Rhode Island FC take on Westchester SC in the USL Cup on Saturday night.  It will be the second ever meeting between the two teams after they first met in this same competition last year in New York.  That away day was a memorable one, and not just because of RIFC’s 4-1 win.  It was an all around great time.  From hanging out at Cantina Lobos before the game, to something about bubble gum in the parking garage outside the stadium (iykyk), to stopping for pizza in New Haven on the way back, it was an unbelievable trip.

But enough reminiscing.  What about this game?  Khano is going to have the team fully focused on Saturday, so I’ll try to do the same.  Here’s what to know and what to look out for:

The Cup So Far

I decided to change it up here a bit because, you know, I can.  It was a boring game last weekend anyway for RIFC so let’s just focus on the USL Cup.  After two matchdays, RIFC find themselves dead last in the group on 2 points.  This comes after a 0-0 draw at Hartford in which RIFC won the penalty shootout and a 2-1 loss at Portland.  Not great in a competition that RIFC made the semifinals in last year.  Somehow though, they aren’t actually eliminated yet despite only the group winner and just one additional team advancing.  Technically this group is still up for grabs.  Realistically though, it’ll take two wins in regulation for RIFC and some outside help in order to win the group.

Players to Watch

• Nick Scardina (DF)
  • Scardina has started to settle in to a starting right back role, something that for a while there I didn’t see happening.  At first it was because I assumed Khano would stick with the wingback system and Scardina would be pushed up on the right.  And then, once it became clear it was going to be a back four, Frank Nodarse was getting the starts at RB.  But Scardina has looked really solid in recent weeks and hopefully that can continue
• Noah Fuson (FW)
  • It’s been a strange year for Noah.  He was the league’s Golden Playmaker in 2024, spurred on by a great run in the second half of that season.  Then in 2025 he struggled to find form, as did pretty much all of his teammates.  And now in 2026, he hasn’t yet started a league game and has even had weeks where he missed out in the matchday squad entirely.  He has however started both USL Cup games.  Hopefully he gets another start here and can find some form
• Logan Dorsey (FW)
  • Dorsey is a player who could use this competition to get some valuable minutes.  He didn’t take advantage in the first game against Hartford, where he started and came off just after an hour.  But he looked good against Portland playing off of JJ Williams up top in the second half and scored a goal to get his team back into it.  Saturday should be another opportunity for him to have an impact

Storyline

Jojea and Busy go International

Another changeup here.  Maybe it’s because I don’t have anything tactical to say or maybe it’s just that I feel this is more important.  It’s up to you to decide for yourself.

Jojea Kwizera and Dwayne Atkinson will both miss this game as they’re away on international duty and RIFC will need to adjust.  For Jojea, it was expected and he even mentioned it in the press conference after the Brooklyn game before the roster even came out.  He’s headed to Morocco to play some friendlies with Rwanda. 

For Busy, it was much more unexpected.  He’s joining up with his native Jamaica to take on South Africa in a closed-door friendly in Mexico as South Africa prepare for the World Cup.  While this is a great opportunity for Busy, selfishly I’m a little annoyed.  Busy isn’t a core part of the Jamaican National Team and looking at the roster, this is a B team at best.  I would’ve loved to see him on Saturday with Jojea out.  But again, I am happy for him on a personal level.

The Cup So Far

Westchester are 5th in Group 5, level with RIFC on points but just ahead due to goals scored.  Like RIFC, they drew their opening game and won on penalties to get 2 points.  It came in a 2-2 draw at home against Portland.  They then lost their second game to the Cosmos 3-2.  While Westchester are still technically alive in the group, they have their two toughest matches on paper yet to come: this one at RIFC and then at Hartford to end group play.  It’s a huge mountain to climb for a team that hasn’t won a game outright since April 8th and has yet to win on the road all year. 

Players to Watch

• Luca Marinelli (GK)
  • Marinelli has started the last four games for Westchester after both their starting GK and backup went down with injuries.  This is his first year as a professional after starting his collegiate career at Bryant before transferring to Sacred Heart.  Marinelli has kept his team in games at times, as three of his starts ended in 1-0 defeats.  However, he conceded 3 in the last USL Cup game against the Cosmos and could have his hands full here
• Conor McGlynn (MF)
  • The former RIFC man is the leader of his team in Westchester County.  Not only is he the emotional leader and captain, but he also leads the team in goals with 5 in all competitions despite being a central midfielder.  McGlynn is doing everything he can to keep his team competitive
• Jonathan Jimenez (FW)
  • Jimenez signed with Westchester ahead of this season after having spent 2025 with Hartford Athletic.  He had 2 goals and 5 assists for Hartford in 34 appearances in all competitions.  Jimenez has a goal and two assists so far this year with Westchester.  He’ll need to be impactful on Saturday for his team to have any shot of getting an upset

Storyline

Is There Any Hope?

I hate to be this negative about an opponent because I feel that I’m risking it coming back to bite me.  But Westchester are quite simply…

They were the worst team in League One in 2025 and this year, they’re level on points with the Cosmos at the bottom of the table again.  To be honest, before I really looked into the team for this blog, I thought they’d made an improvement on last year.  But they really haven’t.  They just don’t have the squad.  As I mentioned earlier, Westchester haven’t won a game since April.  And in the 7 games since then, they’ve conceded 17 goals.  That’s basically 2.5 per game.  I don’t see a world in which this team improves and becomes competitive this year.

Prediction

Given what we know about the two teams, this should be pretty straightforward.  RIFC are the far better team on paper.  It would be a disaster if they don’t come away with all 3 points.  Given that this game is at home and should be in front of a big crowd, I just can’t see RIFC losing.  They have more than enough firepower, even if Khano decides to rotate. 

Final Thoughts

It’s kid’s night at Tidewater on Saturday and it should be a great time.  The team always does well setting these things up.  There will be fireworks after the game and hopefully on the field as well in the 90 minutes.  No matter how it goes though, I’ll be back here with the Riptide Report, which I’ll likely be working on during the fireworks.  The blog life stops for nothing.  Until then, UP THE TIDE!