May 15, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release
After taking its first-ever lead at home, putting on one of its best attacking performances of the season and battling to a dramatic 2-2 draw with unbeaten Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, Rhode Island FC returns to USL Championship action on Friday with a trip to Weidner Field to take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The Western Conference club has won three-straight matches and has not conceded a single goal in that time. Colorado Springs will prove a tough test in RIFC’s search for its second win of the season.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Friday, May 17
Kickoff | 9 PM ET
Location | Weidner Field, Colorado Springs, CO
Broadcast |CBS Sports Golazo Network
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #COSvRI
COLORADO SPRINGS SWITCHBACKS FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Christian Herrera, 23-Joe Rice, 56-Luis Zamudio
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Koa Santos, 3-Wahab Ackwei, 4-Delentz Pierre, 5-Matt Mahoney, 6-Matt Real, 14-Duke Lacroix, 41-James Musa
MIDFIELDERS (8): 7-Tyreek Magee, 10-Zach Zandi, 13-Stevie Echevarria, 17-Jairo Henriquez, 18-Aidan Rocha, 19-Marco Rios, 20-Yosuke Hanya, 80-Devon ‘Speedy’ Williams
FORWARDS (6): 8-Jonas Fjeldberg, 9-Ronaldo Damus, 11-Quenzi Huerman, 21-Alex Anderson, 27-Juan Tejada, 99-Maalique Foster
Two is the Magic Number
After dropping its first five matches of the season and being shutout in four of those matches, Colorado Springs (3W-5L-1D) has turned a corner with three consecutive 2-0 wins in league play. Now unbeaten in four-straight matches, the club most recently came away with all three points on the road against Hartford Athletic. The win came courtesy of a first-half goal from Yosuke Henya, his first of the season, and a late Ronaldo Damus penalty that secured all three points for the visitors. Goalkeeper Christian Herrera led a Colorado Springs defense that stayed strong throughout the late stages, making a pair of saves en route to his third-straight shutout. Prior to the win in Hartford, the club’s previous two wins came on the road against Oakland Roots SC and at home against El Paso Locomotive FC.
Damus Finding his Form
After scoring only one goal as a team through its first five matches, much of Colorado Springs’ recent attacking success can be credited to Ronaldo Damus, who has scored all of his team-leading four goals in the last four matches. The proven USL Championship talent enjoyed a 14-goal season with San Diego Loyal SC…