Rhode Island FC drew in its first United Soccer League Championship regular season match and advanced to the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after defeating CD Faialense.
After losing in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual champions, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, RIFC opened its 2026 campaign with a new-look roster, signing three forwards, two midfielders and one defender.
To begin the 2026 USL Championship regular season, RIFC welcomed Sporting Club Jacksonville to Centreville Bank Stadium for the visitors’ second-ever match on March 14.
Rhode Island controlled the first half. Putting the pressure on early, RIFC’s Nick Scardina had an open JJ Williams to his left but elected to go for goal, missing wide to the right in the 11th minute.
Right before the halftime whistle, Williams sent a powerful shot off the right post. On the rebound, Agustín Rodríguez skied the ball over the bar. The game entered the half 0-0.
In the 60th minute, Williams dribbled through a defender and crossed the ball on the ground to the middle of the box. Scardina received the cross and sent a shot to the bottom left that was saved.
Rhode Island broke the scoreless tie in the 79th as Logan Dorsey tapped in the score after an errant pass from Jacksonville goalkeeper Christian Olivares deflected off Mohamed Traore.
Just five minutes later, Jacksonville responded as Rafferty Pedder hammered home a saved volley from Emil Jääskeläinen to tie the game in the 84th minute.
After eight minutes of added time, neither team was able to find the back of the net as the game ended tied.
Scoring in his debut with the club, putting the ball in the back of the net gave Dorsey a taste of the RIFC culture.
“The fans are electric,” Dorsey said. “When that ball goes in the back of the net, it’s just an awesome scene to celebrate with the guys and celebrate with the fans. It was amazing.”
Although the game did not result in a win, RIFC Head Coach Khano Smith saw some early strengths from his club as Rhode Island outshot Jacksonville 23-6, a big improvement for an offense that ranked 22nd in goals last season.
“I think there were some positives from the game for sure,” Smith said. “There were certain moments where we needed to be better, more clinical. In the first half, I thought we created some pretty decent opportunities on the counter. We just have to be ruthless and take them.”
Next on the slate was the team’s U.S. Open Cup kickoff, where the team welcomed CD Faialense, an amateur team in the Massachusetts-based Bay State Soccer League. The match was Rhode Island’s first against an amateur club in team history.
Off to a fast start in the 13th minute, Rhode Island’s Kevin Vang sent a ball through the defensive line to Dani Rovira, who chipped the ball over the goalkeeper’s right leg to jump ahead 1-0.
In the 26th minute, Noah Fuson sent a cross to Hugo Bacharach, who deflected the ball forward to Calvin Williams, slotting the ball in the bottom right corner to increase the lead to two.
Nearly 52 minutes later, RIFC’s Aldair Sanchez pinged a cross over the top to Scardina, who headed the ball into the bottom left corner, advancing the score to 3-0.
Less than a minute later, the ball took an unfortunate bounce off of CD Faialense midfielder Michael Willis, increasing the gap to four, where the score would hold for the remainder of the match.
Scoring his first RIFC goal in his first RIFC start, the feeling was euphoric for Rovira.
“I’m very happy,” Rovira said. “It’s something that, as a player, you look forward to. You just have to be ready when the time comes. The opportunity came today.”
After a two-game road stretch featuring Louisville City FC and Miami FC, RIFC will return home on April 4 to face Detroit City FC. The game will be broadcast on myRITV and streamed on ESPN +, as well as available on the radio on 790 The Score.
