RIFC are set to play their final game at Centreville Bank Stadium this season on Saturday night when they meet the Tampa Bay Rowdies. With only 3 games left, it’s crunch time for the teams around the playoff line. RIFC currently occupy the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are just 1 point behind Detroit in 7th and 3 behind Pittsburgh in 6th. Tampa Bay are 10th, 4 points behind RIFC. As we head into this crucial game, we’ll take a look at the previous meeting between the two sides as well as what to expect from each team.

The two teams last met all the way back on May 17th. It was a rare high-scoring game for RIFC, who had long range goals from Holstad, Herivaux and Fuson. While RIFC will certainly be hoping to replicate that result on Saturday, with the last meeting being almost 5 months ago, there isn’t much we can take away from it heading into this matchup. Both sides are different teams now, especially Tampa Bay who have a new manager since this meeting (we will get to that later).

Availability

• Maxi Rodriguez and Amos Shapiro-Thompson both returned last weekend, coming off the bench in RIFC’s big 3-1 win over Las Vegas. Both made huge impacts, with Maxi getting an assist for RIFC’s first goal and Amos getting a massive goal line clearance
• Joe Brito, Will Meyer, and Rio Hope-Gund were listed on the availability report ahead of last weekend’s game. Brito will be the one to watch here, as he would be the most likely of the three to get minutes were he available on Saturday
• Jojea Kwizera will not be available for the game, as he is with the Rwanda national team for their final two World Cup Qualifiers. Sadly, Rwanda did lose 1-0 to Benin today which officially eliminates them with one game left in the group
• Koke Vegas went down with an apparent ankle injury last time out against Las Vegas but heroically stayed in the game and made some massive saves. Based on my “sources” (literally RIFC social media posts), Koke has been in training and therefore should be available

The Big Question

Is the attack finally back?

I’m fairly certain that I had basically the same thing here last week. But you know what? It’s just as relevant as ever. RIFC have scored a MASSIVE 5 goals in their last two games. That may not seem like anything too crazy but for RIFC in 2025 it certainly is. And what’s more, all of those goals have come from open play. It’s something we’ve been dying to see all season and it’s finally happened with just a few games left. And now it’s up to the team to show that they can continue to come alive offensively. We’ve seen a connection with Herivaux, Fuson and Williams come to life recently. That was that same synergy that we saw late last season and into the playoffs that ended up propelling this team to the final. I’m not saying the same will happen this year. RIFC need to actually make the playoffs first. But I think continuing to cultivate those relationships on the field in attacking areas will lead to this team playing their best soccer at the right time

The Season So Far

It was a rough start to 2025 for the Rowdies. They fired head coach Robbie Neilson just four games into the season after winning 1 and losing 3. This was followed by interim coach Steve Coleman getting the next ten league games in charge. Things didn’t improve all that much, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses in his tenure.

Tampa Bay would seek to turn things around by hiring Dominic Casciato on July 8th. Casciato was in his third season with Union Omaha of USL League One at the time he took the job in Tampa. Union Omaha were the best team in the league in Casciato’s first two years in charge and were coming off of a title in 2024. He has proven to be a strong hire so far. Although he lost his first game, over the 13 games Casciato has been in charge his team has won 5, drawn 4, and lost 4.

• Late Drama
  • NCFC took the lead through Evan Conway in the 15th minute. Manuel Arteaga would level it for Tampa Bay before halftime. Woobens Pacius would get what looked like the winner for the Rowdies in the 82nd minute but Oalex Anderson scored 6 minutes into stoppage time to get the draw
• Even More Late Drama!
  • A Manuel Arteaga penalty in the 57th minute put Tampa Bay up 1-0. The game would go on to have 12 added minutes in the 2nd half and that stoppage time provided fireworks. Personal favorite Abdellatif Aboukoura converted a penalty in the first minute of added time and provided an assist in the 96th minute from a corner to put Loudoun up 2-1. However, Tampa Bay defender Joey Skinner would score in the 98th to ensure a second consecutive 2-2 draw for the Rowdies
• Blowing Away Monterey Bay
  • Woobens Pacius provided a brace with goals in the 35th and 73rd minutes. Danny Crisostomo and Manuel Arteaga added 2nd half goals of their own and Tampa Bay cruised to a 4-0 win

The Big Question

Will Tampa Bay’s attacking resurgence and recent form continue and will it be enough to sneak into the playoffs?

Is that technically two questions? Maybe, but it’s my blog and I make the rules around here. As mentioned at the top, Tampa Bay are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference and 4 points behind RIFC in 8th. Really, it’s a must win here for the Rowdies if they hope to make the playoffs. As we’ve just seen, the team is on some pretty good form. And it actually extends back a couple more games, as they’re unbeaten in their last 5. During those 5 games, Tampa Bay have scored 15 goals. One of the biggest reasons for this is Manuel Arteaga coming to life. Arteaga had 17 goals last season but only had 3 this year before Casciato was appointed. Since then, he’s scored 5 more goals bringing his total to 8. Most importantly, Arteaga has scored in each of Tampa Bay’s last four games. He will definitely be one to watch on Saturday along with Woobens Pacius, who leads the team in goals with 12. Pacius has been consistently good all year. If the Rowdies want to make a late playoff push, they’ll need both players to continue their hot streak

I’m predicting some fireworks to close out the 2025 season at Tidewater. With RIFC finally looking capable of scoring, I’m going bold and giving them 3 goals here. Tampa Bay are on fire going forward as well and even though RIFC have a great defense (tied with Pittsburgh for 3rd fewest goals conceded this season with 27), I think the Rowdies will be able to get some goals of their own. In the end, I can see a late goal being the difference and pushing RIFC closer to a playoff spot

Up Next

As always, I will be back here after the game with The Riptide Report to give my quick recap and takeaways. Timmy’s Player Ratings will follow and the podcast will be back at the usual 8:30 pm time on Sunday. Hopefully we can send 2025 at Tidewater out in style Saturday night and have a blast talking about this team in our content. UP THE TIDE!