Rhode Island FC's home opener has arrived in Pawtucket; Here's what to expect from the club
The inaugural game at Centreville Bank Stadium is Saturday, May 3. After financing delays, pandemic-related challenges, and a host of kinks to iron out, the club's home opener at its new stadium comes a year after its first season in the USL Championship.
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The stadium's field lighting flipped on for the first time on April 24. RIFC hosted an open house just a couple of days later as the finishing touches were completed on the 10,500-seat, multi-purpose venue.
RIFC played its first seven games of the season on the road and they are 1-3-1 in USL play this season. Saturday's matchup against San Antonio FC starts at 4 p.m. and can be watched on myRITV.
Rhode Island has competed well against the top teams of the Eastern Conference, despite losses at Loudoun United FC (6-1) and Detroit City FC (4-1-1). Last year's run to the USL Championship was a great start, but they'll need to prove themselves again this season.
'It's been challenging with six weekends in a row just on the road traveling,' RIFC coach Khano Smith said. 'It's just a lot and it's challenging, but we're not going to complain. To get [the stadium], you had to give up something. We had to suffer for six weeks, we had to do it, but now we're at the end of it.'
RIFC forward Noah Fuson warms up with the ball during a team practice at the club's new Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket on March 6.
Here's what to know about RIFC's home opener on Saturday:
Looking at the opener
Rhode Island could do itself a favor and win on Saturday. The last thing the club wants to see is a tie in its first game, or worse, allow San Antonio to play spoiler and be the first winners at Centreville Bank Stadium.
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San Antonio currently sits atop the Western Conference standings and already beat the defending champion Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
'We've been here before,' Smith said of the season's start. 'We talked to them and this time last year we hadn't won a game. We're better off than we were last year, but you don't need to be in the locker room to see it.'
Work crews were still putting together the grandstands that sit alongside the river during media availability last Friday. The press box was shining after one last cleaning on the outside glass and the scoreboard was going through mock introductions.
There will still be quirks to work through on Saturday, which are expected with a new stadium. But the home opener should be celebrated.
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'Fundamentally, we're all the same team,' RIFC's Clay Holstad said. 'We still try to harp on the same principles of pressing [the tempo]. [Smith] still harps on the same stuff, the same stats, repressing and pressures. Intensity is what defines us.'
RIFC and its various Cup matches
Ultimately what matters for Rhode Island FC is its success in the USL. Wins in the U.S. Open Cup and Jägermeister Cup are gravy, but one match in the Open Cup does provide intrigue.
Rhode Island welcomes the New England Revolution to Pawtucket on Wednesday, May 7, for its Round of 32 match. Smith had two playing stints with the Revs — from 2005-08 and again in 2010. It's Rhode Island's first chance to test itself against an MLS club.
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'It's the best thing that could happen for the club,' Smith said of playing the Revolution. 'Obviously having them be the second game in the stadium, you just couldn't ask for a better opportunity. They have fans and we have fans in proximity. I'm expecting another really good attended match.
'You want to play an MLS team, but I don't think it would have carried the same effect if it was Red Bull or New York City. It's really nice to be able to get them and we're all competitors. [Rhode Island] wants to test themselves against teams at the highest level.'
RIFC players take to the field at Centreville Bank Stadium during a team practice on March 6.
Rhode Island won't be favored in the match. But a win against the Revs could catapult RIFC into its summer USL slate.
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'We want to win the Jägermeister Cup, we want to win the Open Cup and we want to win the USL championship,' Smith said. 'That's why we get out of bed. We don't go into competitions thinking we are going to change or you don't want to win.'
Expectations of game nights
Rhode Island FC is not the Pawtucket Red Sox. That comparison between the two teams will be constant, but it shouldn't be.
If there's anything that RIFC can learn from the PawSox, though, is the family feel and date-night atmosphere that the ball club created. Baseball lends itself to that environment more than soccer, but it can be replicated. If RIFC can interact with its fans in a unique way, that will help its growth.
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Rhode Island FC is here, and the true beginning of the club starts on Saturday in Pawtucket.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What to expect from RIFC in Year 1 at Centreville Bank Stadium
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