RIFC got their first league win of 2016 in five tries with a 3-1 victory over Lexington SC tonight. It was a much needed result, both for the standings and for fan confidence. I watched this one from my couch and got to enjoy some brilliant commentating from Sean Saint Jacques and Ryan Davis, who have quickly become my favorite commentary team in the league. I cannot confirm nor deny if their shout-out of Tide Talk last week has anything to do with it. But as for the takeaways from this one….
Back Four
Khano chose to keep almost the same lineup from last week’s home draw against Detroit, with Hugo’s return to the midfield in place of Grant Stoneman the only change. The defense remained in a back four with Frank Nodarse at RB. I wrote in the last Riptide Report how impressed I was with Frank’s positioning and that carried over into this one. It’s an interesting development as I think a lot of us expected Khano to stay with a back 3. It’s why I had Nick Scardina as my preseason signing of the season. Regardless of any predictions, I’m thrilled to see things working so well in this setup. RIFC were great defensively tonight and were finally able to take their chances going forward. And as for those chances…
Aldair Rocket and Jojea Banger
RIFC got the scoring started 21 minutes in with this absolute rocket:
Before mentioning Aldair’s shot, you have to credit Pity for the pressure that won the ball back. He hasn’t yet hit his stride on the ball but his intervention here was crucial. Still, the main man here was Aldair. What a rocket. It’s great to see him getting forward and contributing, especially when the attackers haven’t been scoring enough on the whole.
The one goal lead would turn into two just 5 minutes later when Jojea banged this in:
Great work from JJ to hold off some defenders and get that ball out to Jojea. And it was an uncharacteristically powerful strike from Jojea. We usually expect to see him curl the ball to the far post. And perhaps that’s what Semmle was expecting, as he probably should’ve at least got a hand to it at his near post.
Leo Puts It Away
It was a great feeling going into the half 2-0 up. Lexington would come out stronger in the second half and put RIFC under pressure consistently. It quickly became the classic “the next goal might decide the game” situation. Either Lexington were going to get back into it at 2-1 or RIFC would get an insurmountable three goal lead. Luckily for us, it was the latter:
Nice quick restart from Jojea and chest down from JJ. But really, this was all about Leo’s finish. With his weaker right foot nonetheless. Perfect placement to put the game away.
Final Thoughts
Lexington got their late consolation goal but it wasn’t enough. What a feeling it is to get a decisive victory. Or even just a victory at all. Three points were really needed and while I had faith they would come tonight, I only predicted a 1-0 in the Prematch Lookout. So shame on me for not having enough confidence. I also have to note that what makes this win even better is the fact that Hartford lost 4-0 tonight at home to El Paso. It turns out trying to defend and play on the counter at all times doesn’t always work out (yes I’m aware that’s how RIFC won tonight, but at least we can string a few passes together).
Matt and Ryan will be back with the postmatch pod tomorrow night to relive a win for the first time in 2026. Timmy will have his player ratings, which must include at least an 8 for Frank or I will be boycotting them until future notice. Finally, I’ll be back here on Monday to preview RIFC’S big Open Cup meeting with the New England Revolution Tuesday night. Until then, UP THE TIDE!
Tide Talk 
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