Rhode Island FC held scoreless again; still in search of club's first win

SMITHFIELD — It was a different week for Rhode Island FC but play yielded the same result.

Rhode Island, for the second of back-to-back weeks, was unable to net a breakthrough goal at home and drew a 0-0 final against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

Through five games, RIFC (0-1-4) is still winless in its inaugural season. And Saturday night’s match at Beirne Stadium in front of 3,678 was the club’s best chance to break through to date, as the game was against Pittsburgh, the only team in the Eastern Conference standings also without a win.

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“I think if you're solid defensively, you always give yourself a chance, but we felt like we needed to create more,” RIFC coach Khano Smith said. “First half, maybe created a little bit more than the second half. The second half, we didn't really create much, so we have to address that — [I] don't know why. They’re obviously a very compact team and don't give you much space to be able to create anything. Need to look at why that is.”

RIFC now faces a quick turnaround with its first U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday against Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League One in Charlotte, N.C. The Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament, which Smith won with the New England Revolution in 2007.

If Rhode Island wins that contest, it’ll be the club’s first, but the team will have to still wait to mark the record books with a USL Championship triumph.

“We had a lot more control possession in the second half and in their half,” RIFC keeper Jackson Lee said. “I think we're trending in the right direction. We just have to sort of figure out that final third. But again, I think it's a positive step forward. I will say we still can get better defensively and offensively.”

RIFC had a pair of scoring chances in the first 45 as Noah Fuson's right-footed attempt inside the box was blocked in the 23rd minute. And off a restart, Stephen Turnbull's shot, on a tough angle near the end line, was punched away nearly 10 minutes later. Turnbull, deep in the right corner, drilled the high-difficulty shot onto net to force a save from Pittsburgh’s Eric Dick (3 total saves).

“We were already working really hard throughout the week, but obviously get better in the final third,” Gabriel Alves said of the lack of scoring. “We got better where we had to be, back there. So now getting better with the last pass for the goal or create much clearer chances.”

Albert Dikwa’s opportunity, played through from Alves in the 79th minute, was the club’s only real chance in the second frame. Alves beat his man with a deft touch at midfield and sent the first pass through to Fuson, who redirected to a running Dikwa. The star forward had only the keeper to beat, but was denied as the attempt went wide right.

“The one in the second half, that was the one that [Dikwa] got in on from the left side, but that's on his weaker foot, so he’s certainly not entitled to score that,” Smith said. “It's possible for him to score it, but it's a difficult angle, difficult chance.”

Lee’s game-saving sequence late in the second half was the play of the match. The netminder, who again filled in for an injured Koke Vegas, stopped a low shot off a cross inside the box with his right foot. The rebound found a Riverhound runner, but Lee managed to deflect the second attempt out for a corner.

“It was a quick one,” Lee said of the sequence. “You don't see it very slowly because it's close range. Very much a reaction save, both of them.

“And that was one of the things we worked on. The wide areas and the balls into the box, so we were all very prepared for that.”

After traveling to Charlotte on Tuesday, RIFC will be back on its USL Championship schedule with a road contest on Saturday against Las Vegas Lights FC. The club won’t return home until April 26 against Phoenix Rising FC.

jrousseau@providencejournal.com

On X: @ByJacobRousseau

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island FC held scoreless again; still in search of club's first win