It’s yet another quick turnaround for the boys in amber and blue as RIFC is set to play their 5th game in 15 days. This time, it’s a trip to the sunshine state to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30pm on Saturday night. RIFC will be trying to build on their recent performances and the Rowdies will be looking to kickstart their season after a very slow start. As we look ahead to Saturday night, here is what to expect from both sides:

RIFC come into this one having earned their 2nd win of the season with a 1-0 victory at Birmingham Legion Wednesday night. For more on that one, you can check out the Riptide Report, Player Ratings, and the Postmatch Pod. It was a pretty good performance overall, with the team just lacking the finishing which probably would have made the game 2 or 3-0. Regardless, it was great to see the 3 points push the team up the table.

As for the lineup, with so many games in quick succession it can be tough to pick out who gets rotated out of the starting 11. But this is what I think we could see Saturday night:

• Goalkeeper
  • Koke Vegas has had a good start to the season and there’s no reason to think he’s not out there again in this one
• Defense
  • Mabika got his first start last time out and looked great alongside Nodarse. There’s no reason to make a change here and you’ll have Stoneman and possibly Yao available from the bench to pick up some late minutes if needed. Sanchez could probably use a break but there isn’t a like-for-like replacement available. The hybrid RB/RCB role for Hope-Gund suits him so well and he more than deserves his contract for the full season
• Midfield
  • Amos Shapiro-Thompson has provided so much energy but really needs a break. Herivaux comes in to replace him in a meeting with his former team. Clay Holstad joins him to provide his trademark energy and quality on the ball
• Attack
  • Joe Brito got the start off the left on Wednesday but I think he returns to the bench here in favor of Jojea Kwizera. Kwizera hasn’t been close to his best this year but hopefully he can gain some more confidence and we can see some of what we saw last year from him. Maxi, Noah, and Chico keep their spots

Keys to the Game

• Continue the strong defense
  • The whole back 4 was fantastic last time out and really nullified anything Birmingham tried to do. Frank Nodarse had his best game of the season and Rio, Mabika, and Sanchez were all fantastic as well. With team struggling to get goals, a great defense can help carry the team until the attack improves
• Score some goals!
  • You can’t win unless you score and RIFC are tied for 4th fewest goals in the league this season with 7. I still maintain that we need to see more from Albert Dikwa and he really needs a goal here to shut me and a lot of other fans up
• Get Maxi the ball
  • Anything good that’s happened in an attacking sense has gone through Maxi Rodriguez lately. Having two strong midfielders behind him allows him more freedom in the attacking third and with the team struggling a bit in that area, they need to just let Maxi cook

The Rowdies have had a rough start to the season. They’re currently 11th in the Eastern Conference with only 4 points from their first 8 games. Those 4 points came in a 2-1 win over Miami FC and a 2-2 draw with Birmingham Legion. Outside of that, it’s been 6 losses this season. If you look at who those losses came against though, it isn’t as dire as it seems. Tampa Bay lost 4 of those games to the top 3 teams in the East: Charleston (twice), Louisville and Loudoun.  While they would’ve hoped to get a least a few points from those games, an optimist could say that at least they’ve gotten some difficult games out of the way early.

This is a Rowdies team that brought back a lot of players from the side that finished 6th in the Eastern Conference last season and went out in the Conference semifinals to Charleston.  However, they had two significant departures in starting goalkeeper Jordan Farr (DC United) and star forward Cal Jennings (Charleston Battery).  As for who will be on the field, here are the players to watch out for:

• Nicolás Campisi (GK)
  • Signed with Tampa Bay ahead of this season as a replacement for Farr. Previously played in Paraguay and his native Argentina
• Aaron Guillen (DF)
  • 6th season with Tampa Bay. Captain and mainstay in the lineup
• Danny Crisostomo (MF)
  • 2nd season with Tampa Bay. Most consistent and solid central midfield player. 1 goal and 1 assist so far this season
• Manuel Arteaga (FW)
  • Led the team with 17 goals last season but has yet to have a goal or assist this year. Skill-wise the most dangerous player for Tampa Bay
• Woobens Pacius (FW)
  • On loan from Nashville SC. Previously played in his native Canada for Forge FC before playing for Nashville’s MLS Next Pro side last year. Leads the team with 4 goals this season

Keys to the Game

• Protect Your Net
  • Tampa Bay are tied for the 5th most goals conceded this season with 14. They have yet to keep a clean sheet in any competition and have conceded at least 2 goals in each of their last 5 league games. For all the talk about them losing Cal Jennings this offseason, even with Jennings this team would likely be struggling with this defensive record
• Get Crisostomo Some Help!
  • As mentioned above, Danny Crisostomo has been the most consistent performer for Tampa Bay in the center of the park. The problem is he hasn’t had a good consistent partner next to him. Scottish midfielder Cammy MacPherson played earlier this season but his loan from Scottish side St. Johnstone is set to end in a couple weeks. Former Hartford Athletic player Thomas Vancaeyezeele and 18 year old midfielder Nate Worth have also played beside Crisostomo this year. Whoever plays there needs to complement Crisostomo if Tampa Bay are to have a shot in this one
• Paging Manuel Arteaga
  • Arteaga needs to get going soon or Tampa Bay’s season could get even longer. Based on his track record, he certainly has the ability to cause issues for opposition defenses. He’s definitely missing his partner Cal Jennings from last season but he needs to form a much better partnership with Pacius if Tampa Bay want any chance of turning their season around

After some careful consideration, I have this as a 2-0 RIFC win. Despite RIFC’s struggles in front of goal, I think they’ll continue to create a ton of chances and will actually take advantage more than once. I’m also confident in RIFC’s defense after a strong performance last time out, even if it came against a really lackluster Birmingham Legion. Nodarse and Mabika (if they do in fact start again) will need to be alert and watch out for Arteaga and Pacius but I think they’re up to the task.

I’ll be watching this one from home, likely working on the Riptide Report as this one goes along Saturday night. It goes without saying that I’m really hoping another 3 points here, but I’ll say it anyway: I really want the 3 points. This is a very winnable game and a win will really help spur this team on and provide some momentum as they head into a summer full of home games. Thank you for checking out the blog and as always….UP THE TIDE!