August 14, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release
After returning to winning ways with a dominant 3-0 win in its first-ever regional home derby match against Hartford Athletic, Rhode Island FC returns home on Saturday to finish its homestand against Oakland Roots SC. With both teams looking to move up the table in their respective conferences, and with a potential playoff hosting top-four spot on the line for the Ocean State club, Saturday’s match is a crucial one as the final third of the season gets underway. Ahead of Saturday’s interconference match, here is everything you need to know.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Saturday, August 17
Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET
Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield, RI
Broadcast | NESN+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #RIvsOAK
OAKLAND ROOTS SC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 20-Paul Blanchette, 60-Timothy Syrel, 61-Edwin Rodriguez
DEFENDERS (12): 2-Baboucarr Njie, 3-Niall Logue, 4-Gagi Margvelashvili, 5-Camden Riley, 14-Justin Rasmussen, 15-Neveal Hackshaw, 21-Bryan Tamacas, 23-Memo Diaz, 40-Ilya Alekseev, 49-Tomas Caminos, 50-Thomas Camier, 65-Matteo Carbone
MIDFIELDERS (10): 6-Daniel Gomez, 7-Napo Matsoso, 8-Irakoze Donasiyano, 10-Lindo Mfeka, 11-Trayvone Reid, 19-Wolfgang Prentice, 39-Javier Bedolla-Vera, 41-Eli Wachs, 45-Ali Elmasnaouy, 46-Kieran Bracken Serra
FORWARDS (7): 9-Dom Dwyer, 17-Johnny Rodriguez, 27-Miche-Naider Chéry, 38-Etsgar Cruz, 47-Julio Martinez, 48-Luis Saldaña, 52-Juan Sanchez
Stabilizing Defensively
After giving up 10 goals in two matches in July in a pair of losses against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (5-0) and Sacramento Republic FC (5-2), Oakland Roots SC has gotten back on track with two-straight wins, limiting its opponents to just one goal in both matches and bringing its total record to seven wins in its last ten matches. Most recently, the club handed Eastern Conference side Loudoun United FC a 3-1 loss at home, using a dominant second-half performance to unlock a 1-1 tie at halftime. Oakland defender Gagi Margvelashvili earned his first career multi-assist match with a pair of assists while goals from three different scorers showcased a balanced Oakland attack.
Veterans Getting it Done
Two of Oakland’s all-time stats leaders linked up on Saturday for the match-winner in the 62nd minute. The Western Conference club’s all-time leading scorer, Johnny Rodriguez, buried his fourth goal in three matches to break the deadlock. The goal…