Rhode Island FC vs. Brooklyn FC Player Ratings - 07/11/2026

On an incredibly strange evening in Rhode Island FC-land, the team defeated Brooklyn FC 4-3 in a penalty shootout but ultimately failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the USL Cup.

Knowing that qualifying was a long shot (it would have required a Hartford loss - in regulation, or penalties), Khano rotated the lineup about as heavily as he could given the limitations via injury. Most notably, we saw Dani Rovira and Dwayne Atkinson both start for the first time in USL competition, and JJ Williams on the bench.

Despite the rotation, Rhode Island were fairly dominant in the first half even though it ended even at 1-1. In the second half, things went off the rails with a fraudulent red card for Frank Nodarse in the 50th minute. With Rhode Island down to 10 men, Brooklyn saw much more of the ball and looked more threatening to score a second (although Rhode Island were not without their chances).

By the time it went to penalties, the game was officially meaningless as neither team had a chance to qualify - but that didn't stop it from being a thrilling conclusion to a dramatic match.

Click below if you're interested in seeing 2026 player historical ratings.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

Green Line Apothecary (Ice Cream) - 8/10

Somehow, this was my first time trying the ice cream in the stadium from Green Line Apothecary (other than briefly at a tasting event earlier in the year). My wife and I both went with the Blueberry Cheesecake and I was absolutely not disappointed. It wasn't hot enough for the ice cream to be as soupy as it was, but the flavor itself was absolutely sensational.

Koke Vegas (GK) - 9/10

Koke made a great save in the 5th minute, and really never let up from there. In the second half, he made save after save to keep the score 1-1 - none better than his point-blank save on Obregon in 2nd half stoppage time.

Koke then went on to make a save in the penalty shootout, and eventually took the game-winning penalty. It's not unheard of, but a rare treat to get to see a goalkeeper step up to the penalty spot.

Aldair Sanchez (D) - 5/10

A positively average game from Aldair, which is just fine. For the second week in a row, we saw Aldair play at a position besides traditional fullback - as, after some subs and the red card in the second half, he moved into a midfield position.

Frank Nodarse (D) - 5/10

Frank was having a defensively solid game - back playing in central defense as we were accustomed to seeing him in 2024 - before being sent off for a second yellow card.

Honestly just a poor refereeing decision. Frank threw his hands backwards in frustration as Obregon was tugging him back - Frank barely caught him, but he went down like he was shot. The ref completely took the bait, which was a trend all night long.

Karifa Yao (D) - 5/10

Decent from Yao as well - although he was not particularly busy in the first half, and ended up making way for Grant Stoneman in the 70th minute, as Yao was on a yellow card. In fact, Yao's yellow card challenge does give up the free kick that led to Brooklyn's goal, but I think it's a challenge he had to make.

Nick Scardina (D) - 7/10

A great defensive showing for Nicky the Fish, as he led the team with nine defensive contributions, including seven clearances. On the other side of the field, he created three chances. He really should have scored the go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, when he was in alone on goal off of a great cross-field pass from Leo Afonso. Although, he does get credit for taking and scoring the first penalty kick!

Dani Rovira (MF) - 6/10

I was not only shocked to see Dani Rovira starting, but to see him starting as a midfielder in a pair with Dwayne Atkinson - two players who we've never seen play centrally.

Rovira didn't blow me away, but he was perfectly adequate and did his job just fine. Usually that's a 5 rating for me - but when it's a player whose minutes are few and far between, playing outside of his natural position... I have to respect that!

Dwayne Atkinson (MF) - 7/10

In Busy's midfield debut, he played a wobbly, easily-intercepted pass through the middle of the park early in the match and I thought we might be in for a long night.

I was proved totally wrong; Atkinson had a nice game playing in the middle. His distribution improved significantly, finishing with a team-high 10 passes into the final third, and despite his size he was not afraid to battle for 50/50 balls and came up with his fair share of them. Doing his best Clay impression, Busy also had the joint-most ball recoveries (7) of outfield players.

Noah Fuson (MF) - 6/10

Yes. Significant improvement over Noah's other performances this season. It's a cliche that I've used a lot for Noah, but he was playing with a newfound confidence against Brooklyn. There were a lot of positive signs: step-overs in the box, taking on his man, winning duels, creating two chances and taking two shots of his own (even being a little bit selfish on one occasion when he could have passed - which I think was a good thing in this case).

Pity Rodriguez (F) - 7/10

Pity opened the scoring in the 18th minute on a dish from Jojea Kwizera, but the entire sequence started with a perfect ball out wide by none other than Pity himself.

He was doing this all night long - so, even if he technically isn't credited with the created chances, he was regularly playing "the pass before the pass" that set up many of our best chances of the night. He also easily could've scored another goal of his own on the night.

Leo Afonso (F) - 7/10

Leo got to play primarily as a true striker in this match, and he had not looked this hungry since the early matches of the 2026 season. With just 43 touches, Leo got off five shots of his own and created five chances. A few of the shots could've been a lot more clinical - but he forced a couple of saves, and managed to hit the crossbar in the first half. Leo also buried his penalty shot.

There were some frustrating moments, for sure - including a few overcooked through balls - but this is much closer to what I expected to see every match when we signed Leo Afonso.

Jojea Kwizera (F) - 6/10

We finally saw Kwizera return to the right side where he's been so impactful this season, and he immediately looked significantly better than last match. He didn't shine quite as brightly as Pity and Leo, but had a good game. He made it relatively easy for Pity Rodriguez to score the opening goal with a great give-and-go sequence.

Subs

Amos Shapiro-Thompson - 5/10

A safe pair of hands in the midfield as we transitioned to something like a 4-4-1 after the Frank Nodarse red card. Amos also buried his penalty kick.

Hugo Bacharach - 6/10

Hugo mostly played as a central defender after coming on (another thing we haven't seen since last season), and was crucial to keeping the score tied at 1-1. In just 33 minutes, Hugo racked up the second-most defensive contributions on the team with eight.

JJ Williams - 4/10

JJ lost possession seven times on just 17 touches, but also managed to get off a pair of shots from the top right of the 18-yard box that both barely went wide of the far post. While it didn't come back to bite us, he also unfortunately missed his penalty kick which let Brooklyn back into the game.

Grant Stoneman - 5/10

Grant made a couple of crucial defensive interventions before being sent off in a really bizarre turn of events. I believe he got an initial yellow card for dissent, and then his reaction to that yellow card earned him a second yellow card? I have no idea what he said... but knowing what we know of Grant, it's hard to imagine him saying something worthy of an immediate second yellow. Certainly felt like another poor referee decision.

CJ Williams - N/A

No score, but CJ Williams earned his keep in his first appearance since a bit of a nightmare cameo at Louisville back in March. He was playing as a fullback and made a couple of good defensive plays.

Rating Scale:

• 1/10 – Abysmal. You might as well have me on the pitch.
• 2/10 – Very bad
• 3/10 – Bad
• 4/10 – Below Average
• 5/10 – Average. The player did their job.
• 6/10 – Good
• 7/10 – Very good
• 8/10 – Great
• 9/10 – Outstanding
• 10/10 – Transcendent performance. Watch out, because Real Madrid may come knocking.