Rhode Island FC are headed to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday night. It's set to be the seventh meeting in a series that Pittsburgh have dominated. They've won four and drawn one, with the only RIFC win coming last year in the group stage of the Jägermeister Cup. As for this time around, here's what you need to know heading into it:

Last Time Out

RIFC are coming off of a big derby win last weekend. They took down Hartford Athletic 1-0 at Tidewater in the rain. A first half Frank Nodarse goal from a corner swung in by Jojea Kwizera was the difference. Winning in the derby is always a great feeling. It put RIFC ahead of Hartford and into 8th in the Eastern Conference, at least for the time being.

Players to Watch

Nick Scardina (RB)

• I expected a lot from Scardina when he signed but it's taken some time for him to grow into things. He's really solidified his spot in the starting 11 over the last couple months. Scardina has averaged around a 7.5 rating on Fotmob over his last 5 appearances. And let's be real, those are the real player ratings that matter (just kidding Timmy)

Jojea Kwizera (RW)

• Kwizera has been playing his best soccer for RIFC this season. His 5 goals so far this year equal his total from each of the last two seasons. You have to think a lot of this is down to him mostly playing on the right wing. And it's something Jojea touched on in the press conference after the Hartford game, thanks to our very own Ryan asking some great questions. To paraphrase, Jojea basically said he has more options playing on the right because he can either cut in on his left foot or utilize his fullback overlapping. His relationship with Scardina has really developed over the last several games

Leo Afonso (FW)

• Like Nick Scardina, Leo is another player I had high hopes for coming into the season. He hasn't quite reached those lofty expectations. Leo gets a lot of shots off but has only 4 goals and 1 assist in all comps to show for it. I'm interested to see how the new signing of Osman Foyo will affect Leo's playing time once Foyo is eligible to play

Storyline

Derby Momentum?

This weekend's game will put RIFC right at the halfway mark of the season. I think we were all hoping for the team to have more of a consistent season in 2026. So far, it hasn't happened. It's looking like it's going to take another big run for the team to achieve the goal that many of us, at least myself, had laid out before this season: hosting a playoff game. I wrote in the last Prematch Lookout that RIFC would be hoping to use the derby to gain some momentum and go on a run. They got the win so now the question is whether or not they can use it as a jumping off point for the second half of the season. At some point, the team needs to show how good they can be week in and week out. They have an opportunity to do so this weekend in Pittsburgh.

Last Time Out

The Riverhounds come into this game having taken down Louisville City 3-1 last Saturday. A Trevor Amann hat trick in just three minutes early in the second half put Pittsburgh 3-0 up. Jansen Wilson converted a penalty in the 68th minute to pull one back for Lou City but it wasn't enough to get back into the game. While it was a good win, this isn't the same Lou City team as the last two seasons. It was their sixth loss of the season after only losing once in 2025 and six times in all of 2024. Still, they're a very good side and Pittsburgh did well to contain them and take the three points.

Players to Watch

Nico Campuzano (GK)

• Campuzano was brought in from Monterey Bay to replace outgoing stalwart Eric Dick in goal. In my opinion, he's been pretty average this year. There's definitely been a noticeable drop off from Dick

Trevor Amann (FW)

• As I just mentioned, Amann got a hat trick last time out against Lou City. It was the fastest in league history. He had started to get hot before his hat trick, with a goal in each of his two games before last weekend. Pittsburgh will be hoping he can keep it up on Saturday

Albert Dikwa (FW)

• I couldn't go too far into this blog without mentioning Chico. Dikwa leads the team in league goals this season with 6 so far (on pace for the 12 I predicted before the season btw). It always adds something to a game when you get to see a former player compete against you. It'll be interesting to see if Dikwa can have an impact

Storyline

Finding Consistency

Like many teams in this league, the goal is always to find some consistency. If you look at Pittsburgh's last five league games, they've won two, lost two, and drawn one. The wins were against Lou City and Indy Eleven, with the draw coming against Hartford. Pretty decent results. But the two losses were against Brooklyn and Sporting Jax. Those games gave Brooklyn their third win on the season and Sporting Jax their first. Not so good. Much like RIFC, the Riverhounds will be hoping their win last weekend can be a springboard that leads them to some more consistency heading into the second half of the season. Pittsburgh are in a much better position than RIFC though as they're currently fifth in the conference and only four points out of second. A good run could easily secure them a chance at multiple home playoff games. It's always tough for visiting teams to play at FNB Stadium (formerly Highmark). The Riverhounds have 5 wins and 2 losses there this season compared to 2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses on the road so far. They'll be looking to improve on that good home record on Saturday.

PREDICTION

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-1 Rhode Island FC

I'm going with the first draw at FNB Stadium in the league this season. As much as I'd love to pick RIFC to get the win, it's hard to do so given the previous record between these two teams. You have to also consider how good Pittsburgh have been at home this season. I think a draw would be a good result here for RIFC and I can see it happening with goals from Amann for Pittsburgh and Leo Afonso for RIFC.

Final Thoughts

After heading to Tidewater for the Hartford game and for training on Monday, it'll actually be good to rest my broken leg and catch this game from my couch. As a side note on training, it was a great gesture from the team to allow season ticket holders to be at training on Monday. It was really cool to see what the team does during the week and to get a bit of an inside look at their video review of the Hartford win. 10/10, would go again.

Back to Saturday though, I'll be here with the Riptide Report to talk about my takeaways following the conclusion of the game. Hopefully I can get it done in good time and get back to the quick releases I had last year. Until then, UP THE TIDE!