Players got an earful from many of the Rhode Island FC faithful on Saturday night when they visited the south stand at the final whistle. Many of the players looked sheepish (deservedly so) during the rebuke, and Amos Shapiro-Thompson assured fans that they knew it wasn’t good enough as he reluctantly accepted his (also well deserved) man of the match paddle.

With the 1-0 loss to Miami FC, Rhode Island FC have now played five games at Tidewater and scored just two goals, drawn twice, and lost three matches. In fact, in 450 minutes played at Tidewater, we haven’t even had a lead yet. To that point, this team – whose playoff slogan was “Never Say Die” last year – have not come back to win any of the six matches where they’ve been in a losing position.

I’ll try to keep these brief, because I honestly don’t enjoy speaking poorly about the players and I don’t have much nice to say after a mediocre performance with a disappointing result.

For those who are interested in comparing these ratings to other matches this season – here is a document tracking all of my player ratings for the season so far.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

But wait, folks. It’s not all doom and gloom. There were at least two positives from this match. While I might not be able to make my next mortgage payment, the Pastrami sandwich from Maven’s inside the stadium was worth every penny.

Even better than the sandwich was Sarah’s Butterscotch with Coffee Churro Jelly pudding shots in the parking lot underneath the Apex overhang. 10/10 performance yet again from Sarah, and I truly believe this was her finest work yet. Watch out, because Real Madrid might come knocking.

Jackson Lee (GK) – 5/10

Jackson followed up his great performance at Pittsburgh last week with a mixed bag.

He was just ok with the ball at his feet, but I thought he sprung some good-looking counter attacks with long throws from his box. To be fair, he also made some really good saves in the first half to keep Miami off of the scoresheet.

Unfortunately, the lone goal that he conceded is one that you would expect Jackson to save. It looks like he sees it a bit late bending around the wall – but he got enough on the ball that he should’ve been able to parry it away.

Grant Stoneman (D) – 5/10

There’s not much to say about the performance of our defenders – they didn’t have a huge amount of defending to do, as Miami really didn’t create much. Grant’s distribution was good, as always – but it didn’t lead to many opportunities.

Frank Nodarse (D) – 6/10

For a game where neither team created much in the way of opportunities, Frank was solid. He had one of our best goal scoring opportunities in the opening minutes of the match, and he led all players with 10 duels won.

To be fair, Frank also very literally won a penalty that was not given in the 68th minute. It’s a blessing and a curse with USL Championship football… once the call on the field is made, it stands.

I’d love to show you the replay, but ESPN+ seems to have found a way to block screen recording… and obviously you wouldn’t find a replay of this key moment in the USL Youtube highlight package… or on the jumbotron at Tidewater, for whatever reason.

Aime Mabika (D) – 6/10

Mabika was a big part of the reason that Miami FC really didn’t pose much of a threat throughout the match. Mabika was a huge presence in the backline, snuffing out almost everything that Miami sent our way. In particular, Aime was perfect in the air – going 4/4 on his aerial duels.

Aldair Sanchez (D) – 5/10

Aldair was pretty good – but his efforts were in vein as they led to nothing on the offensive end. He put in 14 crosses with only 2 of them finding a Rhode Island FC player, including 6 corner kicks. In his defense, there were some good crosses mixed in here that no one could get on the end of – and Aldair was solid on the defensive end as well.

Zachary Herivaux (MF) – 6/10

I can’t bring myself to go higher than a 6/10 for any player in this match, but Herivaux put in a very solid midfield shift. He was rock solid on both sides of the ball. It’s a rare occurrence, but I think Zach out-Clayed Clay in this match.

With Zach being one of the only bright spots going forward on the night, one of the most frustrating moments of the match was when Khano took Zach off for… Karifa Yao, a center back, in the 73rd minute when we needed a goal.

Maxi Rodriguez (MF) – 6/10

Maxi created some decent chances for Rhode Island FC, including the wide ball to Amos in the first half seen below.

He also had a couple of shots of his own in the first half as well – the first came off of a good feed from Noah Fuson, and the second off of a great give and go with Clay Holstad.

Miami’s keeper, Bill Hamid, unfortunately had a very good game – especially in the first half – to keep us from scoring.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 5/10

Clay was good, and was integral for us progressing the ball from our center backs to our more attacking players. However, he looks a bit worn down as it was his third straight week below 50% on duels, and he was dispossessed more than once in our own half.

Amos Shapiro-Thompson (F) – 6/10

Amos and Zach had the most energy and drive in this match. They combined to win 13 ground duels, and made our midfield incredibly difficult to play through for Miami. Amos in particular brought his usual tenacity to every 50/50 ball and in his pressure off the ball.

I especially liked that Amos was contributing to the attack. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted to see from him – and with him playing mainly as a right-sided forward in this match, he answered the call.

He created two chances – tied for second most in the match – and was willing to take his man on the wing with three successful dribbles. He was also taking up really good positions on attack and making himself available to other players during build up.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 3/10

After a performance trending in the right direction last week, this was a disappointment. Last week, Dikwa found ways to contribute outside of the final third with his hold up play and by drawing fouls. This week… he was almost completely invisible. Dikwa had just 15 touches and TWO COMPLETED PASSES in 63 minutes.

In fairness, there wasn’t much quality service to Chico in this match (and a combination of the final ball and his own positioning let him down when there was), but he needs to get involved in other ways in a match like this.

I know the score looks harsh, but the team is struggling massively to score goals right now – it’s by far the biggest issue we’re facing – and I think a portion of that weight needs to fall at the feet of our Golden Boot-winning striker.

Noah Fuson (F) – 4/10

Noah was more involved than Dikwa, but he unfortunately wasn’t able to do much with it either. He did create two chances, including the link up with Maxi shown above, but had many, many more opportunities than that where he made the wrong decision or passed backwards out of a dangerous position.

Subs

Joseph Brito (F) – 5/10

I’ll continue to stand by this take that I’ve run into the ground:

Brito when we have a lead: good.

Brito when we need a goal: still good, but not what we need.

Isaac Angking (MF) – 6/10

Incredible moment for Isaac returning to the pitch after 10 months recovering from an ACL tear. Him taking our free kick from a dangerous position in the 69th minute was a major heat check moment that would’ve blown the roof off at Tidewater.

Most importantly, Isaac didn’t look hesitant at all. He looked fast, and he was absolutely flying into his challenges like he never even left.

Karifa Yao (D) – N/A

No fault of Karifa’s, but it’s unbelievable that he is all that we had to bring on when we were chasing a goal.

Khano must be furious with whoever is responsible for incoming transfers for this team… oh wait.

Taimu Okiyoshi (MF) – N/A

Same goes here.

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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.