For the first time as a part of regularly scheduled programming, welcome back to Under the Surface. For the next 8 (hopefully 9) months, I’ll be breaking down each RIFC player’s performance from the month using a single statistic. Rhode Island FC only picked up 1 point across 3 league matches, and advanced to the second round of the US Open Cup in a virtual walkover match. In some aspects, team and individual performances have improved, but there are plenty of concerning numbers to unpack. Let’s dive into it.

Koke Vegas – 56.3%

After reports of an injury during preseason, it was a pleasant surprise to see him fit to start on opening day. It was even more surprising to see him start in the Open Cup, a competition that had been reserved for Jackson Lee in seasons past. Based on the small sample size, it certainly seems as though Koke has not been ramped up to full form, posting a 56.3% save percentage, which is the 3rd worst for a single month in his RIFC career behind March 2025 (40.0%) and September 2024 (55.6%).

Dani Rovira – 1

What better time to score your first RIFC goal in your first career start than against an amateur side after a season of injuries and unlimited chicken tenders from the premium lounge? In all seriousness, despite the level of competition, Dani did look solid in that Open Cup match against CD Faialense and seems deserving of more minutes in league play. Though that has yet to come to fruition with Jojea Kwizera and Frank Nodarse filling in at right wingback in the stead of Nick Scardina as he recovers from injury.

Aldair Sanchez – 16.7%

Aldair Sanchez didn’t light up the box score in March per se, posting his 2nd lowest cross accuracy rating for a single month in league play for RIFC at only 16.7%, only behind May 2025. As the most valuable attacking attribute in his arsenal, it would be concerning if he weren’t able to improve upon that going forward as a player who sets up out wide and does not take on opponents 1v1 very frequently.

Hugo Bacharach – 2.43

Hugo does not look right at all, and hopefully that can just be chalked up to an injury that is entirely speculative based on his absence from the starting lineup on opening day. He has put up solid numbers defensively, being generally effective at disrupting play through the midfield. However, his decision making on the ball just has not been up to speed. He was dispossessed 2.43 times per 90 minutes, which led the team; getting caught on the ball before he even knew what was happening numerous times. Luckily he gets this weekend off due to red card suspension and will have the chance to rest up for Lexington.

Grant Stoneman – 3.00

Grant Stoneman really was just doing cardio during the month of March. Though unfortunately, not much of that was done on the defensive end. At only 3 defensive actions per 90 minutes in league play, Grant had the 3rd fewest among players who played at least 10 minutes (only behind forwards Leo Afonso and Logan Dorsey). For a team that is shipping goals due to repeated defensive lapses, performances like these are just not sustainable for a team chasing the heights of a home playoff berth. Competition for playing time on the back line in the form of Hamady Diop’s return from injury is about to ramp up, and hopefully all 3 of Grant, Karifa, and Frank feel that heat and take appropriate action to keep their place in the squad.

Dwayne Atkinson – 33

Busy only saw the pitch for 33 minutes in league play, which was the fewest in a month in his short RIFC career. Lauded as a talented attacking prospect, he has yet to kick on for the club. The signing and standout play of newly acquired Pity Rodríguez has certainly put a damper on Dwayne’s playing time so far in 2026, though hopefully his goal against Miami is the start of a new chapter for RIFC’s shifty supersub.

Leo Afonso – 18

Although he has yet to score, Leo took 18 shots in league play in March, which is the most in a single month in club history edging out JJ Williams’ 15 in August 2025. No one in this forward group is more primed for a breakout than Leo, unafraid to take whatever opportunity falls his way. He was charged with 2 big chances missed, but both were highly difficult chances that were taken virtually from the goal line.

JJ Williams – 0

For the 4th time in his RIFC career, JJ went scoreless during a calendar month. That’s not to say that he hasn’t generally been the same player we have all grown to know and love. Working hard off the ball, winning aerial duels, and serving as the focal point of the attack, though to no avail on the score sheet. The chances continue to come, and hopefully JJ can get off the mark in April.

Pity Rodríguez – 22

Pity has made quite the impression on this RIFC team as arguably its most effective acquisition. His 22 passes into final 3rd in league play led the team, and are a perfect encapsulation of what he has brought to the squad. His unrelenting energy and constant effort to move the ball forward may be overlooked due to the lack of a goal contribution, but has been a rare bright spot in the dark cloud that is hanging over the club during its early season slump.

Noah Fuson – 0

For the first time in his RIFC career, Noah started 0 league matches in a calendar month during March. A fresh slate after a disappointing 2025 campaign following his Golden Playmaker season of 2024 has not been much different than what we saw a year ago. He was dropped from the squad entirely against Louisville, which coincided with some post-game presser comments from Khano about the lack of professionalism in the Open Cup against the amateur side. It’s purely conjecture to assume those 2 events are linked, but assuming they are, hopefully it’s the kick in the ass that Noah needs to return to some semblance of productive form.

Clay Holstad – 212

March saw the return of Clay to the midfield on a consistent basis for the first time since early 2025. He led the team with 212 touches in league play, once again finding himself in the thick of the action as we saw during the best runs of form in the club’s short history. Although the current results have not returned to where they should be for this talented squad yet, life is good when Clay is in the midfield.

Will Meyer – N/A

Koke has a stranglehold on the #1 spot, seemingly taking over the cup games in addition to his additional league play action. Whether that is due to a lack of faith in either reserve keeper, or just trying to get Koke some more minutes remains to be seen. But in either case, it seems as though Will has won the 2nd choice keeper job, featuring on the bench in all 4 matches so far.

Logan Dorsey – 1

The Minnesota United 2 loanee became the first RIFC player to score on their debut with his opening goal against Sporting JAX. One of the more prolific scorers in MLS Next Pro in 2025, he has not really seized any of the opportunities afforded to him since then. Most notably hitting the post of a wide open net in the Open Cup match.

Frank Nodarse – 14/10

Frank Nodarse resumed his role in the back line after spending large portions of 2025 at right wingback. Though he has remained his usual calm self, which is occasionally shows itself as a fatal flaw, he has been generally dominant aerially. He led the team with 14 aerial duels won and 10 headed clearances. While it remains to be seen who is replaced in the back line when Hamady Diop returns to full fitness, the unfortunate simple straight swap is Frank who is filling it at left center back.

Jojea Kwizera – 3

One of the biggest stock down performers of 2025 was Jojea Kwizera, but in a different role filling in at right wingback, he posted an RIFC career high 3 shots on target against Louisville. Whether or not this is simply a flash in the pan remains to be seen with this particular performance immediately leading into his departure for international duty with Rwanda. It is encouraging to see that he found the scoresheet for them as well while playing on the right wing with a very similar shot to his wonderstrike against the reigning Players’ Shield winners at Lynn Family Stadium.

Kevin Vang – 90

It would be nearly impossible to argue that RIFC supporters would rather see anyone else but Kevin Vang record their first goal contribution for his hometown club. His perfectly weighted ball to Dani Rovira registered as his first professional assist that also came in his first 90 minute performance, becoming the first Rhode Islander to accomplish that feat. Though we may not see him for more than a small handful of garbage time minutes for the rest of the season, the sickos that made it out to Tidewater for the Open Cup match will never forget his man of the match performance against CD Faialense.

Jamin Gogo Peters – 13.7

While the end product is certainly lacking, it’s encouraging to see that Jamin was able to put up 13.7 touches/90 in the opposition box, which easily led the team. It’s not the greatest sample size with only 79 minutes played, mostly against amateur competition, but there are signs of a player that may be able to make material contributions to the squad on matchday and serve as more than a filler player in training as initially projected.

Zachary Herivaux – 96.0%

Prior to picking up an injury in the opener, Zach led the team with 96% pass accuracy. His career has been marred by injuries up to this point, but hopefully this is just a little bump in the road for the 30 year old’s 2026 season. What was once a position of extensive depth has evaporated very quickly with a handful of player departures, injuries, and suspensions. It’s hard to right the ship when there’s no continuity within the metronome of the team.

Nick Scardina – 20.0%

What was seen as arguably the most important signing of the offseason for addressing the team’s most glaring hole, the start to life in the Ocean State has not been the kindest to MLS vet Nick Scardina. Aside from his goal (really should be 2) against CD Faialense, he has not had the greatest showing out of the right wingback position. Most notably, he has won only 20.0% of his ground duels in league play, for reference Stephen Turnbull’s worst month was 39.1%, nearly double that clip. Hopefully this is mostly due to a lack of match fitness after an injury took him off the field early after his substitute entrance into the Open Cup match, and is not just a fish out of water in the Khanoball system.

Karifa Yao – 38.9%

Back to back RIFC defensive player of the year Karifa Yao has not had the greatest start to 2026, anchoring the backline that has conceded 7 goals in 3 league matches so far. There is a lack of intensity from the entire center back group, but in Karifa’s case that shows up most notably in his 38.9% ground duel win rate which is the 2nd lowest for a calendar month in league play in his RIFC career. The most aggressive (sometimes to his downfall) has been second to 50/50 balls more than 60% of the time, which is far from where we expect a player with his track record to have.

CJ Williams – 1

In no way am I letting Big Chicken off the hook here, I’m a firm believer in their conspiracy against Rhode Island FC set piece conversion, but CJ Williams will go down in RIFC lore as the scorer of the first Chick-fil-A corner kick that was only redeemable for the less than 1000 fans. Go figure. He also joins Logan Dorsey as the only players to score in their club debuts.

Jacob Castro – N/A

I’ve got nothing here. We all thought he would be the #2 to replace Jackson, but he has not appeared in any of the first 4 matchday squads in all competitions, seemingly being usurped on the depth chart by 2025’s #3 in Will Meyer. He could be carrying an injury, but that feels unlikely given he has participated in prematch warmups each time out.

Hamady Diop – 6

The standout late season acquisition from last season was finally able to make his season debut off the bench at the end of the month against Miami, and boy did we need him. His passing range and cool presence on the backline is unlike anything else we have in the squad. In only 26 minutes so far, he posted 6 passes into the final third, averaging out to 20.8 per 90 minutes. Getting Hamady back into the squad full time is such an important piece in the pursuit to dig ourselves out of the immediate hole we find ourselves in with regards to table standing.

Amos Shapiro-Thompson – N/A

Amos has been a member of the availability report for all 4 games with an undisclosed injury and no word on a timeline for his return. The 2025 club midfielder of the year and Defiance 1636 player of the season has yet to make his mark on the 2026 season, a piece that this squad is desperately missing.

Thank you for your continued support of Under the Surface and the rest of the Tide Talk mediascape! Come on back next month for your dose of written RIFC stats content! Feel free to connect with me in the Defiance 1636 Discord, Twitter (@TylerJHatch), or Instagram (@tjhatch2001) if there’s anything you would like to see come of this blog! Despite the general apathy towards this week’s fixtures, I’m excited to get back into Tidewater after 2 straight weekends on the road. See you all in M7. Don’t hesitate to come over and say hi! Until next month, Up The Tide!