Rhode Island FC took down Westchester SC tonight with a 3-0 victory. Late first half goals from Clay Holstad and JJ Williams put the good guys 2-0 up going into the break. Leo Afonso added a third later in the second half. It was great to see a comfortable win in what was our last home game for about a month. Here are my takeaways from a fun night:
For the Kids
Coming into the game, I knew it would be a great night at Tidewater. At the very least, it was Kid’s Night which was sure to mean two things: a great crowd and a fun gameday experience for the youngest RIFC fans. And I have to say, the club and the fans delivered. It was in fact a huge crowd with tons of kids having fun and getting into the game. The club had kids helping out with the PA announcing, which I thought was a good touch. And, there were even fireworks despite the customary late game rain. I even have photo proof if you don’t believe me:
A Walk in the Park
I also knew coming into the game that on paper, it should be a straightforward one. I predicted a 3-0 coming in and that’s what we got. I don’t deserve credit though because it was not a bold call whatsoever. Westchester are one of the worst teams in League One and despite RIFC’s inconsistency this season, I was confident they’d take care of business.
Any RIFC goal is great to see and these three from Clay, JJ, and Leo are no different:
I have to say, Clay’s was my favorite there. Just hard work and determination in the press to create the opportunity. It’s one of the many reasons he’s a fan favorite.
Gogo Gadget Vang Gang
Atrocious heading from me. I’ll own up to that. But I had to point out that it was cool to see both Jamin Gogo Peters and Kevin Vang get on the field tonight. They both came in for the last 10 or so minutes and looked like they belonged. I wouldn’t call for them to start but I do love when we have situations like this where these guys can get some minutes. It’s a good reward for their hard work in training.
Cupdate
The good news is, this win (temporarily) puts RIFC second in the group on 5 points. The bad news is, Hartford won 3-0 over the Cosmos and are first with 7 points. And even worse, Portland and Brooklyn play tomorrow and if either team wins in regulation, they’ll pass RIFC into second. The loss in Portland will likely be what eliminates RIFC from this competition. Even if RIFC win their final game in the group, the 8 points they’d be on will almost certainly not be enough to be the best second placed team. We’ll have to rely on Hartford dropping points to this Westchester team that we just saw. Incredibly unlikely.
Final Thoughts
As always, we’ll have the postmatch pod tomorrow night and Timmy will have his player ratings, where he will likely chicken out and not give Kevin Vang a rating. I’ll be back here with a preview of RIFC’s trip to Loudoun later in the week.
Before I go, I have to reiterate that it was a great night for the kids. One of mine in particular. Henry gave out the man of the match paddle tonight, which thankfully still happened with the inclement weather even though the official ceremony/interview didn’t happen. He was so excited beforehand that earlier in the day when he was having some quiet time in his room, we heard him telling all of his stuffed animals about how he was going to the game later and giving out the paddle. This game already gives me so much joy, but moments like this are what it’s really all about. UP THE TIDE!
Tide Talk 
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