Welcome back to Under the Surface. This month I’ll be unpacking the month of April for every player in the squad. After a rocky start to the season in March (with the only win in all competitions coming against amateur opposition), Rhode Island FC bounced back in a huge way with its first unbeaten calendar month since October 2024. RIFC did bow out of the U.S. Open Cup to the New England Revolution, but losses on penalties are draws for all intents and purposes. There are many performances that I’m much more eager to highlight than last month’s slop. Let’s dive into it.

Koke Vegas – 1

Koke casually posted an RIFC career best for a single month with only 0.33 goals allowed per 90 minutes. But perhaps his most notable contribution in April was on the offensive side, contributing his 1st career assist, not just with RIFC, but his entire senior career. It doesn’t feel right given the esteemed nature of his distribution from the goalkeeper position, so this seems more than deserved.

Dani Rovira – 9

After what appeared to be a solid demonstration of capability in the Open Cup match against CD Faialense, Dani followed that up in April with only 9 minutes played off the bench in the second round matchup with Hartford. While he’s never really had a place in the squad to begin with, the formation change to a back four and the emergence of Frank Nodarse the lockdown right back, there’s really no place for him still barring an injury or heavy rotation.

Aldair Sanchez – 2

Be on the lookout for Andrew Quadros’ Tide Chart later this week, where I suspect we’ll see Aldair in the “Rising Tide” category. With both Sanchez and Kwizera in some of their best form in an RIFC shirt, Khano has managed to find a formation that gets the best out of both of them. In April, Aldair Sanchez scored the first 2 goals of his RIFC career after he only had 1 shot on target in the entirety of 2025. While no one expects that scoring form to carry on, it’s good to see this level of confidence from the young left back and long may it continue.

Hugo Bacharach – 8

Hugo’s play has left a bit to be desired still on the offensive side, but there are some promising signs that the player we saw last year may be re-emerging. His defensive efforts did not go unnoticed, his biggest coming in the form of a last man tackle to keep the game scoreless in the first half against Charleston. Over the whole month, Hugo easily led the team with 8 shots blocked in league play, with the rest of the team combining for only 11. While the team continues to round into some of the best form in club history, it would be incredible to see Hugo once again become a dominant force in the midfield.

Grant Stoneman – 230%

I was highly critical of Grant Stoneman after his performances in March, but after moving into a rotational role with the formation change and return of Hamady Diop he increased his defensive actions per 90 in league play by 230% from March. While he’s not as exciting to watch as Karifa flying into tackles or Hamady’s linebreaking passing range, the experience that Grant has coming off the bench or in the occasional spot start is an invaluable part of this squad.

Dwayne Atkinson – 29

Aside from a surprising penalty conversion, Busy’s contributions to the team continue to be few and far between. I, for one, can certainly see the vision that the scouting department had when signing him. It just has not really shown for the Amber and Blue yet. He logged only 29 minutes in league play in April, once again setting a new RIFC career low after already having done so in March. At this point, I would be perfectly content if he were able to have a similar level of production to Joe Brito’s 7 goal contributions in 2024, which he is just about on pace for. It just feels like the player profile and potential talent are not aligning with the output we’re seeing.

Leo Afonso – 9.7%

One player that the new 4-2-3-1 formation has not necessarily benefited is Leo Afonso. There is a noticeable lack of wingers in this squad, at least ones that have shown any semblance of form in 2026 (I’m looking at you Noah) so Leo is probably the best option to be out there on the left flank. After a club record-setting month in March, he took 10 fewer shots in April. In the process, he increased his shot accuracy by 9.7% and scored his first goal for the club. Shot volume is not as important as shot selection, and Leo’s individual change in that aspect is a microcosm of the team’s recent run of clinical finishing with 7 goals in its last 2 league matches.

JJ Williams – 4

It’s safe to say that JJ Williams is well and truly back. The star of the month for April bounced back in a big way after his scoreless March, scoring 4 goals in all competitions. That’s the most he has scored in a month since November 2024 during RIFC’s run to the USL Championship Final. The squad was built around him, and it’s no surprise that the team goes when he does.

Pity Rodríguez – 232%

Pity was pretty quiet during his introductory month to USL footy in March, but he responded in April with a 232% increase in chances created. His efforts yielded him 2 assists, continuing to grow into the attacking midfield role in front of the double pivot of Clay and Hugo that all continue to grow together week in and week out as this team figures out its best collection of starting players.

Noah Fuson – 49%

Every time Noah’s out on the field, I still expect something magical to happen. We just have not seen that consistently in quite some time. He has yet to start a league match all season, and had a 49% decrease in touches/90 in 3 substitute appearances this past month. He did start all 3 cup matches, though that’s pretty damning evidence of his diminished status in the squad with the rotation that we’ve seen in those competitions so far. While it may be intriguing to see him on that left wing over Leo at some point, or even in his strongest position under the striker, specifically JJ, he’s gonna have to work a lot harder to earn that spot back which his performances to this point have failed to do.

Clay Holstad – 6

Clay quietly put up a solid month as a ball playing midfielder, filling in where Hugo may still not be up to speed with. With 6 chances created, he was tied for team lead. While generally considered to be a ball-winning midfielder, he was also tied for the club lead in passes into the final 3rd with 16 and led in long ball accuracy at 81.8%. It’s no surprise that the team is playing at its best when Clay Holstad is in the midfield.

Will Meyer – N/A

Will Meyer was listed on the matchday roster for all 4 matches in March, but has been seemingly usurped by offseason signing Jacob Castro for the backup keeper spot.

Logan Dorsey – 2

After shouts for him to take JJ’s spot as the starting striker following his debut goal that was giftwrapped by Sporting JAX’s defence, Logan only saw 2 minutes of action in league play in April. He has seen the field in cup competition, but with very little effectiveness on either side of the ball. He works hard, don’t get me wrong, but he does not command nearly the same attention that JJ Williams does nor does he have the same aerial presence that make JJ such a valuable part of this Khanoball system. Although we have a high flying JJ Williams, there will come a time where we need a goal off the bench and Logan is the only true striker waiting in the wings. It is a bit concerning that this is our only option if we need to make a change if we need a goal late in a match. The eye test is just not boding well for the Minnesota loanee.

Frank Nodarse – 270

After a general dip in form in 2025, I’m pretty confident in saying that Frank is back. In April he played all 270 minutes in league play in April, which only Clay and Koke did too. He has also taken the new right fullback spot and made it his own as a natural centerback, edging out 2 actual right backs in the process. The tactical flexibility that Frank provides on the right side: carrying the ball, smart interplay with Jojea, and also the ability to tuck in as a 3rd centerback is perfect for this new system that has been so successful in recent weeks.

Jojea Kwizera – 2

Jojea Kwizera may be in the form of his RIFC career. If not the best we’ve ever seen him, it’s certainly the best since 2024. In April alone he scored 2 goals, matching his scoring output for 2025 in its entirety. He has already surpassed his scoring output from last season if you include his goal from March. As is the case with Aldair Sanchez, he’s playing with so much confidence at the moment, and being positioned on the right wing as he does with Rwanda has been a perfect use of his talents allowing him to cut in on his favored left foot to take his shots.

Kevin Vang – 521%

Kevin’s beautiful assist against CD Faialense in March earned him another start in the first Open Cup edition of El Clamico and hardly looked out of place, this time against USL Championship opposition. Though there wasn’t much defending to be done against the amateur side which inflates this, he did increase his defensive contributions against Hartford by 521%. I would not be surprised if we see a player like Kevin suit up in the Prinx Tires USL Cup against one of our USL League One opponents given Khano’s infamous rotation so far in these cup competitions.

Jamin Gogo Peters – N/A

Jamin Gogo-Peters has spent the last few matches on the injury report and did not appear in a match in April, though there’s really no place for him in the matchday roster anyways with the overall health of the squad.

Zachary Herivaux – 208%

Zachary Herivaux returned from his ankle injury suffered in the season opener and responded with a 208% increase in ground duels won per 90. His health is going to be so important to this teams success in 2025 with a lack of depth in central midfield quietly becoming a problem if the perfect storm arises like we saw against Detroit City where Grant Stoneman had to step into that role alongside Clay Holstad after Hugo was suspended paired with Zach and Amos’ injuries.

Nick Scardina – 8.47

April was kinder to Nick than March, though he unfortunately plays the same position as Frank Nodarse who has a stranglehold on the right back spot. But, with 8.47 passes into the final third in all competitions, which led the team. I was surprised to see that he played 308 minutes this month, so maybe we’re starting to see more of the player we were expecting. There’s just not a spot for him in the current system, though I certainly will not complain about having a player trying to knock down the door of a spot in the XI with their performances when given opportunities.

Karifa Yao – 29.8%

Karifa chaperoned an RIFC defence that conceded only 0.32 goals per 90 minutes, so this isn’t necessarily an indictment on his play at all. However, his defensive actions were down 29.8% from the month of March. To me, this seems like a return to a more stable and resilient defensive unit that is conceding fewer chances overall than the previous month that required more defensive intervention that was not needed in this month.

CJ Williams – N/A

CJ Williams has not seen the pitch since his less than flattering 30 minute league debut against Louisville and has taken to a depth role outside of the 18 man matchday roster as of late.

Jacob Castro – N/A

We still have no idea what we have here in what has apparently been declared our 2nd choice keeper, which is merely a consolation prize at this point given the fact that Koke Vegas has played every minute of the season for the club so far.

Hamady Diop – 73.52

Hamady Diop has fully worked himself back from injury that delayed his start to the season. In April, led the team with 73.52 touches per 90 in all competitions. Our center backs had high touch volumes in 2025 where the team’s average possession was greater, so Hamady leading the squad comes as a surprise given our current tactical setup. The return of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft first overall selection has unsurprisingly led to the quick turnaround in form for the Tide and a full season for the club could see them shoot up the table like we haven’t seen in either season so far, especially this early in the season.

Amos Shapiro-Thompson – 2.77

Amos returned from his own injury against Lexington and started the match against the New England Revolution, playing the first half. He has since reappeared on the availability report with what we can only assume is another injury with no timetable for his return. In his 65 minutes played, he led the team with 2.77 interceptions per 90, coming back and showing us the exact same player that was so valuable to the squad in 2025 and hope to see make his way back once more.

Come on back next month for some more 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! After spending Saturday night in that dump they call Hartford, Connecticut, I’m extremely grateful that I get to spend the next 2 weekends at Tidewater. Don’t hesitate to come over and say hi! Until next month, Up The Tide!