Rhode Island FC Announce the Signing of Stas Korzeniowski on Loan from the Philadelphia Union

Another day, another signing

We wondered what Rhode Island FC would do in response to the surprise sale of JJ Williams to Scottish Premier side Hearts of Midlothian, and we didn’t need to wait long to find an answer. Khano Smith and his staff quickly got to work to bring in an MLS-caliber player in Stas Korzeniowski from the Philadelphia Union, something we caught wind of earlier this week with this post from José Nuñez, a beat reporter who covers that team.

After seeing a successful Leo Afonso start against Monterey Bay, along with a promising debut from recent signing Osman Foyo, it was fair to wonder if the team was going to stick with some combination of the existing options to fill the large void left by JJ’s departure. 

Instead, we see clear intent from the club regarding their ambitions for this season by bringing in a bonafide striker just days after JJ’s official departure.

Let’s learn more about our new signing. 

Who Is Stas Korzeniowski?

Stas Korzeniowski is a 23 year old forward from Skillman, NJ. Standing a 6’4”, that officially qualifies him as an “American Giant” a la JJ Williams (via the Scottish press, at least). He went to the University of Pennsylvania for 4 years, scoring 32 goals, assisting 17 times, and winning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Ivy in his senior season. This successful college career led him to being drafted 53rd overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft by Philadelphia.

Korzeniowski spent 2025 with Union II (Philadelphia's MLS Next Pro team) where an ankle injury slowed the start of his season, but then ended up scoring 12 goals in 25 appearances, with 9 of those in his final 7 matches. That late season burst helped earn him a first team deal in January 2026; a one year contract with club options for two additional years.

Shortly after signing this new contract, Stas made his first-team debut on February 18 as a starter in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, followed by his MLS debut three days later against DC United when he subbed into the match in the 79th minute. 

Across the rest of the season he split time between the first team and Union II, picking up 6 MLS appearances, 3 Champions Cup appearances, and 1 Leagues Cup appearance for the main squad, plus 4 appearances with Union II before suffering a non-surgical knee ligament injury on May 17th against Columbus Crew 2.

That injury kept him out until August 1st. Since returning, he's made 4 more appearances with Union II and has picked up right where he left off, scoring 5 goals in those 4 matches.

All 8 of his Union II appearances this season have been starts, and he's been in excellent form, including a Player of the Matchweek performance and multiple multi-goal games. In fact, he’s scored 10 goals in those 8 games for Union II.

If you want to learn more about Stas and his background, I highly encourage you to watch the video linked above. It’s a short interview and he comes across as a genuine, humble guy who is hungry to compete and develop. And most importantly, someone hungry for goals.

Player Profile

I mentioned earlier that this signing was a response to the JJ Williams sale, and it's essentially a 1-for-1 replacement. The RIFC offense as we’ve known it this season was built around JJ’s specific skillset. JJ is a big body with great hold-up play. Someone who attracts multiple defenders and allows the creative players around him to have more space in their attacking movements. If RIFC were to stick with Leo Afonso at striker, they would have to change the way they attack teams, the way their entire offense operates. We saw that last weekend against a very poor Monterey Bay team.

But rather than revolutionizing the offense, RIFC brass decided to bring in a player that is very similar to JJ in size and style. Korzeniowski is a physical, hold-up forward who drops deep and sometimes wide to combine with other attackers. His big frame is a handful for defenders both in the air and on the dribble. He uses his frame and his instincts to manufacture just enough space to get a shot off. And he also has a “right-footed cannon” for a shot, according to this Philly beat reporter. 

While a good chunk of his goals this year have come from him picking the ball up around midfield and running at people himself, this Philly Soccer Page breakdown from last October suggests he does not have enough pace to separate from defenders at the pro level. As long as he can create space for himself in the box, that shouldn’t be an issue for Rhode Island as JJ is not a burner himself.

Here is a sampling of some of his goals:

Defensively, I am seeing conflicting reports on how adept he is in his coverage. We know that Khano likes all his players to be good in the defensive press, covering a lot of ground and being able to move quickly in transition. My guess is that the team feels comfortable in his abilities to do that at the USL Championship level. JJ was very active in the press and we should safely assume Stas will be asked to do the same. 

What does this mean for RIFC?

I’ve already laid out why Stas is here and why the club decided to bring in a player with that profile. It really comes down to continuity in the style of play, along with a recognition that the current set of attacking options would not be enough to replace JJ’s production and meet the team’s aspirations for the remainder of the season.

With this signing, RIFC can continue to play as it has all season, which is critical as we move into the final stretch of the season. 

Because this is a loan, there is always the risk that he is recalled back to his MLS team. Many of us (myself included) still have some Jack P-induced PTSD from 2024. But by all accounts, this is likely to be a player who sticks around through the remainder of the season. Not only does Philadelphia have three to four strikers ahead of him on the depth chart, his main club wants the player to get a lot of playing time in a tougher division for the remainder of the season as it's clear he is too good for MLS Next Pro. (For what it's worth, it seems MLS's roster freeze is Friday, October 9.)

Given Rhode Island’s track record of developing and elevating talent (Morris Duggan, Clay Holstad, and JJ Wiliams all being shining examples of that), it seems that the club is earning a very positive reputation as an excellent landing spot for aspirant talent to come and develop with the hope of earning a place in a bigger league if all goes well here. This is certainly part of the recruiting and roster-building strategy of the club, so it’s always great to see good players like this make their way to Rhode Island.

Transfer Window Closing

So the JJ backfill is in place, but what is there left to address on the roster? With Tsukada here to lock down the left winger role, Eric Klein loaned in to reinforce the midfield alongside Bacharach and Shapiro-Thompson in the wake of Clay’s move to Dallas, and Osman Foyo now here as a new, exciting attacking option, the main need is centerback depth. 

Hamady Diop has disappeared from the team sheet and Karifa Yao is still injured, leaving us a bit thin at the position. It may just be enough to get through the rest of the season, but if the club wants to add some depth at that position, they have until September 7th to do so. That is the date in which the roster freezes through the remainder of the year.

We’ll see if there are any more moves to come, but in my view, the club has done very well to reinforce areas of need following the departure of two critical pieces on the roster. We’ll just have to see if these new additions can quickly adapt and start delivering.

Welcome to Rhode Island, Stas. We'll see you at Tidewater.

Up The Tide!