Rhode Island FC defeated Hartford Athletic 2-0 in the second round of the US Open Cup, and await the draw for their third round opponent coming on Thursday, 4/2.

Rhode Island essentially beat Hartford at their own miserable, disgusting version of the game. With just 41% of the ball, Rhode Island nicked two corner goals in the first half and were fairly content to simply shut it down after that.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of positives to take away from the night; most importantly, we had a mini Hartford-sized monkey forming on our backs after 2025, which we removed tonight. Also, Khano pivoted to a back four in defense and the team still managed to hold a decent – admittedly, heavily rotated – Hartford side to 0 shots on target in the first half, and just two in the second half.

What else did we learn tonight?

1. The Big Chicken conspiracy is alive and well, as Chick-fil-A owes DOUBLE free chicken sandwiches to the crowd for the second time already this season. But again, it “conveniently” occurred amongst a crowd of hundreds, not thousands.

2. Antony Siaha is terrified (to be fair, he probably would’ve kept our second goal out, so… thank you to Brendan Burke for basically throwing away the Open Cup).

Click below if you’re interested in seeing 2026 historical ratings.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

Koke Vegas (GK) – 7/10

Koke was only forced to make one save in this match – but he was ready when called upon and also a very effective distributor of the ball. He also very clearly and visibly knows what this game means to the fans.

Aldair Sanchez (D) – 7/10

Although Aldair was playing as a traditional left back in this match, he’s been making a strong case for himself to remain in the starting lineup once Jojea Kwizera returns from international duty.

Aldair scored the opening goal tonight on a set piece routine from Kevin Vang that JJ headed down into Aldair’s path, and he finished with a beautiful left-footed volley. In the words of JJ Williams in his post-match press conference: “That’s the play”.

Hamady Diop (D) – 6/10

Hartford really didn’t test the backline much tonight, but it’s fantastic to see Diop back in the Starting XI (even if he only played the first half). He’s very defensively sturdy, and we desperately missed his build up passing.

Karifa Yao (D) – 7/10

Even in a game with very little defending to be done, Karifa still racked up 12 defensive contributions and looked very comfortable – playing in a relatively new system with just one partner in central defense – while doing so.

Nick Scardina (D) – 6/10

Part of the reason Hartford had so few shots on target was because of a handful of crucial interventions by Scardina to snuff out danger before it turned into a shot. It still hasn’t quite clicked for Nicky the Fish in the attacking half, but his defensive work playing as a right back tonight was very good.

Hugo Bacharach (MF) – 7/10

Welcome back, Hugo Bacharach. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was exactly what we needed to see from Hugo as he builds back his confidence and fitness after a slow start to the season. Playing as the primary defensive midfielder (while his partner, Kevin Vang, was tasked with more build up), Hugo racked up a game-high 13 defensive contributions, 13 duels won out of 17 total, and a team-high 8 passes into the final third.

Kevin Vang (MF) – 6/10

Aside from one bad giveaway that led to a threatening Hartford move, I thought Vang looked perfectly comfortable playing alongside most of the RIFC first team, and this time against USLC competition. He had the “hockey assist” on Aldair’s opening goal, as it was Vang who delivered the corner kick to JJ.

Not to be that guy, but is it time to give Vang a closer look in a league match? He’s looked to be one of our more progressive, creative midfielders in the build up and attack over the two Open Cup matches that he’s played – tied for the game-high with two chances created in this match.

Pity Rodriguez (MF) – 6/10

A quieter match for Pity than we’ve seen in his other four appearances, but he continues to impress me. He’s shifty, hard to knock off the ball (despite being small) and almost always moves the ball forward.

The performance was closer to a 5/10 for me, but of course he delivers the ball – and is credited with the assist – on our second goal off of a corner kick on the night. The ball arguably shouldn’t have ever made it to JJ… or into the back of the net, but an assist is an assist.

Noah Fuson (F) – 5/10

This was certainly an improvement over Noah’s last start in the Open Cup match against CD Faialense, but I still found him invisible for large portions of the match. He created two chances, but had the fewest touches of any outfield player to play the full 90 minute match.

JJ Williams (F) – 7/10

JJ looked fresh and hungry after a weekend off in the league due to his red card suspension. He wasn’t as active in the air as some nights, but he delivered where it mattered most: an assist to Aldair Sanchez for our opening goal, and then his own headed finish on a second set piece goal.

JJ made absolutely certain that the soaking wet home fans went home with the promise of free Chick-fil-A.

Dwayne Atkinson (F) – 5/10

In real time I thought Busy looked the more threatening and lively out of him and Noah playing out wide on either flank – but the stats do favor Noah so, who am I to argue? To be fair, neither of them had a tremendous amount of success crossing the ball or working it into threatening areas from open play.

Subs

Frank Nodarse – 6/10

Made an absolutely crucial goal line clearance late in the second half to keep the score 2-0, and otherwise slotted seamlessly into the back four.

Clay Holstad – 5/10

Not a particularly busy or flashy night for Clay, as we didn’t have much of the ball during the ~30 minutes that he was on the pitch.

Leo Afonso – 6/10

Leo continues to impress, as he made the most of his second half cameo. He managed two shots from fairly dangerous positions – and was very visibly frustrated with himself for not putting them on target. Not to worry, Leo – the goals are positively coming.

Logan Dorsey – N/A

Dani Rovira – 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.