a handful of players look significantly more comfortable as a result.

Is part of this the fact that Oakland stinks? Absolutely. But it also shows a willingness from Khano to adapt and try new tactics that suit our roster better, and the players seemed to react very well to this from what I could see.

I’ll speak more about the formation and, of course, the performances in the player ratings below.

If you, unlike me, don’t believe that all of our problems were magically solved overnight, you may enjoy hearing Matt and Ryan’s post match reaction.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

Koke Vegas (GK) – 5/10

Koke really was not tested in this game, but was ready when called upon. Interestingly, he opted for a long pass 26 times (the most of any game so far this season) and completed 12 of them, which is around his average accuracy for the season so far.

Grant Stoneman (D) – 6/10

One of the most significant adjustments in this game is that the ball spent much, much less time being passed between (or back to) our center backs. Stoneman had just 39 touches in this match, compared to 69 last week against Loudoun. He was more impactful with those 39 touches, as he led all Rhode Island FC players with 10 passes into the final third.

Stoneman was back on the right hand side (where all of his appearances came last season) but really didn’t have much defending to do in this match.

Karifa Yao (D) – 6/10

Like Stoneman, Yao’s touches were nearly cut in half against Oakland compared to last week’s dreadful team performance at Loudoun. Nonetheless, he was a perfect four for four on aerial duels and won seven duels total.

Frank Nodarse (D) – 5/10

Frank’s 56 touches were more consistent with his prior weeks compared to the other center backs – which is fair, considering he is the most comfortable with the ball at his feet of the three.

Frank carried the ball forward multiple times in what looked like a good and effective run, only to eventually turn the ball over before making a pass.

With Frank back starting on the left side, the introduction of new signing Rio Hope-Gund allowed Frank to shift and make his first appearance of the season at right wing back.

Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 7/10

Maybe we didn’t realize how much we missed Jojea Kwizera over the last two weeks? Which is a silly thing to say about the player who created the second most chances for Rhode Island in the 2024 season. He certainly made his presence felt on his first start since the season opener, and his first start at left wing back of the season.

I loved that Kwizera’s assist on the opening goal of the game didn’t come from his signature move of burning his man to the end line – but instead, started with a clever read and strong pressing. To borrow a quote from Tide Talk’s own Andrew Quadros, the ball in to Dikwa “might be the best cross I’ve ever seen Kwizera make”.

Maxi Rodriguez (MF) – 6/10

Maxi is still getting settled into this team. His leadership qualities are on display, his set piece delivery continues to impress, and his technique is obviously a level above most players in the USL (for example, see his shot from distance that creates the rebound for Clay’s goal).

With all of that said, I think his on-field connection with his teammates and progression of the ball can still continue to improve as he gets more comfortable – even in the deeper midfield role alongside Ybarra, where he played in this match.

Marc Ybarra (MF) – 6/10

Ybarra led all Rhode Island FC players with 10 defensive actions – his pass accuracy was the only area that suffered, which is a result of being one of just two central midfielders and being asked to make more progressive passes.

He picked up a yellow card for a tactical foul a few yards away from the top of the box – learning a lesson from the first Loudoun goal last week.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 8/10

This was the first time that Clay felt like Clay while playing from the right wing back position, winning 70% of his ground duels and managing to contribute to the attack in meaningful ways.

Most notably, Holstad added to his tally of screamers when he scored in the 42nd minute off of a Maxi Rodriguez rebound, and an overall great team move that deserved to end in a goal. Outstanding technique from Clay to stay over the ball on this shot.

Eight minutes later, Clay struck again with an inch perfect pass from the edge of our box, into the opposition half, to get JJ Williams 1-on-1 with the keeper.

I still can’t find exactly when Clay looks up to see JJ up field, but I’m not sure how many other players on our team would’ve had the combination of vision and ability to make this pass.

Noah Fuson (F) – 6/10

Like many other players, this wasn’t Fuson at his best but it was a significant move in the right direction. Fuson may be the largest beneficiary from the 3-4-3 shape on Saturday, as it allowed him to play in a left wing / left forward position.

This reunited one of our most lethal combinations from last year of Noah Fuson and Jojea Kwizera on the left – and also allowed Noah to combine with Dikwa, JJ Williams, and Maxi.

JJ Williams (F) – 7/10

For the second week in a row JJ had the fewest touches of all starting RIFC players – but he was much more impactful in this match. Compared to last week, he had more passes into the final third, more touches in the opposition box, and also won a game-high 12 duels.

Of course, his best touch of the night was this poke around the charging Oakland goalkeeper, followed by easily slotting the ball into the back of the net for our third goal.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 6/10

Dikwa not only had four shots, but put all four on target in this match, which was a bit of a concern for some fans after our first three matches of the season. Dikwa, like Fuson, looked comfortable playing as the right-sided forward and played with some freedom in that position.

Of course, he’s expected to finish the chance that Jojea Kwizera created for him… but it’s a very good finish, nonetheless. Especially with a defender clattering into him (the defending from Oakland Roots on this goal really is shocking).

Subs

Rio Hope-Gund (D) – 5/10

Love to see Rio Hope-Gund get his debut the next day after announcing the signing (although he was training with the team during the offseason). His defending was a bit shaky at moments, but it allowed Frank to move to the right wing back position which is a look I’ve been wanting to see.

In his first minute after entering the match, Hope-Gund was already directing the back line following a clearance from Jojea Kwizera (a bit hard to see in the screenshot below, but he was gesturing for all of them to push forward as a unit). I love that he was already organizing and directing just one minute in to his debut with the team.

Aldair Sanchez (D) – 5/10

Aldair came in and was solid defensively for the last 15 minutes of the match. It will be a big next few weeks for him, as I’d expect to see him start at least one of our next three matches against Portland (US Open Cup), Detroit City FC (USL Championship) or Westchester (Jägermeister Cup)

Amos Shapiro-Thompson (MF) – N/A

Joseph Brito (MF) – N/A

Taimu Okiyoshi (MF) – N/A

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Rating Scale:

• 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 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.