RIFC are back home Saturday night for a meeting with North Carolina FC, who currently sit 4th in the Eastern Conference. It’s another quick turnaround for RIFC, who last played Wednesday night down in Louisville. North Carolina FC have had the full week off after playing at Hartford last Friday. As we look ahead to this one, as always here are my takes on the two teams:

There’s no sugarcoating it: RIFC are not in a good place right now. We’re currently 8th in the Eastern Conference, but have played 2 more games than Indy Eleven who are in 9th, and 1 more game than Birmingham Legion in 10th. The teams are 1 and 2 points behind us respectively, and will likely pass us with their game/games in hand. Basically, we’re 8th but realistically are actually in 10th.

This flat out isn’t good enough. You know it, I know it, the team knows it. After back to back wins at Birmingham and Tampa Bay on May 14th and 17th, it looked like things were about to turn around. But since then, RIFC have lost 3 of their last 4 games. All 3 losses have been in league play, with the win coming in the Jagermeister Cup. There was a built-in excuse last season for the slow start as it was the team’s first year and they had a group of guys playing together for the first time. Even if you were being generous and gave the team the excuse this season that they started on the road for their first 7 games in all competitions, Centreville Bank Stadium opened on May 3rd. It’s been over a month and the team hasn’t yet won at home in 5 tries.

As for this game Saturday night, this is where I think we really find out where this team is headed. It was always going to be a monumental task to bounce back from the loss against Miami FC in a midweek game in Louisville. But the team is back in Pawtucket now for the first of 4 straight home games. This is where things really need to improve or even I will start to have some serious doubts. If you want to know how we turn things around, I highly recommend checking out Ryan’s recent blog “The Missing Middle”, where he outlines some of the more nuanced issues with the team. Also, major kudos to him for writing this while on vacation in Europe. That is what I call commitment.

When it comes to a lineup, this is what I think we might see:

• Goalkeeper
  • Jackson Lee improved on Wednesday from his last home performance against Miami FC. He will need to keep taking the right steps forward and I have no doubt he will do so
• Defense
  • We have yet to see Mabika and Yao together but despite my initial reservations, I think it could work. Yao looked solid Wednesday night and I’d like to see him back out there. I would probably rather have Rio Hope-Gund in instead of Grant Stoneman, but I don’t think it’s going to happen
• Wingbacks
  • Sanchez and Nodarse are probably the best two options we have here. I made the argument before the season started that Clay Holstad could push out there, but I don’t think the rest of the midfield has been good enough to justify that yet
• Midfield
  • Amos Shapiro-Thompson plays in a traditional 6 role here. That basically just means his job is to help protect that back line and make some simple passes forward to our wingbacks and other midfielders. Without Marc Ybarra, I think this is the best option. Maxi also stays in the midfield 3, as I’m losing hope that we’ll see him further forward
• Forwards
  • There is no striker replacement for Albert Dikwa at the moment, so for as much flak as he’s been getting, he cannot be on the bench. I also think the bigger issue lately has been chance creation, not Dikwa missing chances. Joe Brito starts along with him after creating the only goal for the team last time out. Isaac Angking and Noah Fuson are potential substitutions if things aren’t going well

Keys to the Game

• Midfield Cohesion
  • RIFC’s midfield has been inconsistent both in personnel and performance. Some of that has been down to injuries, with Marc Ybarra missing for most of the season so far and Zach Herivaux missing some time as well. But regardless, the team has plenty of options in the middle of the park. It’s now about finding the right players and right balance to stick with moving forward this season. The switch to Ybarra, Herivaux and Holstad was instrumental in RIFC’s turnaround and hopefully we can see a midfield that clicks like that on Saturday
• Create Something!
  • RIFC are 20th in the league in big chances created. That’s down from 4th in the league last year. It simply isn’t good enough. If they want to get anything out of this game, someone needs to step up and create some more chances. The team has enough players that we’ve seen be successful recently to have this poor of an output.
• Ride the Home Support
  • Despite not winning yet at home, RIFC have had great support from our passionate fanbase. Despite everyone’s frustrations, we will be out there Saturday night, living and dying with every kick of the ball. And that is what it means to be a supporter. You support the team through the good and the bad. The team will have plenty of energy to play off of from the crowd and they will need to do so in order to get the desperately needed result

As mentioned at the top, North Carolina FC come into this game 4th in the Eastern Conference. They’ll also be fresh and well rested having only played 4 games in the last 5 weeks. And, they won all 4 of those games, 3 in the league and a cup win over USL League One side Richmond Kickers.

North Carolina FC were a middle of the road team last year and ended 8th in the Eastern Conference before getting knocked out by Louisville City in the first round of the playoffs. They were able to retain most of their important players from last season and made some additions to improve the squad. As for who to look out for, this is what I have:

• Jake McGuire (GK)
  • 4th season in the USL Championship, 2nd with NCFC. 5th in the league in saves per 90
• Rafa Mentzingen (DF)
  • 3rd season with NCFC. Moved up with them from League One to Championship ahead of last season. 5 goals and 5 assists last season mostly playing as a RWB. 1 goal so far this season
• Mikey Maldonado (MF)
  • Leads the team with 5 assists this season. Controls games in the middle of the park
• Pedro Dolabella (MF/FW)
  • Team leading 3 goals this season. Newly signed from Union Omaha of USL League One where he had 10 goals and 4 assists last season
• Oalex Anderson (FW)
  • Tied for most goals on the team last season with 12. 1 goal and 1 assist so far this season. Has recently been on international duty with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where he scored in their last game

Keys to the Game

• Get Oalex Going
  • Oalex Anderson, along with Evan Conway, was North Carolina FC’s most dangerous goal scorer last season. The team hasn’t necessarily struggled for goals this season, but getting Anderson going in this game could really catapult the team forward. That’s assuming he plays, given that he played earlier this week with his national team
• Play Compact
  • North Carolina FC are currently 20th in the league in average possession per game. They are last in the league in successful tackles per match and 21st in possession won in the final third. All of this points to a team that is happy to concede possession but will prevent their opponents from getting into dangerous areas. Continuing this trend against an RIFC team that is struggling to create chances would bode really well
• Demoralize the Crowd
  • I wrote about this in the RIFC section, but I’m expecting the crowd to be really up for this game. The weather should finally be at least decent, and the fans are yearning for a result. Taking a lead in this game could really quiet the crowd and change the vibes in the stands entirely. And I am a believer in that have an effect on the field

I just have to go with my heart here, I’m sorry. I know that based on everything I wrote in the blog, on paper, this should be a win for North Carolina FC. If I didn’t blog about Rhode Island FC and had no skin in the game, I would pick differently. But something just has to change. I can’t imagine that this team is going to keep playing as poorly as it has this season. I have too much faith in these players and in Khano Smith based on what we all saw in 2024. They need to right the ship and it has to start now.

I will be back after the game for another Riptide Report. I’m dying for it to be after a win. But if not, I will still be here to give my immediate thoughts. And we here at Tide Talk will be with you for Player Ratings and a Postmatch Pod, regardless of what happens. Until then, as always, UP THE TIDE!