On Saturday night Rhode Island FC secured their first ever win at Centreville Bank Stadium with a 2-1 victory over North Carolina FC. It may have taken a stoppage time penalty kick to secure the result, but I think it was our best performance in the league so far this season.

For the first time this season, I can happily say that it wasn’t just the result but also the performance that was encouraging. Most importantly, it was our first win over a team ahead of us in the table. I really believe that the team can crack on from here and start playing at this level – and getting this result – more consistently.

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:

Jackson Lee (GK) – 7/10

Excellent showing from Jackson, as it looks like he’s finding his rhythm in his fourth consecutive start across competitions. Jackson’s distribution was reliable (I’m loving his quick throws to launch counterattacks), and he made some huge saves – including this one to maintain our one goal lead:

Jackson is also COLD for this:

Aime Mabika (D) – 6/10

After a shaky substitute performance on Wednesday night, Mabika was back to his “old” self against North Carolina FC. They kept Mabika busy as they were targeting the right wing (our left back, Aldair Sanchez) and Mabika was often having to step in to support.

Obviously neither player looked good on the NC goal, but Mabika was quality outside of that – especially in possession, where he had a near-perfect 96% pass accuracy, the most passes completed in the match, and continued to impress me with his passing range. Mabika even started the move leading to our first goal with a sharp pass into the midfield.

Karifa Yao (D) – 8/10

I am dubbing this post-injury era of Karifa Yao… the Karifa-ssance. This was his first full 90 for Rhode Island FC since returning, and he built on a solid performance in Louisville by being nearly perfect in defense on Saturday night. Yao had a team-high 10 defensive actions and was a perfect 7/7 on duels for the evening – he was absolutely everywhere, particularly in the first half when North Carolina had the majority of their chances.

Add to this the fact that he led the team in touches, and passes into the final third, and he was easily my choice for man of the match.

Rio Hope-Gund (D) – 7/10

There’s a reason North Carolina was targeting Aldair’s wing and not Rio’s… it’s because Rio is a brick wall. I can’t remember much of anything getting by him on the night.

Aldair Sanchez (D) – 4/10

Aldair did incredibly well to get the assist on Rhode Island FC’s first goal by playing an early cross off of a recovered ball in the final third. And in fairness, he generated a few other promising chances for Rhode Island as well.

Unfortunately, the 20 minutes after the goal Aldair was targeted and picked apart by the North Carolina FC attack, culminating in their 35th minute goal. When a defender has to be subbed off at half, it’s usually not a great thing.

Nonetheless, he was all vibes dancing in front of the supporters section at the final whistle – as he damn well deserves. He’s a great young player, and he will learn and improve from this performance.

Zachary Herivaux (MF) – 5/10

A solid, professional showing from Herivaux – he contributed across all areas of the pitch, providing support to Amos and Maxi in the midfield, as well as supporting our wide players both defensively and in build up play.

Amos Shapiro-Thompson (MF) – 7/10

Amos was excellent again tonight and probably worked harder than anyone else on the pitch (6/8 on ground duels – what else is new?).

For the second match in a row, he played more of a defensive midfield role and spent a lot of the match playing deeper, recycling possession, and acting as the metronome of the team while in possession.

Maxi Rodriguez (MF) – 7/10

What. A. Moment.

As soon as the whistle blew and the penalty was given, there was never a doubt it was going to be Maxi. Not only did Rhode Island FC have their struggles with penalty kicks last year, but Maxi was a perfect three for three with Detroit in 2024.

I really can’t overstate how much pressure there was on Maxi in this moment though, given Rhode Island FC’s season so far, the performances at home, their position in the table… not to mention, the expectations on Maxi individually.

On one hand, I never had a doubt that he would score it – and yet, as Matt Hands said first in his Riptide Report, I almost couldn’t watch. But the eruption in the stadium when the ball hit the back of the net, securing the first home victory at Tidewater, is something I will never forget.

Joseph Brito (F) – 5/10

I thought Brito certainly earned this start after his performance in Louisville, but was relatively uninvolved in the match tonight. As promised, and as expected, he worked incredibly hard off the ball – but didn’t make much of an impact in the final third.

Noah Fuson (F) – 5/10

Noah grew into the game and certainly looked brighter in the second half than the first – but there is still a lot of work to be done. It was largely more of the same, a relatively typical 2025 performance for Noah where he just appears to lack confidence. Sadly, most of the times the ball found him in the final third didn’t lead to much in the way of dangerous chances… and worse yet, he won just two out of his nine ground duels.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 6/10

Most importantly – Dikwa opened up the scoring in the 18th minute and earned Rhode Island FC’s first-ever lead at Tidewater. It was a great ball in from Aldair, but Dikwa fought for every inch of that position the he was in to head this ball home.

Outside of the goal, I thought the performance was much like how Dikwa has looked the last several games, with pretty low involvement (in fact – the fewest of any outfield player who played 90 minutes, with just 21 touches) but he continued to work hard, and once again used his body to win a game-high four fouls. Sure, he was on the floor for a couple of chances in the second half – but I thought he looked much more useful in hold up and build up play in this match, as well.

Subs

Frank Nodarse (D) – 8/10

After Frank subbed on at half time, Rhode Island FC were immediately much more secure on that side from North Carolina attacks.

More importantly, Frank got forward several times, completing the most dribbles of all players, creating two chances, and tying for a game-high eight duels won… all in just 45 minutes played. He was everywhere, and full of energy. Of course, he was rewarded for his efforts when he did incredibly well to win a penalty in the 93rd minute.

Whether or not this was a penalty – I don’t care. There was a blatant missed penalty call on Frank in the Miami match, and a borderline one on Maxi in the Louisville City match that wasn’t given.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 6/10

Solid cameo from Clay, and it’s great to see that we can give him a rest without the team looking out of sorts in the midfield without him.

Isaac Angking (MF) – N/A

Dani Rovira (D) – N/A

He does exist! What a joy to see him out on the pitch after a three month wait to see him in action.

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.