Now or Never

We’re back where it all began. Almost eight months ago, Rhode Island FC went down to Charleston to kick off the 2025 regular season. It was fitting as just four months earlier, The Tide rolled into Charleston to take down the Battery and win the Eastern Conference Championship in just their inaugural season in one of the greatest playoff runs in the USL’s modern era.

The vibes were high, the excitement was off the charts and certain podcasters were VERY confident in Rhode Island not only winning the match but contending for the Player’s Shield in 2025.

A 2-0 drubbing where RIFC was never in the match set the tone for a very rocky regular season. Flirting with the playoff line all year and feeling destined to never score a goal again, RIFC got just hot enough at the end of the season to finish with the 7th seed and set up a rematch with Charleston.

Now the real season starts. As we saw down in Louisville last night, anything can happen this time of year. With a stellar defense anchored by Captain Koke Vegas that conceded just 29 goals in 30 matches, The Tide can hang with anyone. And if JJ Williams and Noah Fuson can continue to stay hot, well, we’ve seen where that duo can take us last year.

Watch Parties

If you’re going to watch the match today, it’s best to do so with friends.

• RIFC and The Defiance will be at The Guild for this one. If you’re interested, you should RSVP here just in case as it may reach capacity.

• Our friends over at Robbenfront and the German American Social Club will also be hosting a watch party at that GASC in Pawtucket. Doors open at 1pm and outside food is welcome as the kitchen will not be open for this one.

New Blogs!

Under the Surface

Tyler Hatch made his Tide Talk debut this week with a great new blog series called Under The Surface. In this series, Tyler is going to dive into some interesting player stats that may or may not paint a broader picture of what’s going on with the team. This month was a regular season recap.

Playoff Predictions

Hands was so excited for the playoffs he did not one but two blogs before Friday was even over. See how his predictions fared last night here (spoiler, he did not call the big upset).

Now for the main event down in Charleston

Prematch Lookout

Hands is in peak playoff form for this one recapping the previous matchups with Charleston, the regular season and how he thinks RIFC fare today.

Pre-Match Essentials

As always, Patrick has you covered with all of the key info and links heading into this one. Give that man an upvote!

IT’S TIME TO BELIEVE

Up the Tide!

Ryan & the Tide Talk Team