Welcome back to The Tide Chart, Rhode Island FC faithful.

If March felt like a cold, frustrating introduction to the season, April was the month where things started to heat up. Feels like we’ve moved past the days of Ryan putting together slides with titles like “March Midness” and “Spring Sadness” as we inch closer and closer to hopefully seeing “Are We Good?” flash across our screens on a Sunday night.

I know the standings might make you squint a little, but despite being outside the playoff picture sitting in 9th, Rhode Island are only 2 points behind 3rd place in the tightly-packed Eastern Conference. When I sit back and actually look at the body of work this team put together in April, I feel good. We should all feel good. And maybe even… optimistic? Feelings I haven’t felt since before the first kickoff in 2025, surely.

We opened April with a 2-0 US Open Cup win over Hartford at home. Unfortunately what followed was a scoreless home draw against Detroit City that left me leaving the stadium thinking “nothing’s changed…”

But after that? We travelled to Lexington and earned a professional 3-1 win on the road. Then came the highlight of the young season: putting four past Charleston Battery at Tidewater in the most prolific attacking performance we have seen at home (in a non-season finale). We closed things out by traveling into Hartford’s shitty backyard for the first matchday of the Prinx Tires Cup and grinding out a gutsy shootout win. Two derby results against our unfriendly rival to both open and close the month?

April provided a glimpse of the promise we have always seen in this team. Not to mention the fact that we have all been vocal about wanting Tidewater to feel like a genuinely difficult place to play. (Editor’s note: those are a lot of words to avoid calling it a “fortress”.)   The 2025 squad never quite gave us that, but this version is starting to show signs of life. Something is shifting at Tidewater, and after the experience we had last year, I will gladly take it.

On to our risers and fallers for April.

Rising Tide 📈

JJ Williams 

I have a confession to make. Something I havent shared with anyone, including internally here at Tide Talk headquarters…  At the start of the month I was starting to seriously wonder whether JJ really is that guy. The guy that we all think he is. The dangerous goal scorer you can count on in big moments. It just felt like it had been too long since we saw that version of JJ, and I was beginning to wonder if he was still there.

Well after bagging the equalizer against the Revs in the dying moments of the match, sending the Tidewater faithful into delirium, and then following it up with a brace against Charleston, I’m excited to say that JJ is still exactly who we thought he is.

Beyond the goals, his impact just by being on the pitch is immeasurable. In the matches where JJ does not start (i.e. the cup matches), the attack loses its focal point and struggles to create. He is one of the key players this entire system is built around, and the team simply does not look the same when he is on the bench. Then you see the momentum of the match completely shift once he enters the game.

Let’s pray for good health and continued form from our main man.

Jojea Kwizera 

I’ll be upfront with you: I’ve been pretty hard on Jojea Kwizera in these pages over the years, as many of you well know. As much as I’ve loved and respected him as a person and for his character (crack a cold one!), I’ve questioned his game, wondered about his role, and been vocal about my feelings when watching him play.

But the version of Jojea we’re seeing in 2026 has been a huge asset to this team. He has three goals in five USL Championship appearances so far this season, which is incredible considering he managed just one in 27 appearances across all of 2025. He looks confident, direct, and genuinely dangerous every time he touches the ball.

That’s been especially true since returning from international duty with Rwanda, where he’s come back looking like a sharper, more confident version of himself. It mirrors what we saw in 2024, but never really got in 2025.

If Kwizera can sustain this level over the course of the season, both he and this team are in for a special year.

Aldair Sanchez 

If you think back to last summer, Aldair was one of our most reliable presences before losing his footing in the lineup following a formation shift. He was “banished to the shadow realm,” as Tide Talk host Matt Kerwin put it.

What we’re seeing in 2026 is a genuine redemption arc. He seemingly cannot be taken off the pitch, even while running up and down the left flank for 90 or 120 minutes at a time. His long-range rocket at Lexington in the 22nd minute made me jump out of my seat. That wasn’t just a goal, it was a statement. Beyond that highlight, he’s been one of the most dependable contributors on this roster all month, doing the defensive work without complaint and staying composed in possession.

With all these minutes piling up, I do wonder what Khano’s backup plan is at left back if Aldair needs to miss time. There’s no natural replacement there, so either left-footed center back Hamady Diop slides into that role or the team shifts back to a formation with a back three instead of a back four. Either way, Aldair has worked his way into being a key piece of this team, and he’ll be out there for as many minutes as his legs will allow.

Falling Tide 📉

Leo Afonso 

It pains me to put Leo in this section because the talent is clearly there. I actually predicted him to lead the team in goals this season. But April was a difficult month for him. I suspect the explanation has more to do with how he’s being deployed than his actual form. With the shift to a back four, Leo has often found himself used as a left winger / midfielder rather than in the central areas where his qualities really shine.

The numbers from his Charleston outing reflect that discomfort: 28 touches and only one successful dribble on six attempts. He isn’t finding the ball in dangerous positions and seems a bit too disconnected from the attack. Juxtapose that with Kwizera, who is thriving in the same role on the opposite side of the field, and you’re left wondering if Leo is simply out of place in this setup.

Assuming we stick with the current system, I’m not sure he can be moved back inside, since Pity Rodríguez is the first choice centrally. And there really aren’t many better options on the left side, except maybe Noah Fuson, though I personally wouldn’t make that switch. Speaking of Fuson…

Noah Fuson 

It hurts to have Noah here for the second month running. He is a foundational piece of this club and our all-time assist leader, so I do not write this lightly. However, it is clear that the coaching staff has lost some trust in him during league play. He has yet to start a single USL Championship match this season, relegated instead to brief cameos and cup match starts. And if you’ve been paying close enough attention, it’s clear that the cup is where Khano has been fielding many of his rotiational pieces to keep the starters fresh.

We all have a standard in our minds of what Noah should be based on that exceptional second half of 2024, but I am starting to wonder if that run was the outlier. Maybe that was him playing above his level, and his current form (and 2025 form) is the actual baseline, the “real” Noah. It is a tough thought to process, but we might need to readjust our expectations for Noah’s ceiling unless he can force his way back into the first choice plans soon. As we’ve seen, he is a player who thrives on confidence. But when was the last time we saw him play with the kind of confidence that defined that magical 2024 run to the Final?

Logan Dorsey 

Remember that Logan Dorsey debut goal that tied the match in the season opener?

Some people thought that might be a sign Dorsey would become a mainstay of this attack. Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite come to pass.

Dorsey came on loan from Minnesota United 2 with a compelling resume of 10 goals last season. That, along with our positive track record with Minnesota United loanees, left me excited. But since his debut, he hasn’t recorded another goal or assist, and his FotMob average hasn’t exactly made a strong case for more playing time. (Nor has the eye test, quite frankly.)

It’s always going to be difficult to start games over a resurgent JJ, but the gap between the preseason hype and the current production is real. It’s a safe bet JJ will miss some time this season. He’s already missed a match due to suspension, which Dorsey started in his place.

But even if he doesn’t miss much time, Dorsey is going to need to become a reliable option off the bench, someone who can step in and provide for this attack when JJ needs a rest. As Timmy pointed out in the most recent Tide Talk episode, and Tyler Hatch echoed in the latest Under The Surface, Dorsey is the only true replacement for JJ.

I genuinely want this to work, but it feels like he still has a long way to go before he becomes a prodctive attacking piece for this team.

The Horizon Ahead

Six games in, we find ourselves two points off a playoff position and one point back of the top spot in our Prinx Tires Cup group. After the month we just had, that feels less like a problem and more like a launching pad. The standings are tight enough that a strong May could easily push us into the top four in the East. The pieces are finally starting to click, and the offensive identity is starting to reveal itself. We need to see if Kwizera can sustain this form and if players like Leo Afonso can find their natural roles as the season evolves.

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Follow along with Tide Talk all season as we have you covered from all angles. This is a hard working team that’s always grinding for the love of the game. I hope you enjoyed this and the many other pieces of content we push out on a weekly basis.

Up The Tide!

Photos by: Edwin Diaz (@edotphotograph) / Liam Crowley (@liamcrowleyphoto) / Rhode Island FC