The Riptide Report: Charleston Battery vs Rhode Island FC - 10/30/2026

Rhode Island FC's marketing slogan for this year's playoffs was "Built to Defy". And for a time there, I have to say the team was doing it. Tonight they defied my expectations at least by bringing this game all the way until the end. But in the end, we fell 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Jojea Kwizera put us ahead 1-0 in the first half but Miguel Berry scored with barely over a minute left in second half stoppage time to send the game to extra time. Penalties were always going to be tough and we couldn't get it over the line. Here are my takeaways on our final game of 2026:

Physical Formation

Coming into the game, I was wondering what Khano would elect to do with the starting 11. To put it broadly, the two options were going more attacking by playing the wingers (Tsukada and Foyo) or more defensive by playing an extra center back and midfielder. Khano chose to do the latter, starting Yao, Stoneman, and Nodarse in the back line and Hugo, Amos, and Zach in the midfield. I was concerned with this approach as it didn't work a month ago when we last played in Charleston (though with different players). It ended up working wonders tonight, at least initially.

Jojea Converts...After Missing

We were dominant through the first half hour and fully deserved to the goal we got in the 28th minute:

The frustration of having another penalty saved quickly turned into elation when Jojea found the back of the net. It was also funny that Ben Pirmann brought Houssou Landry on in the first half only for him to immediately concede a penalty by bringing Grant Stoneman down. He had his arm around Grant's neck so no controversy there.

Berry Breaks Hearts

After dominating the first half hour, seeing us having to deal with more and more pressure as the game went on made for an excruciating watch. But just when it looked like we were going to pull off the 1-0 win, Miguel Berry did this:

Absolutely devastating. That's all I can say about it.

Out on Pens

I wasn't confident when this one went to penalties. It started out well enough though with us hitting our first 3. Hugo missing the fourth looked crushing but Koke saved Charleston's fourth to get us back on level terms. In the end it was Pity who missed our 6th and Jeremy Kelly put Charleston's away to send us home. Frustrating way to go out.

Turning Point

For me, the turning point in this game was when Zach Herivaux came out injured in the 37th minute. His presence in the midfield allowed us to press and win a bunch of duels. That is how we dominated the early part of this game. After he went down and Osman Foyo came on, it was never the same. I do think we probably went defensive a little too early though and Charleston were able to just keep piling on pressure. Despite all the heroic defending, especially from Grant Stoneman who had an incredible game, we just weren't ever going to hang on for that long.

Built to Disappoint

I don't want to go too hard on the team for tonight because I think they competed as well as they could. The disappointment comes in having to go to Charleston because we drew Pittsburgh and lost to Hartford in our final two games of the regular season. I've been talking about it in the last few blogs but I'll keep saying it here: it's just unacceptable to end the season that way. This team should be better in the regular season given the money spent and the advantages of having the best facility in the league. And the end result of each of the last three years has gone in the wrong direction with Finals appearance -> Conference Finals appearance -> First Round Exit. But I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about that whether it comes in another blog or in a huge offseason podcast. Stay tuned.

We'll be back with Player Ratings and the Postmatch Pod will be on Sunday as usual. As for myself, I don't know what's next. It's going to feel weird not doing weekly blogs again until next year. Although I'm sure I'll enjoy taking time off this offseason like I did after last time. So until next time, forever, UP THE TIDE!