The Riptide Report: Rhode Island FC vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC - 8/8/2026

Rhode Island FC took down the Colorado Springs Switchbacks tonight 2-0. Goals from Yutaro Tsukada and JJ Williams helped secure the 3 points for RIFC. The win puts RIFC in 6th place in the Eastern Conference. It's also nice to get one over on the team that beat us in the 2024 Final. Here are my quick takeaways from an awesome night at Tidewater:

Diop Dropped

You know I have to start with the lineup. There always seems to be at least one thing to talk about. And tonight, it involved Hamady Diop. Diop had been out of the squad with an injury but returned last weekend to come off the bench against Birmingham Legion. I wrote in the Prematch Lookout that I was hoping to see Hamady back in the starting 11 tonight. Instead, he wasn't in the squad at all. And to further add some confusion to things, he wasn't listed on the availability report. So it appears that Khano just decided to drop him from the squad. Strange decision if you ask me but as I always like to say, that's why Khano gets paid the big bucks and I just sit here and blog.

Tarjetas Amarillas

Look, it was Bad Bunny night so I had to try to incorporate some Spanish somehow. This is all I could come up with given my limited ability with the language despite taking it for four years in high school. Which by the way, was much longer ago than I'd like to admit. But that's where the lightheaded part of this section ends.

The ref handed out 9 yellow cards in this one, with 7 for RIFC. 5 of them (all against RIFC) came in the first half with three after the 40th minute. Each team then got two in the second half. The biggest issue with this, besides the fact that three or four of them shouldn't have been given, is that the ref let the guys play for the first 20 minutes or so. It set the tone that physical play was going to be allowed only for him to seemingly change his mind and start handing out yellows left and right. It was just awful refereeing. The biggest thing everyone asks for across all sports is consistency. We didn't get that tonight.

Yutaro Off the Mark

Yutaro Tsukada made his first start tonight in his second game with the club. I thought he looked pretty solid through the first half but he really made his mark about 70 minutes in:

Great work from Tsukada there to get into a good position in the box. And he showed some nice ability to poke the rebound past the goalkeeper. What a fantastic way to start his tenure here at RIFC.

JJ Scorned but Redeemed

JJ Williams looked to have put the team ahead 1-0 in the first half around 39 minutes in when he got on the end of a Tsukada free kick. But it was strangely called back for an offensive foul in the box. It was an extremely frustrating moment that was only getting worse as the game went on at 0-0. But JJ would eventually get his moment:

The goal was first made by some awesome hustle from Leo Afonso, who returned to the squad tonight after missing some games through injury. JJ did well to finish the chance though and fully deserved the goal. Such a satisfying way to cap off the night.

Limiting Chances and Managing the Game

RIFC held the Switchbacks to 12 shots (4 on target), zero big chances, and 18 touches in the opposition box. That's pretty good against a team that boasted the joint top goal scorer in the league coming in. Credit to Khano and the guys for the solid defensive performance. I also thought the team did well to close the game out for the last 20 minutes after going a goal up. Game management has been a point of emphasis in recent weeks and the guys took care of business.

What a fantastic night at Tidewater. A great result and some weather that actually stood up (for the most part). We got some rain briefly but it was refreshing given the heat. I also got this beautiful picture of the sky over a corner of the stadium:

As for us here at Tide Talk, we'll be back tomorrow with the Player Ratings and Postmatch Podcast. The player ratings should be a good read as I expect to see some pretty high numbers. And the podcast will be a great time. I'll be back here later in the week with the Prematch Lookout where I'll preview RIFC'S trip to Tampa Bay next weekend. Until then, as always, UP THE TIDE!