RIFC are home for a 2nd consecutive game as they get ready for a matchup with Western Conference side Sacramento Republic on Saturday night. The vibes are high going into this game for RIFC after they notched their first win at Centreville Bank Stadium last Saturday against North Carolina FC. For Sacramento, they’ll be looking to recover from a tough to swallow midweek loss at Birmingham Legion. As we look ahead to Saturday, here’s what to watch for from each team:

The win last weekend felt like a huge sigh of relief for RIFC. With so many home games this summer, the team needed to get the monkey off the back and start winning at home. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but the team played well enough to get the 3 points. Even if Maxi Rodriguez’s penalty kick in the dying moments was saved and game ended in a draw, I would’ve seen enough to be really encouraged coming into this weekend. The fact that it did go in just made it even better.

When it comes to a lineup for Saturday, I would expect to see something pretty close to last weekend with only a couple of changes:

• Goalkeeper
  • Lee has improved from game to game and consistent playing time should equal consistent strong performances
• Defense
  • The Yao and Mabika pairing at CB looked promising last week and I think it should continue here. Despite being subbed off at halftime against North Carolina FC, Sanchez stays in the 11 as the only natural LB in the squad. Nodarse comes in at RB as the only defensive change from last time out. He was brilliant at LB in the 2nd half last game, but his versatility allows him to play anywhere along the back line and I think he slots in at RB here
• Midfield
  • Amos Shapiro-Thompson was fantastic playing as a 6 last Saturday and should stay in that role. Holstad and Rodriguez keep their spots in front of him
• Attack
  • Kwizera is the second change from last game, as he was unavailable due to a red card. He hasn’t been at this best this season but I think he should slot in for Joe Brito on the left of an attacking 3. Fuson starts on the right and Dikwa gets the start up top, hoping to keep some momentum going after scoring last time out

Keys to the Game

• Chico Consistency
  • Last weekend, Albert Dikwa scored his first goal since RIFC’s 3-0 win at Oakland Roots on April 5th. It ended a run of 10 appearances, most of them starts, without a goal. And while RIFC have other attacking talent, a lot rests on Chico’s shoulders when it comes to getting goals. That’s just the life of a striker. He will need another good performance Saturday if RIFC are to take all 3 points
• Cover Fullback’s Advancing Runs
  • RIFC’s glaring issue defensively against North Carolina FC was leaving too much space in behind Aldair Sanchez on the left side of the defense. This was remedied at halftime with the Frank Nodarse substitution, but it wasn’t before North Carolina took advantage and brought the game level at 1-1. For NCFC, it was Rafa Mentzingen who took advantage and for Sacramento Republic, it could be Jack Gurr. Both are very good RWBs and RIFC will need to do a much better job covering that area of the back line. Whether that means keeping Sanchez further back or having better communication and other players covering, well….that’s why Khano gets paid the big bucks and I write blogs in my free time
• Keep the Good Vibes at Home
  • RIFC got their first win at Centreville Bank Stadium last weekend. Maxi Rodriguez’s PK goal with virtually the last kick of the ball was cathartic. But it all really means nothing if the team doesn’t come out with a good performance against Sacramento. Such is the nature of sports. RIFC must build on that win last week and really usher in the Summer of Soccer at Tidewater

Sacramento Republic (at the time of writing) are 10th in the Western Conference with 14 points from 12 games. It’s an interesting situation for the team to be in as their underlying numbers suggest they should be higher up the table. Sac Republic are tied for the 4th fewest goals conceded in the league with 12 and are in the middle of the league with 15 goals scored, giving them a +3 goal difference. No other team with a positive goal difference is lower than 5th in their respective conference. So why aren’t Sac Republic getting the results? And what does this mean for the matchup on Saturday night?

One thing to point to is that the attacking numbers are a bit skewed. Sac Republic’s last win in the league was a 5-0 thrashing of Las Vegas Lights on May 17th. After beating them again 4-0 two weeks later in the Jagermeister Cup, Sacramento were shut out in each of their next 3 games leading into this weekend. Before that, they were only shut out once, a 1-0 loss to FC Tulsa back in March. Tulsa have the best defensive record in the league (tied with Lou City).

All of this is to say: the team is in a slump over the past few weeks. They’ve remained solid defensively but the lack of goals has killed them. Their loss at Birmingham Legion on Wednesday night was really tough to take, as they conceded via a Birmingham counter attack deep into stoppage time and lost 1-0.

As Sacramento Republic head to Tidewater and try to end their poor run of form, here are some players to look out for:

• Danny Vitiello (GK)
  • Plenty of USL Championship experience with 6 years in the league, 2 with Pittsburgh and the last 4 with Sacramento. 8th best save percentage in the league
• Freddy Kleeman (DF)
  • Came over from Tampa Bay Rowdies ahead of the 2025 season. Leads the team in clearances and blocks. Anchors the back line
• Jack Gurr (DF/MF)
  • Often plays as a RWB. Led the team in assists last season with 8. Currently has 2 goals and 1 assist on the season
• Russell Cicerone (FW)
  • Tied for team lead with 5 goal contributions (3 goals and 2 assists). USL legend in his 9th season in the Championship
• Juan Herrera (FW)
  • Tied with Cicerone with 5 goal contributions (also 3 goals and 2 assists). 3rd season with the team

Keys to the Game

• Attack Wide Areas
  • As mentioned earlier, RIFC had trouble defending their left side in the 1st half last week, and Jack Gurr is a prime candidate to take advantage of that. Former New England Revolution player Ryan Spaulding starts on the opposite wing and though he hasn’t had the production yet this season, he also can be dangerous. Sacramento need to take advantage of these areas of the field if they’re to have success in Pawtucket
• Stifle an Improving RIFC Attack
  • Sacramento have been very good defensively this season, even during this recent slump with only 2 goals conceded in 3 games. They’ll need to keep Albert Dikwa and co at bay, and silence a crowd that will be very up for this game. We’ve seen RIFC struggle to create chances at times this season and Sacramento will be hoping to make last week’s result for RIFC look like an outlier rather than a trend
• Bounce Back from a Tough Loss
  • Perhaps the best thing after a devastating loss is to have a quick turnaround. The Wednesday night loss at Birmingham was tough to take and Sacramento will need to move on from that quickly. While the short time between games could help the team put the game behind them mentally, it’s always difficult physically to only have 2 days off in between games. It’ll help that they didn’t have to travel all the way from California, but it isn’t like Alabama is close by either

I think this will be a low scoring game, with both teams having solid defenses. RIFC should be able to win the midfield battle in this one and if they can defend better in wide areas, Sacramento’s goal scoring drought could continue.

I’m always excited to head to Tidewater, but after last week’s win, the excitement level has gone even higher. We’ll be at Centreville Bank Stadium a lot this summer, and while very result isn’t going to go our way, this game is an opportunity to build on the success of last week. It’s crucial that the team does so so that they can start climbing up the table to where we all think they deserve to be.

I’ll see you all Saturday night but until then, UP THE TIDE!