We’re finally here. Tidewater Landing. RIFC hosts San Antonio FC at Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday at 4pm. It feels a bit surreal even typing that out. I don’t really have the words right now to describe the level of anticipation I have as we ring in a new era in our own stadium. And yeah, that isn’t great given that I’m writing a blog here. Maybe I’ll figure it out by the end of this thing. But in the meantime, let’s get to what to expect from these two teams on the field.

RIFC come into this one after a 4-1 victory at Westchester SC in the Jagermeister Cup. As always, check out Timmy’s Player Ratings for some more info on that. I also gave my quick takeaways in the Postmatch Points.

Easily the biggest thing we can take away from that game is the new 4-2-3-1 setup that Khano Smith rolled out. The biggest beneficiary of this was Maxi Rodriguez, as it allowed him more freedom as an attacking midfielder with two holding midfielders behind him. This was evident when he scored his goal, as he was free to make a run into the box and buried his chance.

The system also saw Aldair Sanchez pushing up really high from LB when we were in possession. This saw the team reverting to a back 3 and the change put a lot of pressure on our opponent in the press. So where does this leave us as we head into Saturday?

• Goalkeeper:
  • Koke Vegas gets the start here, as he has done in every league match so far this season. Jackson Lee has looked great in the cup games so far and this could be a position to watch moving forward
• Defense:
  • With Frank Nodarse out for this game with a red card suspension and Karifa Yao likely out due to injury, RIFC are thin at the back. We’ve seen Herivaux and Holstad both fill in at times this season. I think it’s Herivaux who gets the nod here, as he filled in at the back in the 2nd half last time out
• Midfield:
  • With Marc Ybarra on the injury report and Herivaux in defense, Holstad and Okiyoshi make the most sense here and are really the only option to sit behind Maxi
• Attack:
  • With the devastating news of a calf injury for JJ Williams that he seemingly suffered in training on Thursday, the attack needs a major shakeup. Noah Fuson leads the line as we have seen him do recently when JJ has been off the pitch. Amos Shapiro-Thompson comes in to play wide on the right, moving Jojea Kwizera over to the left. Maxi stays central.

As I always seem to say lately, I think this setup works best for what RIFC has available. And what is available is becoming more and more of a concern. I cannot overstate how much of a loss it’s going to be not having JJ Williams leading the line. He is so crucial to everything RIFC does in attack. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s the outlet the holds the ball up and gets other players involved. That aspect of the game will not be there without him on the field. This comes on top of the concerning lack of depth at the back coming into this game. It’s sure to be a lineup with a lot of moving pieces which hasn’t worked well so far this year. RIFC will need some magic from Tidewater to pull this one out.

San Antonio FC come into this one on top of the Western Conference with 15 points from 5 wins and 2 losses so far this season. They started the season by winning their first 4 games before back to back home losses to Phoenix Rising and Miami FC. Their last league game was a 3-2 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks. San Antonio trailed 2-1 in that game before a 2nd half red card for Colorado Springs put them a man down. San Antonio would score 2 goals in the 8 minutes following the red card and secured all 3 points. In their Jagermeister Cup match last weekend, San Antonio defeated Phoenix Rising 1-0.

With all that being said, I think it’s safe to say it’s been a pretty good start to the season for San Antonio. Aside from a couple hiccups against Phoenix and Miami, they’ve looked really tough to beat. They’re a talented team with good players all over the field. But these are the players I would look out for:

• Richard Sanchez (GK)
  • Experienced GK, spent last 5 years in USLC including last 2 with San Antonio. Was backup to Pablo Sisniega last year, who has since moved on to San Diego FC of MLS
• Mitch Taintor and Alex Crognale (CB)
  • Arguably the best CB duo in the league. Both long-time USLC players, with Taintor in his 4th full season with San Antonio and Crognale signing from Birmingham Legion this past offseason after spending the past 5 seasons there
• Jorge Hernandez (MF)
  • One of the best creative attacking midfielders in the league. 3rd year in San Antonio. Leads the team in goals with 4 to go along with 1 assist
• Juan Agudelo (FW)
  • Former MLS player/wonderkid. 2nd season with San Antonio after spending prior 2 years with Birmingham Legion.

One of the most impressive things about San Antonio FC is they haven’t been shut out yet this year in the league or Jagermeister Cup (they did lose 1-0 in the Open Cup to League One opposition). As I just noted above, Jorge Hernandez has been a big part of that. The team as a whole has 13 goals in 7 games in the league, which is tied for the most this season. They’ve conceded 9 goals, which is right in the middle of the pack. If San Antonio can improve defensively, which given their talent they should be able to do, they will be one of the contenders for the title this season.

I’m going with 2-1 RIFC in this one. And really the only reason is because it’s the home opener. I think the energy from the crowd will be a factor in this one. On paper, this is a really tough match for RIFC. San Antonio are one of the best teams in the league and RIFC are missing crucial pieces on the field. I think San Antonio will score but Maxi Rodriguez and Noah Fuson will get the goals to take us over the top and get the 3 points.

This is the part of the blog now where I attempt to talk about what this home opener means to me and to the rest of us in the RIFC community. So here goes. This means everything. The support this team received in its first year while playing at Bryant was incredible. And now we get to bring that support to our own Soccer-Specific Stadium. The best place to watch soccer in New England. A place where the sickos can go crazy in the stands. A place where casual Rhode Islanders can come with their families and have a great time. We as Rhode Islanders and Southern New Englanders need to embrace this team. A new era is upon us. And I can’t wait. UP THE TIDE!