Ocean State club returns to Centreville Bank Stadium for Folklore Night on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Aug. 15, 2026) \u2013 Rhode Island FC fell 2-0 at Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday in a hard-fought Eastern Conference battle at Al Lang Stadium. Although the Ocean State club generated a handful of dangerous opportunities in a tightly-contested first half, it was not enough to overcome a pair of second-half strikes as the hosts came away with all three points.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Tampa Bay Rowdies (13W-2L-5T) got off to a quick start, testing the Rhode Island FC (7W-7L-4T) net in the fifth minute when Ethan Bartlow fired a close-range header towards goal. RIFC goalkeeper Koke Vegas<\/a> sprawled to make a quick save before Evan Conway pounced on the rebound and nailed the woodwork.<\/p>\n Two minutes later, it was RIFC\u2019s turn to attack. Yutaro Tsukada<\/a> picked up the ball in the midfield and tore down the left wing, cutting around his defender and into the box. The winger completed the crafty solo run with a powerful shot on goal, but Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Jahmali Waite palmed away the shot to keep the game level. Although Tampa Bay out-shot the Ocean State club 9-4 in the first half, neither side could find the opening goal before halftime.<\/p>\n Three minutes into the second half, Tampa Bay nearly broke the deadlock when Karsen Henderlong raced into the final third in transition, unleashing a low shot that Vegas denied. The rebound fell straight to the feet of Marco Micaletto in the box, but Noah Fuson<\/a> slid to the rescue just in time to clear the shot from the goalmouth.<\/p>\n The persistent pressure would eventually pay off for the hosts, who opened the scoring in the 61st minute when Dion Acoff played Conner Antley into the box with a well-weighted ball. Antley got on the end of the pass and took a quick touch around his defender, before curling a ball inside the far post to give the league-leaders a 1-0 advantage.<\/p>\n Although the game slowed down through the final half-hour, the Rowdies put the game to bed in the second minute of second-half stoppage time when Russell Cicerone found Louis Perez with a cross to the top of the box. Perez plucked the ball out of the air with a first-time volley, firing a shot past Vegas to confirm a 2-0 win for the hosts.<\/p>\n Up next, Rhode Island FC will return to Centreville Bank Stadium for Folklore Night on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET vs. Monterey Bay FC, presented by GEM Plumbing. Tickets to the next home game are available now at rhodeislandfc.com\/tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN<\/p>\n TBR \u2013 Conner Antley (Dion Acoff), 61st minute: Antley finds<\/a> the far-side netting from close range. TBR 1, RI 0\u00a0 ADDITIONAL NOTES<\/p>\n Forward Noah Fuson became the first player in club history to reach 100 appearances for Rhode Island FC across all competitions, accomplishing the feat after just 105 games.<\/p>\n Midfielder Eric Klein<\/a> made his Rhode Island FC debut, coming in as a second-half substitute in the 72nd minute.<\/p>\n PLAYER OF THE GAME: Yutaro Tsukada<\/p>\n Game stats and information available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Rhode Island FC news and updates, visit rhodeislandfc.com<\/a>, subscribe to RIFC\u2019s monthly newsletter<\/a>, follow the club on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Tik Tok<\/a>, X<\/a> and LinkedIn<\/a>, and download the official team app<\/a>.<\/p>\n
TBR \u2013 Russell Cicerone (Louis Perez), 90+2nd minute: Perez launches<\/a> a first-time volley into the back of the net. TBR 2, RI 0<\/p>\n