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Rhode Island FC

Match Preview: Rhode Island FC vs. Charleston Battery: April 6, 2024

April 4, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release


Rhode Island FC returns home to Beirne Stadium on the campus of Bryant University to take on reigning Eastern Conference Champions Charleston Battery. RIFC hopes to secure its first win in club history against an undefeated Charleston Battery, who is riding a two-match winning streak into Saturday. Get ready for this explosive intraconference matchup with all you need to know about Rhode Island FC vs. Charleston Battery.

AT A GLANCE

Date | Saturday, April 6

Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET

Location | Beirne Stadium at Bryant University, Smithfield, RI.

Broadcast | NESN, ESPN+

Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)

Match Hashtag | #RIvCHS

ROSTERS

Rhode Island FC

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Koke Vegas, 22-Jackson Lee, 30-Nate Silveira

DEFENDERS (6): 2-Nathan Messer, 3-Stephen Turnbull, 4-Collin Smith, 5-Grant Stoneman, 15-Frank Nodarse, 16-Gabriel Alves, 24-Karifa Yao

MIDFIELDERS (9): 7-Prince Saydee, 12-Clay Holstad, 17-Jojea Kwizera, 18-Joe Brito, 19-Kevin Vang, 21-Kofi Twumasi, 23-Marc Ybarra, 28-Conor McGlynn, 77-Amos Shapiro-Thompson

FORWARDS (4): 9-JJ Williams, 10-Chico, 11-Noah Fuson, 14-Mark Doyle

Charleston Battery

GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Adam Grinwis, 24-Daniel Kuzemka

DEFENDERS (6): 2-Mark Segbers, 3-Josh Drack, 5-Leland Archer, 16-Graham Smith, 23-Juan Sebastián Palma, 62-Nathan Dossantos

MIDFIELDERS (9): 4-Chris Allan, 6-Aaron Molloy, 8-Emilio Ycaza, 10-Arturo Rodríguez, 19-Robbie Crawford, 32-Charlie Dennis, 33-Matthew Dean, 34-Bradyn Cobb, 80-Juan David Torres

FORWARDS (5): 7-Jake LaCava, 9-MD Myers, 11-Diego Gutiérrez, 13-Nick Markanich, 36-Jackson Conway

DEFEATING THE UNDEFEATED

Charleston Battery (2W-0L-2D) is proving to the league it's still one of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference by opening the first four matches of the 2024 USL Championship season undefeated. Charleston is coming off of its most recent win against Miami FC, in which forward MD Myers scored the match-winning goal in the 82nd minute of play to break a deadlock and seal a 2-1 victory. Coming off a hard-fought defeat at Tampa Bay Rowdies, Rhode Island FC aims to finally secure its first win in club history against the undefeated machine that is Charleston Battery. A victory over the reigning Eastern Conference Champions would make for a noteworthy first-ever win and put the rest of the league on notice that Rhode Island FC has arrived.

FROM THE PLAYER'S SHIELD TO OPPOSING SIDES OF THE PITCH

RIFC's Marc Ybarra and Albert Dikwa "Chico", and Charleston Battery's Nathan Dossantos dominated the league last season as they won the Players' Shield with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Dossantos prioritized creating opportunities for his teammates like Ybarra and Chico, posting a team-high 81.6 percent passing accuracy on 1095 passes for the year. This time, the trio will meet on opposite sides of the pitch. Instead of taking advantage of Dossantos' playmaking abilities, Ybarra, Chico and the rest of RIFC will have to look for ways to shut him down.

PREVENTING ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET

Charleston Battery goalkeeper Adam Grinwis has recorded two clean sheets through four matches this season thanks to his shot-blocking abilities and his club's stellar defense. Rhode Island FC has yet to be shut out in 2024 and will look to continue its goal-scoring streak against a defensively sound Charleston Battery on Saturday.

THE RETURN HOME

After being on the road for the past two weeks, Rhode Island FC makes its long-awaited return to the Ocean State with the goal of winning its first match in front of a packed Beirne Stadium. Defiance 1636 and the RIFC faithful will be cheering loudly and proudly, waiting to witness history on Saturday night.

STAR WATCH

Charleston Battery

Charleston forward Nick Markanich hopes to continue building upon a stellar season he's having so far. After last week's impressive effort against Miami FC, which included an equalizing goal in the first half, the 2022 MLS SuperDraft first round selection was selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week. The league-wide recognition was the second in two weeks for Markanich, who scored a goal in each of his last three matches. Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith will certainly look to decrease the level of contribution from the 24-year-old.

Rhode Island FC

Rhode Island FC striker Albert Dikwa "Chico" continues to demonstrate why he was named the USL Championship Most Valuable Player in 2023. Against Tampa Bay, the Cameroonian's playmaking abilities were on full display when he pounced on a box-to-box goal kick from Jackson Lee to give the visitors a 1-0 lead into halftime. Chico leads RIFC with three goals this season, and has scored in each of the last two matches. RIFC will need another big showing from the reigning league MVP to take down Charleston on Saturday.

AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE

Charleston Battery

Ben Pirmann has already made a memorable coaching career for himself. After starting his coaching journey at Western Michigan University in 2009, Pirmann has since gone on to coach at Michigan State University, Detroit City FC (NPSL) and Memphis 901 FC before taking the head role at Charleston in 2022. Pirmann has shown to be a coach that develops his teams to stay competitive and make deep playoff runs. Pirmann was named the USL Championship Coach of the Year in 2022 and won the Eastern Conference Championship with Charleston the following season. The 38-year-old will certainly have his club prepared for Saturday's showdown in Smithfield.

Rhode Island FC

RIFC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith is building his own legacy in the Ocean State. Coming off the first-ever loss in club history, Smith has the opportunity to turn things around starting with Charleston Battery. All too familiar with the grueling 34-match USL Championship schedule, Smith knows the requirements of a long season and how to ride the wave with both urgency and composure. With the first-ever victory in club history at stake, look for Smith to use his personnel, tactics and weight of the crowd to shift the momentum back to Rhode Island FC.

ANCHORED IN COMMUNITY

Limited tickets remain for Rhode Island FC's second home match of the season when the club hosts 2023 Eastern Conference Champions Charleston Battery on Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. Fans hoping to not miss out on Rhode Island FC's next home match are encouraged to act quickly by securing their seats at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets. The complete 2024 USL Championship season schedule is available at rhodeislandfc.com/2024-schedule.

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