Rhode Island FC vs. Hartford Athletic Player Ratings - 07/18/2026

Rhode Island FC secured all three points with a (relatively) dominant 1-0 win over Hartford Athletic on a rainy night at Tidewater. The victory was enough to leapfrog Hartford in the standings, placing Rhode Island FC inside the playoff picture in 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

While there was only one goal separating the two teams at the end of the night, Rhode Island were the stronger of the two sides by a significant margin. Hartford's attacking play is essentially non-existent, as they really just try to hoof it long and hope that the opposing center backs make a mistake. In this match - clearly - it didn't work, as Hartford did not muster a single shot on target.

Despite the weather putting a literal damper on the evening, the atmosphere inside the stadium was good - that tends to be the case, since only the sickos show up when the forecast is as bad as it was for this match. At least one fan base takes this matchup seriously, even with it being our third win against Hartford already in 2026.

I also got to have a great meal at Cantinho Bar & Grill before the match with my parents and wife. It's right by the stadium and you have probably walked past it without realizing. We all enjoyed our food, and I especially thought they did a great rendition of one of my favorite dishes: Carne Alentejana (Pork with clams and potatoes).

Of course, due to the weather, only my Dad and I ultimately made it to the match... while the other two from our party spent the evening with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Back to the on-field action - click below to see 2026 player historical ratings.

Rhode Island FC Player Ratings:

Koke Vegas (GK) - 5/10

Koke literally didn't have to make a save in this match - but his distribution was good and he made a couple of good clearances (one, in particular, where he swatted away a dangerous corner in the second half).

Frank Nodarse (D) - 8/10

Even aside from the goal, Frank had a great night - he was rock-solid defensively with seven defensive contributions, including six clearances, but was also surprisingly progressive with his dribbling and passing.

He created a chance for JJ in the first half with a cutback cross, after beating his man with a dribble. He could easily have scored with a headed chance in the 17th minute, shortly before scoring the game-winning goal in the 20th minute on a corner kick delivery from Jojea Kwizera.

Maybe there's a deeper layer to the conspiracy that I'm missing and Ryan and Matt will illuminate on the Tide Talk pod... but I'm thinking that the Big Chicken conspiracy is officially dead. My season tickets are practically paying for themselves at this point with how many free chicken sandwiches we've won this season.

Grant Stoneman (D) - 7/10

Huge defensive game from Stoneman. He picked up a yellow card in the second minute and I was worrying about him all night. He didn't let it interfere with his game at all, as he finished with the joint-most defensive contributions (10) including a game-high seven headed clearances.

Karifa Yao (D) - 6/10

While Yao had less eye-catching numbers, he was equally as important as Stoneman in limiting Hartford to no shots on target. Karifa also came up with some big defensive moments including clearances and ushering the ball out of play a handful of times.

I kept worrying about those Hartford long balls, but Yao and Stoneman dealt with them confidently every single time. Yao did come off in the 81st minute, with what was hopefully just a muscle cramp.

Nick Scardina (D) - 7/10

Scardina and Kwizera were terrorizing Hartford down the right flank all night long. Scardina, in particular, was absolutely crucial to our progressing the ball up the field. Every time he received the ball out wide, he was looking to bomb down the wing into the Hartford half.

He led all Rhode Island players in total ball progression distance AND passes into the final third. He also had two dangerous shots on goal from roughly the same area, both of which had a decent shot at beating the keeper.

Hugo Bacharach (MF) - 6/10

Hugo was integral both to our build up (picking up the ball deep and either moving it, or galloping through the midfield himself) and our settled attack around Hartford's box, as he was regularly tasked with recycling the ball, or dribbling along the edge of the box looking for 1.) an opening, and/or 2.) swinging the ball out wide for a cross.

Amos Shapiro-Thompson (MF) - 6/10

A fairly standard, high work-rate game from Amos. He may not have jumped off the page in any particular category, but he's always working off the ball - even if he's the second or third man showing up to step to the ball - and helping his team win the duels (even if he personally was only 4/12 on duels for the night).

I would say Amos played the slightly freer role, occasionally popping up on the wings to support in attack, while Hugo's job was to stay more central. Amos created a great chance for Frank in the 17th minute from that exact position.

Pity Rodriguez (MF) - 5/10

A solid performance as Pity once again played in his preferred #10 position. He didn't impose himself on this match quite the way that he did last week against Brooklyn, but still had some bright moments as he created two chances and had a couple of shots of his own from decent areas.

Leo Afonso (F) - 5/10

Leo moved back to the wing after a strong performance at striker last weekend, and I thought he had mixed results. I'm pretty content with Leo taking six total shots - even if only one was ultimately on target (a speculative long-range blast that was never going to beat Siaha). He had another early in the second half that barely sailed over the net.

I didn't think he offered a whole lot otherwise, but he also wasn't actively hurting or holding back our attack.

JJ Williams (F) - 6/10

Much improved performance from JJ after a few consecutive down performances. He probably should've converted at least one of his five shots (none on target), but as long as JJ looks hungry, I'm usually happy - and he definitely looked hungry tonight. It's always a good sign when he's involved - and winning - aerial duels (6/9 on the night), which often leads to chances for our other attacking players.

JJ also made a few crucial defensive interventions, including three clearances AND a great run to get back and help Scardina defend an odd rush, and ultimately it's JJ who blocks the shot at the top of the box.

He did lose the ball 17 times tonight - but it's not entirely his fault. He often receives the ball as the furthest player upfield with 2-3 defenders still between him and the net. Unless he slows it down and waits for a winger to catch up, his only option is oftentimes just to try to dribble through several guys, and often loses the ball.

Jojea Kwizera (F) - 7/10

Excellent night, with five chances created. A handful of these came on corner kicks - including, of course, Jojea's assist to Frank Nodarse with his corner delivery in the 20th minute. It's his first assist of the season, bringing his total league goal contributions this year to six. Kwizera also mixed in a variety of cross deliveries from the right side (where he's frankly much better) that led to some dangerous looks.

Subs

Dwayne Atkinson - 5/10

We were kind of clinging to the 1-0 lead by the time Atkinson came on for Pity Rodriguez (which was only the 66th minute). Busy dropped into the midfield pair with Hugo Bacharach, and pushed Amos up into the #10 role vacated by Pity. Interesting that the Busy-as-a-midfielder cat seems to now be officially out of the bag - and I don't mind it at all.

Noah Fuson - N/A

Aldair Sanchez - N/A

Dani Rovira - 6/10

Have to shout out another really solid showing from Dani Rovira. A lot of fans have had faith that there was a player in here all along - and it's cool to see Khano and the staff finally acknowledging or rewarding that. Rovira created a great chance for JJ shortly after coming on, which could have sealed the game.

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.