Rhode Island FC ground out another 1-0 win, this time on the road over Miami FC. It wasn’t a pretty performance – or a particularly good game of football – but a win is a win, and it’s a huge three points for Rhode Island FC. It may not be pretty, but we’re in our best form of the season right now – taking nine points from our last five matches.

The offense looked putrid again – but honestly, the defense and goalkeeping is good enough that we will be in any game that we play. For that reason, hilariously, it wouldn’t shock me at all if we head down to Louisville or Charleston (should we qualify for the playoffs) and get a result.

There’s not a huge amount to talk about from this match, so forgive me for mixing in some bigger picture anecdotes and thoughts around the team.

For those who are interested in comparing, here is a document tracking all of my player ratings for the season so far.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

Koke Vegas (GK) – 5/10

Another shutout for Koke – sealing what I already knew, which is that he will be my #1 nomination for the Defiance 1636 Player of the Year. He didn’t have much to do in this match, but has been absolutely sensational since returning from injury last month.

Karifa Yao (D) – 7/10

Chipped in with a game-high 14 defensive contributions, including 10 clearances. Yao has been our most consistent defender all season (consistently available, consistently reliable, consistently good), and for that reason he will also be receiving a Player of the Year nomination from me.

Hugo Bacharach (D) – 6/10

Another solid game defensively for Hugo, and we saw some very good chemistry going forward between him and Clay on the right. The pair linked up nicely together and were responsible for creating a lot of Rhode Island’s (relatively few) good scoring chances.

I wholeheartedly believe that extending or re-signing Hugo should be priority #1 for the team this offseason. He has been every bit as good as even better than advertised since making his debut after an extended injury.

Frank Nodarse (D) – 5/10

Happy to see Frank get his second consecutive start, after exiting the last match against Indy at half time with what looked like an upper leg injury. Defensively, I thought he looked a bit rusty in this match – but that’s to be expected after missing several weeks due to injury. He did have a great headed opportunity in the 37th minute that was unfortunately ruled offside.

Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 6/10

Kwizera led all Rhode Island FC players in touches (55), so he had plenty of chances to make a mark on this game. While he wasn’t especially effective in open play besides a couple of decent crosses, he stepped up to the penalty spot and converted when it mattered most.

I don’t want to take for granted what a big moment this was. It’s a lot of pressure on Kwizera… we needed three points from this match, and penalty kicks are becoming a bit of a bogeyman for this team. We didn’t go with Fuson or Williams – both of whom were on the field, and both of whom missed their penalty kicks against Sacramento last week.

So – even though Jojea was an outrageous 0/8 on duels on the night, he gets a lot of credit from me for stepping up to the spot and scoring.

Zachary Herivaux (MF) – 6/10

While the majority of our attacks came down the wings, Zach was quietly very good at progressing the ball through the midfield as well. He led the team in completed passes (31) and tied Hugo Bacharach for passes into the final third (8).

My favorite part of Zach’s game is his ability and tendency to drift wide and build up play with our wider players (often Noah and Kwizera), and he did that very well tonight.

Marc Ybarra (MF) – 5/10

It was an ordinary, defensively sound performance from Ybarra. As always, he was tidy with the ball but didn’t do much to progress the ball or build up our attack.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 7/10

Unfortunately, Khano will feel validated in his banishing Clay to right wing back based on the performance tonight, as I thought this was the best Clay has looked playing wide all season. He led all Rhode Island FC players with two chances created, and won seven out of his nine total duels as well. He was regularly stretching the field and causing major problems for the Miami defense with a solid variety of different dribbles, feints, and crosses.

Joe Brito (F) – 4/10

Brito had a few good moments – especially working with Clay Holstad on the right wing – but ultimately wasn’t involved enough to make a strong impact on this match. I expect to see Amos reclaim this position if/when he returns from injury, based on Brito’s last two starts.

Noah Fuson (F) – 5/10

I wasn’t especially impressed with Noah on Friday, but not opposed to seeing him continue to start: (1) due to lack of better options, and (2) because we are continuing to see some brief flashes of the player that he was last season – although fewer in this match than last week against Indy, admittedly.

His chemistry with Zach and Kwizera wasn’t quite there tonight – which is only surprising because typically that trio is good for a handful of solid attacking moves.

JJ Williams (F) – 6/10

JJ was looking dangerous – especially in the air – all night long. In the 66th minute he was rewarded for his efforts when he was taken down in the Miami box, earning Rhode Island FC a penalty kick. JJ won four out of his five aerial duels, and had four shots in the match (exactly what you want to see from JJ).

Subs

Dwayne Atkinson – 5/10

Busy was mostly fine in his return to the field, after being an unused sub in last week’s matchup. He had one or two good moments linking up with JJ Williams.

He did also have one chance where was in alone with the last defender and the keeper – he never really made a move and failed to get a decent shot out of it. Honestly looked like he had no idea how to get around the defender in front of him.

Albert Dikwa – N/A

Aldair Sanchez – N/A

Hamady Diop – N/A

Grant Stoneman – 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.