RIFC are back at home this weekend after a short trip to Hartford. It will be RIFC’s 15th game at Centreville Bank Stadium in all competitions and it comes against one of the best teams in the league in the Charleston Battery. Needless to say, this is going to be a difficult one for the boys in amber and blue. Here’s what to keep an eye on as we head into Saturday night:

The teams last met in RIFC’s season opener on March 15th down in the Low Country. It was a strange lineup for RIFC with Taimu Okiyoshi getting a start and JJ Williams, Grant Stoneman, and Zachary Herivaux all being on the bench. Charleston’s new signing Cal Jennings scored two first half goals and RIFC never looked threatening. At the time, it seemed like a confusing way to start the season that was surely just a blip on the radar. But as we now know, it was a sign of things to come this season for RIFC.

After an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Hartford last time out, the vibes are at an all-time low. And all I can think about is this clip:

I’ve used this clip in a blog before, very recently, but it still applies. It definitely can keep going on like this through the end of the season.

As for that disaster in Hartford, I didn’t have a lot to say in the Riptide Report other than that the only ones who showed up to that game from an RIFC perspective were the fans. I also tried saying during the postmatch pod that maybe the result was a good thing for us RIFC supporters. I didn’t articulate that point well, which proves why I’m a much better blogger than podcaster. But my main point there was that we came into the league last season with most of us following this league for the first time (myself included). We were green. Once the team went on their famous run, all we knew was that we were one of the best teams in the league and Hartford was shit. Last week’s result and this season as a whole have been a slap in that face that has shown us that time’s aren’t always going to be good. We will need to suffer through the bad times. And sometimes our rivals will get one over on us.

Talking Points

• New Youngster
  • RIFC announced earlier this week that they had signed 18 year-old Cameroonian forward Mathieu Ndongo. All indications are that this is a signing for the future but it’ll be interesting to see if he makes the 18 on Saturday or in any upcoming games. We’re at the point now where players for the future are the only exciting thing to look forward to
• Corcoran Called Up
  • Midfielder Matthew Corcoran (on loan from Nashville SC), has been called up to the US U-20 National Team. The team’s training camp starts September 1st in Spain, so there’s no reason to believe Corcoran won’t be available for Saturday. This was something that was always likely coming and while Corcoran was always going to help the team in possession, he was never going to be the answer to all of RIFC’s woes. The loan to RIFC was always to get himself more minutes and I don’t begrudge him or anyone else for that

Playoffs?

RIFC are just below the playoff line, sitting 9th in the Eastern Conference on 21 points from 20 games. The two teams above us are Indy Eleven (8th, 23 points, 20 games) and Hartford Athletic (7th, 26 points, 20 games). For a lot of the season, there was a logjam around the playoff line, with teams often separated by a point or two. But now, the gap finally seems to be widening. And it’s just in time for RIFC to have to play the two best teams in the league in their next two games. Because after this Charleston Battery match, RIFC host Louisville City. So while the season is dead already in many of our minds, the standings may finally really reflect it in a couple weeks. The final nails in the coffin may be coming. And I for one, just want this to be over with.

The Charleston Battery had high expectations coming into this season. And they actually have lived up to them. They’re currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference, just 1 point behind Lou City. And on top of that, they’ve won the most games in the league with 15. Charleston are certainly contenders once again this season, which comes as no surprise to anyone who follows this league.

Charleston come into this game having only lost 4 times all season. 2 of those losses came in their first 3 games. That means that since April, this team has only lost twice in the league. One of those was in June at Miami FC, and the other came recently, as you’ll see here:

• Loss at Lynn Family Stadium
  • After losing 2-1 at home to Lou City in their first game of the season, Charleston were definitely looking for revenge here. The result would go a long way towards seeing who would finish 1st in the East (and likely the league). But Lou City were up 4-0 at halftime and the Battery had no chance of recovering. Charleston finished this game with 70% possession but as we know all too well here in RI, it only matters what you do when you have the ball
• Bounce Back in Pittsburgh
  • Charleston bounced back after that crushing defeat in Louisville despite going down 1-0 in the 11th minute to the Riverhounds. They equalized in stoppage time of the first half and got the winning goal 10 minutes in the 2nd half. It shows some pretty great mentality to go to a tough place to play after such a big loss and still come out with 3 points
• Loudoun Takedown
  • Charleston returned home last weekend and dismantled Loudoun, taking a 2-0 lead within 18 minutes and getting a further two goals in the 2nd half to go up 4-0 after just over an hour of play. The Battery showed they are a step above the rest of the league (barring Louisville)

Some Numbers

• 12
  • Cal Jennings is tied with Miami’s Francisco Bonfiglio and Louisville’s Phillip Goodrum for the league’s Golden Boot with 12 goals this season. Jennings also has 5 assists, which gives him the most goal contributions in the league
• 8
  • Juan David Torres (one of my favorite players in the league who doesn’t wear amber and blue) is tied with Phoenix Rising’s Hope Avayevu and North Carolina’s Mikey Maldonado for the league lead in assists with 8
• 62
  • Charleston have created 62 big chances this season, the most in the league. They’ve also missed the most, with 33. But the chances missed here are really just a function of how many they’ve created. In fact, their 33 missed chances are more than RIFC have created all season (25)

I’ve had so much hope for RIFC this season. Week after week, it would get to Friday and I would find some way to feel good about this team. I would think to myself “there must be some way this team can turn things around”. But I simply have to be a realist here. It would be shocking (and hilarious) if RIFC were somehow able to get a result out of this one. I just can’t see it happening. But hey, I did throw some positivity in there. I have RIFC scoring a goal. That is a rare occurrence this season.

Up Next

I will be back with the Riptide Report following the match. The Postmatch Pod will be there Sunday night as always. It likely won’t go two hours this time but you never know. Timmy is enjoying himself on vacation, so be on the lookout for a special guest taking over player ratings this week. As always, we appreciate everyone who checks out our content. Especially when the team is performing so poorly. Until next time, UP THE TIDE!