You're listening to Raising Anchor on 990 WBOB.
Welcome to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show with
Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey. Your home for
news, analysis, and everything Rhode Island FC.
Each week, they take you inside the locker room,
inside the tactics, and inside the storyline
shaping R -I -F -C. Here's Matt and Jixon. Rhode
Island FC gets ready to take on Hartford Athletic
in the eighth installment of El Clamaco. Does
RAFC have the roster strength to take on their
derby rivals inside Connecticut now here in Rhode
Island or Will there be something else in order
as we see Hartford, despite the fact that they
have been in playoff contention this entire season,
now stand to lose it all in a game of do or die
that could see one team go up and one team drop
out. Jason, it's going to be a sold out game
here at Centerville Bank standing in front of
a home crowd. How are you doing, my friend, and
how excited are you for yet another edition of
El Clamaco? Oh, I am super excited. I am I'm
doing better. I started out the week by getting
sick. So that's always fun. Maybe Hartford fans
sabotage me. I don't know. There's there's no
way to prove it. We'll never know. But it's starting
to feel better. I did eat a salad for lunch,
though, so I still might die. But, you know,
that that's a tomorrow problem. We'll figure
out what happens then. But but, yeah, I'm really
looking forward to a big weekend of soccer. So
I mean, we have the El Clamico and then there's
also a World Cup final. who could have asked
for more are we do we need to prepare to read
your own obituary because you you die by diarrhea
lettuce later this week like let's let's talk
this out let's just put like a copy of organ
trail on my gravestone and be perfect you know
All right. Well, let's get in. This should be
a really fun show. Let's start things off, of
course, with the World Cup minute. It's the last
because by the time we have another show, the
World Cup will be done and dusted. Obviously,
Spain besting France and then Argentina doing
what Argentina seems to be doing all tournament
in some scoring late action to upset England
and advance into the finals. Our finals now set.
It's going to be Spain versus Argentina. Thoughts
overall on the semis? Yeah. I kind of had some
doubts about France, but then they kind of just
kept winning. And then I guess they finally came
up against a big team, if you will, in Spain.
In Spain, really bossed them in the midfield.
And I think that's kind of where they lost out
there. Rodri showed why he is a Ballon d 'Or
winner, that he is basically the current version
of Sergio Busquets. And I think France just doesn't
have someone like a Conte to kind of dominate
Boston midfield. And they Maybe some of their
tactics really kind of let them down there a
bit. You can say the same about England. It seems
like both of these teams set up in a way to get
in their own way, get into trouble all on their
own, and less rely on what we've seen be stellar
performances from both of these groups throughout
the entire run. Yeah, England definitely was
like, Hey, we're only up one no, let's just defend.
Let's just get the double decker out and park
it against messy when you know, he's always got
some sort of black magic up his sleeve. It's
not something you should probably ever think
about. There's actually a really interesting
conversation that's been floating around online,
um, talking to a coach about, you know, like,
should you ever do that? And base is like, no,
you're going to swing momentum. The, the, the,
you know best form of defense sometimes is attack
and They really got let down by too cool there
Also funny to see that a lot of people were complaining
online. Like why do we even play this third cup
final? I mean I mean for there's a lot of a golden
boot kind of potential there if they want to
just You know stat pad against each other. I
don't know Or you could argue that you let the
young lads play and get a taste of World Cup
exposure if you don't care about it anymore so
that they can get that understanding and be more
prepared for the next time around. Listen, I
don't care either way. I think it's important
to play this game. I think one, it allows fans
to continue to get access to World Cup matches
even if this one doesn't have the same skin in
the game. The only argument that I've heard and
we actually kind of... did a mock exercise at
Murphy's when we were, uh, enjoying the game
was, do you, uh, do you just go off of the stats?
Do you go off of like goals, like goal difference
and how you've performed in the group stages
that come back to support your case? Cause obviously
every match you went up until that point you've
advanced. So is it something like goal differential
and how you did in the groups that comes back
kind of like in survivor where when you're down
to the last two, it's everyone you voted off
in the meantime, they all get to come back and
pick the winner. How did you play the game all
the way through the tournament? I could see it
either way. I also understand people that think
that this third place game is the equivalent
of the Pro Bowl and NFL. Needless to say, we
all should just be enjoying the fact we get to
watch France play one more time against England.
Whether you are angry or happy at that result,
it's still a time to watch soccer, and I'm going
to be super excited to see it. As soon as the
game starts, they're going to go out there and
go for it because you do get a third place trophy
for it. Sure, it's a consolation prize, but at
the end of the day, it's still something. Got
to represent the country. Got to move on. Getting
back into USL space. Big news coming out today
in the USL ecosystem. We finally have a name
for the the Renaissance or the resurrection of
one OK City Energy. They're back and surprise
surprise, Jason. They've got a new name along
the way. I don't know how you feel about this,
but. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Oklahoma
City United. Thoughts on the name? Oh, City United.
I mean, if you if you remove Oklahoma, that's
a terrible that is the darkest timeline. It sounds
it sounds terrible. It's just it's like a it's
like there's some sort of combination thing where
you just like roll dice and you're like, what
kind of soccer acronym names can we combine on
here? Wouldn't it have been great if they didn't
even have Oklahoma. They just called themselves
City United FC That or soccer club so City United
SC just for fun that could have been that could
have been really terrible for like the most cursed
name But like You know, what about something
a little more fun like Thunderbird FC or something?
I don't know. Well, so, you know, like that's
the thing is there were five names that Oklahoma
City United put out to vote upon, and some of
them were a bit eccentric. There was Thunderbird
FC. There was Bison FC, the one I liked the most.
There was OK City Lightning as to be opposite
or foil to the Thunder. I thought that could
have been good. There was also Oklahoma City
Wind, which I don't know. That doesn't really
feel good. They could just call themselves Tornado
FC at that point. I mean, they are in that corridor,
you know? Absolutely. But they went with United,
and this is one of those cases where I almost
want to see the voting tallies. I want to see
the results. Show me the Chads. Show me the polls,
because I just don't believe that Oklahoma City,
who come from a rich history of energy was a
great name, When you look at the expansive side
of it, you have Tulsa, which was the Roughnecks
before that. I just am not ready to sign off
on that the entire city of Oklahoma City wanted
to go with name, then United. That just does
not... Even for us with Rhode Island FC, everyone
loves this club, but everyone also goes, man,
couldn't we have been something else? Couldn't
we have been the riptide or the renegade or bring
back the stingrays or the ocean? Couldn't we
have leaned one direction or other? We're here.
It's fine. And I'm sure Oklahoma City will be
the same. but we could have been gifted with
Thunderbird FC or even Tornado FC. We'll see
what happens, but want to get into the crest
here for a second because I think this is where
they did get it right. And gotta look at this
really intelligently designed by Matthew Wolf.
He's the guy that has invented probably every
crest in the championship in USL one that we
think is good. He's had his like hands and helping
influence or directly design it. I know he's
also got LAFC. He's got the revamped the good
Chicago Fire rebrand. He's also got New York
City FC, so like this is a creator who has done
incredible work. Some of my favorite things.
Oakland Roots. I think that's a great one. Also
he had he had influences on. the Hearts of Pine
logo. So this is his fingerprints all over this.
What are your thoughts on the crest itself? Yeah,
I, I respect it. Um, but for me it's a little
bit MLSy and it makes sense though, because of
a lot of the teams that you named that he has
done. So it makes sense where that comes from.
I don't hate it. I think it is pretty good, but
it's just, it's just not my cup of tea. I'm curious
if fans in the chat like this logo and like this
name. I think the name, everyone will probably
eh about, but maybe the logo, the saving grace.
I like the fact that it has a rich tie back into
the history of Oklahoma, as well as some of its
tribal roots. Curious thing for you though, you
know, you mentioned a second ago connections
back to MLS. There is conversation that with
the expansion and how we're looking into Premier
and this club coming back into the fold in 2028.
with a new stadium online. Do we think this is
a team that will immediately jump directly into
USL Premier, or do you think they're going to
have to earn their way through championship in
that first year or two? It's tough to say because
I don't really know a lot about what this team
was like before. You know, anything basically
pre 2023 USL. I'm not going to lie. No proper
road items. I've looked at the stats, but I can't
speak to it. So I don't did they have good attendance,
right? If they average something like, let's
say around 10 K. You know, I think that immediately
would have a good opportunity to make the jump,
but we're talking somewhere around five or lower.
I think they're going to have some work to do
to kind of build themselves up. And also like
it's been years, like, is there still an appetite
there? It'd be hard to say. I mean, maybe part
of it with the world cup just about to wrap up.
If they can kind of harness some of that energy
and get a real good campaign going. Maybe I don't
see why not the chat is alive tonight with some
zingers got to respect that and yes James You
can do that. It's like Voldemort situation as
to answer. Yes. They are going with a type of
pink It looks like it's an off salmon color I
I don't know anything beyond the 12 to 24 Crayola
crayons that you know I eat when I'm having fun
apparently but having said that it is some offshoot
of that now I will say Jason the one thing I
do know about this team is that the only reason
they shut down operations originally, they were
on a leased piece of property that did not fit
the USL needing to solidify its field regulations.
So it was the only team that could not meet the
standards that they wanted to set in place ahead
of all these other moves they've been trying
to make. So they only closed down because of
that needing to find the right parcel of land
to rebuild. Now, granted, it has been a few years.
Who knows what that appetite looks like? Has
it decreased or has it increased? I don't know,
but we shall see where they land in the years
to come. Again, onlining in 2028, but we've got
to get into the championship itself. And that
starts with league standings. We had a week off
with Prinks Tire Cup action, but now back into
the league. And I think it's important that we
bring our listeners back up to the fold because
they may forget where we're at in these state
table standings. Yeah. Before we run down the
Eastern Conference table, um, something crazy
just happened. Sporting Jack's got their first
regular season win and it came at the expense
of the current champions Pittsburgh Riverhounds,
which is wild to say but it is the USL and Anything
is possible Taking a look at where we're at.
I don't know if you guys have guessed but spoiler.
We're still ninth four four and five Still holding
on there but there is some possibility of movement
here depending upon results this weekend i know
we've been saying that for how many weeks now
but All I wanna draw attention to in this table
standing, obviously the top two in Tampa Bay
in the first spot, Charleston battery right behind
them. Not a lot of shakeup there. Detroit City
continuing to hold on to one of those top four.
Louisville creeping back into the top four for
the first time after a couple of weeks of inconsistency.
They seem to have kind of righted the ship down
there. Miami picked up a win last night too.
But Miami FC, if you remember, just a week ago
in regular league play before the Brooklyn match,
we could have... thrown them down into the cellar
and gotten back into eighth, I think maybe even
seventh, but they were in eighth place. Now look
where they are on the table settings, Jason.
Fifth place and one win could bring them back
up to fourth, tied with Lew City. Again, that's
how tight this table is. Curacao FC is on the
rise. You love to see it. But yes, there is the
big talking point, which we're getting into a
little later in the show. Hartford Athletic currently
in eighth on 19 points. What I end up seeing
on in ninth with 16 points. A win will switch
these table positionings because of goal differential
and some other tiebreakers. So there's a lot
at stake here, but then you've got the basement
in Birmingham Legion, Brooklyn FC, Loudoun United.
I did not realize Loudoun was as far down as
they have fallen. That's a bit of a surprise.
Maybe not. Yeah, not a single, not a single win
in their last five. And then of course, Sporting
Jacks sparking something coming to life in that
Pittsburgh result. We shall see how these things
all break out, but we've got to go to break.
And when we return, we're going to start talking
El Clamaco round number eight. Don't go anywhere.
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990 WBOB. That's sprout coworking .com. Now let's
get back to the raising anchor soccer ship on
990 WBOB with Matt and Jason care. RFC have a
lot of history in their short time as a club
against Hartford. They played more matches against
Hartford than any other team in the league with
seven official matches. So that's not even counting
our alleged dustups, you know, um, from. From
those matches, RAFC have two wins, four draws,
and one loss. But let's be honest here. Most
of us look at the draw in the Jägermeister Cup
as a loss, where Hartford won on a penalty shootout.
Especially considering that point got them into
the wild card spot and ultimately saw them lifting
the Jägermeister Cup at the end of the year.
Why are you hurting our fans right now? They
don't need to be reminded of 2025. It's 2026.
Look. We need to remember history so we can learn
from it and move on. So we don't repeat that
Hartford advanced in the Jägermeister because
they've exactly done that again. Yeah, well,
maybe we should have. Maybe we should have just
beat them outright. Tell how many times they're
going to teach you this lesson. You know, it's
definitely a match that I think has left a bad
taste in the mouth of RFC fans. It's it's something,
you know, we look back and be like. Really should
have knocked him out there in in regular time,
but we we move on our FC We're able to get a
bit of revenge though. Like you mentioned this
year. We did go there into the pranks cup And
we're able to beat them away in penalty shootout.
So that was kind of a nice step in the right
direction We also knocked him out of the open
cup this year. So So far a little bit more favorable
of year if we look back to last year You know,
I mentioned that Jägermeister Cup, but we didn't
have a lot of success against them. So there
was that nil -nil draw at home in July. There
was also a three -nil loss away in Hartford in
August. And I mean, those were all condensed
too. If you go back and look at those matches,
all three of those happened within a month in
a week. So it was a very quick, like, let's just
get all of this kind of right out of the way.
We really didn't see a lot of success against
Hartford last year. Initial year was a little
bit better, first away match 1 -1, we got a draw.
And then we're able to come back home and get
a 3 -0 comfortable win with fireworks in the
stands. Now looking to this year, we've already
played them twice. Well, guess what? We still
got to play them two more times. And this weekend
is going to be the first of two league matches
with El Clamaco, with the second being the last
game of the season, which Imagine if that game
has any sort of like implication towards positioning
that it that'll be a fiery match Speaking of
fiery speaking of fireworks in the stands Do
we not do firework matches for Hartford because
we don't want to reward their fans with anything?
Especially after what they did to us at burn
stadium. That's actually a good call I wonder
if there's like asterisks like nope, you cannot
do fireworks on this match. No fire it what I
mean, I think They're hoping for fireworks on
the pitch, I guess, right? That's a good answer.
And then, of course, Matt Del Creco with the
famous now crying. Curious how that motivates
this Hartford side. Getting into this in terms
of form between these two teams right now. So
not the head -to -head, but how they've been
doing in league play. Rhode Island FC coming
into this match on a 2 -1 -2 record in their
last five league play. Of course, they also get
to catapult themselves with this most recent
penalty victory in Prinks action. But I don't
know, Jason, this team feels kind of like a mixed
bag. I know thinking back to some of the shows
we did in May, seeing this team start to build
momentum, start to build trajectory, you know,
they do get great victories against teams like
Brooklyn and Loudoun. And earlier in the season,
we would tell ourselves you have to be able to
put away teams that are lower on the standings.
They've done that now. They've shown that. but
then kind of get their own you know bells rung
a little bit dropping points to indiana one -nil
fluke of a game losing very poorly most recently
at sacramento republic's stadium you know in
midweek action and of course you know there's
the draw one one for orange county that felt
like it should have been a win we're happy to
take the point but everyone kind of asking themselves
didn't we deserve more on that and let's not
even start with the injuries Hartford, meanwhile,
they enter this match on Saturday. They're looking
to snap a three game win this streak right now.
They've definitely been on the decline. but you
have to then actually give them a little bit
of credit while on a 1 -3 -1 record in that time.
They've been put through the wringer themselves,
arguably probably one of the toughest, let's
call it six game stretches of their schedule.
When you add us as a bookend here, you know,
they get the win against Tampa Bay, something
that very few teams, in fact just two, have been
able to say this year. But then they drop points
with draws against Pittsburgh. Orange County,
and New Mexico United. All teams of higher caliber
in the league right now, which they're very,
you know, back and forth, very tough games. And
then they lose to Lew City, something that we've
also done this season. So, you know, I don't
want to sugarcoat anything, Hartford, because
it's Hartford, but they've definitely probably
played a tougher schedule over these last five,
six games, Prinks Cup notwithstanding. If you
look at them, and we'll talk at length, their
biggest problem right now, though, is that, or
I guess... Yeah, it is their biggest problem
is scoring they cannot find the back of the net
to save themselves Just scoring three times in
their last five league games their defense. That's
a completely different story We'll unpack in
a minute, but these two teams it's like the unstoppable
Offense versus the impenetrable defense. I'm
wondering how that clash will look on the night
Yeah, I got a chance to talk to Oliver from the
Blazing Musket who does cover Hartford Yesterday
and he is concerned about the offense. They are
a team that is confident in their defense. They've
been able to keep a lot of draws. Even most of
their losses to a certain extent have been close.
You know siaja you know the villain himself it
you know if he if he has it on game he can he
can be one of the better keepers in the league.
But sometimes he can drop stinkers so the problem
though is not only injuries. is they just, they
can't find a scoring rhythm. And that's going
to be a problem for them. Well, let's get into
the injuries that we're experiencing currently
as Rhode Island FC. It's the same four carried
over from last week. We still have Zach Haraveau
out, Jamin Peters out, Omni Jobe close to, would
not be surprised if we see him maybe on the bench
for this game. I don't think he has a start in
his future on the night. And then Clay Holstead.
Again be curious to see if he's already back
on the bench or not he's within a week of coming
back and Since he wasn't out for too long his
form shouldn't have dropped too terribly But
right now those four players out and I've heard
although cannot yet confirm with the club that
you know, it's not It's not Clay and it's not
Omidy, but one of those two in either Zach or
Jamin have maybe possibly had a extended, they're
going to have an extended absence with some additional
treatment and needs. So trying to get those timelines
on those two players, we should find that out
on Saturday's match. But let's talk about how
Kano is most likely going to set up for this
match in El Clamaco action. Yeah, we think we're
going to see Koke Vegas here in net as always
looking at a back four here of Nick's Gardena.
Carifa Yao, Frank Nodarse, and Aldair Sanchez.
Holding midfielders, we think we're going to
see AST line up there next to Hugo Baccarac as
we're still kind of injury ridden there. Our
attacking midfielders, we'll have Joe J. Acuizara
out on the left there, Augustin Rodriguez here
in the center, with Leo Alfonso out left, and
of course, JJ Williams up top. I feel like this
isn't a difficult roster to predict right now,
considering some key injuries in key places.
We've had the argument of, does Stoneman start
over a player like Nodarse maybe in this game?
You bring that, but I think Nodarse brings more
intensity and more speed and more flexibility
into the game. And of course, too, if some of
these players we've talked about are healthy
enough, it's going to change. The construction
of this roster where I want to narrow in and
talk right now, though, is Amish Shapiro Thompson
in this game. We've seen how important he has
been offensively and defensively both sides of
the ball this season. in a game like this where
you may be forced to start a Fonz or just be
or Fuson like you could you could decide then
and there how you want to see it but in a game
like this that will most likely see both Pity
and AST on the pitch at the same time do you
go with the double six in the back or do you
go with the double eight and try to spark more
offense considering Hartford Athletic has been
so attack absent in their game right now? Yeah
I I feel that this would be a good lineup here.
I feel like AST can drop right next in to go.
We've seen that he has that engine, that battery
and that he can keep going. Um, but he has been
a bit, I don't want to say a bit of a revelation,
but I feel like his attacking prowess has shown
its teeth a little bit more of the season, something
we didn't see as much last year. Um, he was just
a workhorse. Um, but I guess there's another
question here leading, like we did see Dwayne
Atkinson play a really good game. as a kind of
six slash eight, do you see a world where we
could drop him in there next to Ugo and continue
that experience, push AST up, maybe either drop
Leo or Subban Fusan or something like that? I
think it comes down to who are the auxiliaries
coming off the bench then, right? Like I almost
wanted to dress up like Wayne's World tonight.
I'm like, Dwayne's World, Dwayne's World. In
my world, I do think that Dwayne could eventually
make an argument for it. I just don't know if
he's going to upset and replace a player like
Pity or even Leo or even Noah at this time. And
then also too, though, with so few striker options
in terms of backup, if we aren't seeing the game
go our way, whether it's through card management,
fatigue and stamina, or just we need to mix things
up. A player like Dwayne, we've seen how lethal
he can be off the bench. If you start putting
players like that in a completely alienated role,
despite how good they looked against a team like
Brooklyn, are we doing ourselves favors to play
a full, complete 90? I don't know that we are.
I don't also know if this is the game to be experimenting.
I mean, you could make the same argument about
the double six versus the double eight. Is this
the game? to mess up with a good thing or do
you almost have to keep it with a natural pair
of holding midfielders versus attacking midfielders
i don't think connor wants to do too much in
this game and just make sure that first and foremost
they play their game at the absolute peak level
to put the hurt on heartford so i i don't i don't
have an answer do you have a feeling one way
or another i i mean personally i think going
with a little bit more traditional defensive
would work you know if you give heartford the
ball like we kind of did when we played them
in the open cup They're not really going to know
too much what to do with it. They would actually
prefer that we dominate possession and then look
to counter us on the break, which RFC are kind
of good at too. But if you sit back, let them
have the ball, wait for your opportunity and
try and like draw them out and then hit them
on a transition or counter. I think RFC would
have a lot of success. I think if you almost
go to kind of attacking in a certain way, you
might end up controlling too much possession
and then just. you know, we see that too much
side -to -side passing. We'll have to wait and
see what happens on the match. We're going to
go to our next break and when we return, we've
got the biggest storylines coming out of this
El Clamaco all here on the Raising Anchor Soccer
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Page. Now, let's get back to the Raising Anchor
Soccer Show on 990 WBOB with Matt Entrickett
and Jason Carey. Back here on the Raising Anchor
Soccer Show, big milestone coming up this weekend,
and I'm talking nothing about El Clamaco. Jason,
this is going to be the 100th game in Rhode Island
FC club history. Is it the stars aligning? Did
they intend for this to be the 100th game as
a derby, or is this just something that's coincidence
and we get to celebrate and we do need to celebrate,
which means a win has to happen on this 100th
game? I think it's possible to do a little bit
of planning, but you also then have to look at
things and say, guarantee, I'm going to make
it this far in this cup. So that's very much
kind of, you know, betting. to make it to a certain,
you know, they maybe looked at it and said, what
if we imagine we get to here, we run into an
MLS team and get knocked out? That would make
this match the 100th match. And if that all worked
out, it would be awesome. It'd be perfect. If
not, whatever, it'll happen a few games later.
Are you saying we lost to the hearts of pine
intentionally so that this wasn't game 101 or
we lost to the revolution in the open cup. So
this wasn't game 101. It could be could be could
be 40 chess from Connor right there. Listen,
I think this is great. It just it's fun to kind
of think back and reflect I know they have like
a time vault like throwback post that they did
the other day I think back, you know, this is
our 230 second show and So 232 shows 100 games,
you know, it's it's it's a fun thing like think
back to the very first game It still feels very
fresh. It still feels very new. I wonder when
this club will lose that new club smell or that
that shine and polish you know we have that new
stadium still it's five years or ten thousand
miles it doesn't feel like a hundred yet is all
i'm saying but yet here we are uh excited to
see it i think the only thing to put as like
a you know if this is the hundredth game like
what else like what's the next milestone are
we going to count 150 are we going to count 200
like how how does this work what do we celebrate
for in the next round but Getting into the result
that needs to happen on the weekend. We mentioned
the win that is required. You know, we said this
during we were talking about the league standings.
This this game has some real potential for like
chaotic swing here, right? Hartford currently
in 8th, Rhode Island FC in 9th. Rhode Island
winning this game allows Hartford to be jumped.
They fall out of playoff contention and we get
into it for the first time this season. Is it
sweeter more than ever that this is final the
time where we can get out of 9th and get out
of our own way? Oh, absolutely. If you can leapfrog
your opponent and that opponent happens to be
your rival and you can, I'm not going to say
relegate them, but you know, if you can push
them out of playoff contention and kind of steal
that spot from them. I think it would make a
win that much sweeter. Yeah, Matt McGinn asking
in the chat, would this actually jump us? And
it would for a couple of different reasons. One,
we have the higher goal differential. We currently
are experiencing a goal renaissance, especially
at home this season. I heard you on the average
fan podcast for Hartford talk about how we've
just been so good at scoring goals in front of
the home crowds this season. Currently with a
plus five goal differential, Hartford has a negative
one. So even if we win and it's three to two,
that doesn't change that. So we will jump them
in the standings for at least a week. The other
thing I want to ask you about this game, though,
not just the standings and the points that matter,
but I feel like a couple of these Hartford matches
in the past have been sandwiched between three
games and seven days. It kind of feels really
good to know that there's nothing in front or
behind for them to be able to really stick it
to Hartford this way. Like both teams are kind
of getting to show up and not worry about, you
know, man management coming into this. Like think
about the Pittsburgh Indy Hartford series we
had to deal with where we threw that Indy game
away. None of that happening on this particular
match. Yeah, it's great to be able to come into
a match as full strength as you possibly can,
right? Bar any sort of injuries like that. the
guys are able to rest and practice and get ready
for a big match and it's good to see it on both
sides too right we really do want this rivalry
to flourish and we want to still beat them but
we want to get the best out of them to make it
entertaining for the fans. I want to talk about
the rivalry, the entertainment of that. You mentioned
on the average fan for the Blazing Musket that
one of the things that could be possibly holding
this rivalry from reaching its peak form is the
fact that neither one of these teams seems to
ever be in sync when it comes to their form,
whether one team is hot and the other is not.
You've even joked that it could be OK if both
teams were just absolutely garbage at that time,
because then they would match each other's fitness
form and skills levels of that time. Right now
I want to ask do you believe both of these teams
are at similar trajectories similar? He I mean
the table standings would tell us that these
teams are neck and neck I don't know that we've
seen it ever be this close. Would you say right
now that this is the best? Alignment or synergy
that these possible teams could have in terms
of table position. Yes, but The thing is that
it's look stats can lie, right? We you look at
our FCs underlying stats and we're a we're a
top 10 team the league And we are behind quite
a few games and we've, I think, built a lot of
that based on home performances. So in this case,
I think there is a bit of disparity here where
our FC is going to come into this match. They're
going to play very well at home against a Hartford
team that's really been struggling to score.
They're not going to make it easy for us because
their defense has been keeping them in games.
And we all know that Siaha is going to be fired
up. And so it's going to be a bit of a tough
match, but I think realistically, our FC are
just a notch or two above Hartford at the moment,
unless all of a sudden this wakes them up and
kind of gets them to rise to the occasion and
play at our level. We shall see if this becomes
a good proper rivalry based on how this goes.
We could even ask then, you know, we know how
important both of these keepers are between Siaha
and Koke Vegas. If both these players or both
of these keepers stand on their heads in this
match, should we be expecting anything less than
a nil -nil? I hope not. I mean, for the for the
sickos, you can absolutely have an exciting nil
-nil game, right? As long as there's lots of
shots on targets and both keepers are making
just absolute worldies of saves. But I think
the fans of. kind of come to expect goals at
home. And I think that they're going to, they're
going to want to see that. I mean, when we kind
of take a look at, you know, our FCs home field
advantage, they've got five wins, one loss and
six ties record at Centerville bank stadium in
2026 and is unbeaten in five straight home games
dating back to May 2nd, that only loss coming
from that Birmingham game, which to a certain
extent, I don't want to say it was a freak accident,
but it almost felt like we kind of tripped in
and fell and couldn't get ourselves picked back
up um rfc is unbeaten versus hartford and all
four meanings and the ocean state i know there's
the one technicality but technically they're
unbeaten That being said though, RFC have not
won an El Clamico in league play since August
10th, 2024. Joe Brito, I miss you so much. I
know. Can we, can we get them on the bench real
quick? 25 day contract. We need to do a wellness,
not a wellness check. Cause I know he's thriving.
We need to do a check -in on our boys, Joe Brito
and find out how he is. I'm going to, I'm going
to text him afterwards. Like, Hey, thinking of
you in this big day where your family lives East
Hartford and you're, you know, your former team
is playing this weekend. But listen, you're right.
And despite not winning league play for Rhode
Island, though, and I think there is, again,
we talk about momentum, they have kind of had
the upper hand, at least this season, eliminated
them in the U .S. Open Cup, 2 -0, right? We saw
them get out of there. They beat them. Again,
if we're calling it technicalities, beat them
in the USL Prinks Tire Cup action. And we've
never lost to them at home, right? So, minus
the Yeager Master Cup, we're not going to talk
about that. It feels like this is ready to boil
over though. I feel like we do need our next
commanding win, whether it's us or them. I feel
like the next step this this Darby needs to go
as a team needs to get back in the driver's seat
of it and not play these like, oh, we're going
to draw and hold on or we're just too afraid
to win or we're too scared to lose. I don't want
Hart and I shouldn't have even said Hartford
could do it. It will come at one point, fans.
We have to understand Hartford will win a game
at some point in this rivalry. But I think what
I see to make a statement and then use that again
to build more momentum. We talk about the importance
of this July, August slide into home, so to speak,
and getting all the success. I think this is
the game to do it. So having said that. Going
back to this offense versus defense, here's the
stats for you, buddy. RFC has found the back
of the net 10 times in their last five matches.
Hartford, though, has, while they've only found
it three, they've also only allowed three goals
in the last five matches against all those tough
opponents that we were talking about. For contrast,
just so you understand, Hartford has the second
best defense in the league. They have the 25th
or the worst offense in the league. Meanwhile,
Rhode Island, by those same coins, you could
argue Rhode Island has the, I think it's the
fifth best. Let me see. I had the stats up. Sorry.
They have the 12th now. We've scored. We've allowed
too many goals. So they have the 12th, uh, worst
or I guess best because that's right there in
the middle of the table, but they've got the
third best offense in the league right now. And
that's not even like looking at some of the averages
between shots on target versus shots converted.
What do we what do we say when it's the third
best offense versus the second best defense?
unstoppable force versus an immovable object
I Think because this is at home. I think we will
have the slight edge That's why you saw we went
away and we were at the end of the day able to
kind of pull off the victory But I think because
of that this is not gonna be a three nil thrashing
good like back at burn could be But I would think
this is going to be a bit more tighter of a game,
maybe one or two. Oliver brought up something
interesting yesterday when I was talking to him,
and I kind of tend to agree with him. If we try
to look at this objectively, not as a fan of
RFC, have we actually had any good El Clamacos?
If you look at them, they've been a lot of haram
ball, a lot of football terrorism, or one team
has just kind of dominated the other either like.
when we lost away they just kind of thrashed
us or when they came to burn we thrashed them
do you think there's been an objectively good
game between the two of us where you can look
at it no matter the victor there was excitement
from both sides where it's kind of their trading
blows they're going back and forth i mean i i
think you'd have to say it was the two two in
jägermeister but unfortunately that's that the
the sour note of the penalty part like if the
game had just ended at two two Maybe you could
say but you would also argue from a Rhode Island
of sea perspective that that we were had a man
advantage for almost an entire half and They
clawed back into that game. So That's the hard
part is eliminating the fan out of it the fan
and he wants any good game to be in Rhode Island
of seas favor so By the definition I think the
casual would have probably thought that to two
was the best thing they've seen so far in it
But whether you're a Hartford fan in their 3
-0 win or you're a Rhode Island fan in our 3
-0 win, yeah, maybe we haven't had a proper rivalry
match, which is why, again, I ask, like, does
this rivalry still have some legs that needs
to grow to really take itself? I still think
it's the best rivalry in the USL. I know the
legacy pundits will say, like, oh, you haven't
been around long enough to claim that title.
But we spark enough interest and spark enough
conversations online about it that I disagree.
That being said, what I do know happens is these
games get shippy. These games get squirrely and
there's going to be a lot of emotion and attitude
and aggression on the night. How many red cards
are we seeing in this game? Oh, I'd say there's
at least a red card in this match. The thing
that I worry about, though, is we cannot afford.
We we have too many injuries right now, so I'm
hoping it's on their side. Maybe if things are
not going their way. So I mean, I'm going to
say at least one. I wouldn't be surprised if
both teams get someone sent off. What are your
what's your key takeaway for what I see to find
their way to getting three points in this match?
Yeah, our FC is the reality. They're better when
they score first, but I think they also need
some patience here to more than scoring first
that the rivalry, like you said, produced a lot
of cagey games. So i don't think they need to
force the issue and say we need to score in the
first twenty minutes or we need to score in the
first half they. They need to be patient and
know that the opportunity will come and they
don't want to leave themselves exposed and i
think that they also need to stay disciplined
emotionally. Hartford wants that chaos they want
to get under their skin they want to taunt us.
And they want to become a physical emotional
game broken up with fouls where they put us into
a situation to get one of our guys sent off so
they need to kind of. Rise above be a bit mature
Yeah, they still need to play with that aggression.
Yeah, they can't get bullied off the pitch, right?
Oh absolutely not like and I have a fear I don't
have a fear but I have an overcorrection concern.
We heard from Kano last week that their aggression
is leading to compromises or getting themselves
into fouling trouble. I hope that that's not
something like this isn't the week to work on
that, right? Like this isn't where you take any
foot off of the gas. If anything, you get through
this week and then you start making the micro
adjustments and the course corrections. We can't
be neutering our guys right before a match like
this. Like there's too much at stake on for the
badge and there's too much at stake in the head
right now. I don't want to see any adjustments
of that kind of nature coming from the squad.
They need to be aggressive, but sportsmanlike.
At the end of the day, it's nothing personal.
It's them playing their game. Oh, it's very personal.
At least it's personal for us. I heard on the
podcast that you were doing, you know, Hartford
has had so much rotation. For a lot of these
guys now. after what Siaha did to them personally
last season and the fact that what 16 of our
players have been here since year one like at
one point you almost it's unavoidable to not
get bit by the the rivalry bug on this i do expect
this team to stop saying we're just professional
players and we take this one game at a time and
we don't let them get under our skin no don't
let them like literally mess up your game plan
or your game style, but no, get mad, get played.
Like when you score a goal, slap this crest as
hard as you can. Like, you know, like, well,
like just piss them off. Like I do want to see
some resilient motion by a little bit more fire
from our team. Yeah. I know. I want to see them
score or celebrate their goals more. You know,
I just want to see them celebrate their goal
scoring. I mean, in the sense of like, don't
let it get personal that you lose your cool.
Right. You, you play Play for the badge, play
for the crest, play aggressive, but don't lose
your head. I will say this. I think that one
thing fans have to be prepared for is I don't
think this is going to be beautiful soccer. We're
all coming off of World Cup action. We're going
to go see a final the next day. This game is
going to be cagey. Like forget, you know, pass
accuracy. They're going to have to go for it.
Forget possession numbers. Forget, you know,
anything other than just grit, determination.
physicality, fighting for every second ball,
fighting for every tackle, fighting for every
header, ugly goals, stupid goals that are deflecting
off of his proper football, proper football for
a proper rivalry. I don't expect this to be anything
tiki -taka or anything where we see some sort
of finesse and I mean, we may see a golazo taken
at range because there's some bravery, but I
just don't see this anything other than a grind
and a slug fest. But I mean, do you just do you
disagree? Do we think we're going to see grace
and poise on the pitch? Not exactly, but at the
same time, like our FC's advantage would be their
ability to play. Right. Hartford wants us to
play that match. And I think if we're able to
kind of maintain our identity, don't bring ourselves
down to their level, they're going to be able
to put themselves in a good position to win.
I think if they let it turn into one of these
battles, we're going to, they're going to either
sneak something away or suck us into a nil nil
draw. I agree. Well, we've got to go to break.
And when we return, it's the mailbag with your
burning questions and comments. Don't go anywhere.
It's the Raising Anchor Soccer Show. Now let's
get back to the Raising Anchor Soccer Show on
990 WBOB with Matt Entrickett and Jason Carey.
Sam S. here is curious what you both think about
one of our biggest matchups being right before
the World Cup final. Do you think that was intentional
to show new fans? the best our league has to
offer or random luck you know it's funny we mentioned
this a second ago did the hundreds game was that
random luck and that probably was but this one
feels a little bit more intentional like the
world cup schedule had already been out we at
least knew the final you know we i don't know
if we necessarily knew the stadium or the location
we knew the final we knew how the club was working
around those games and those sequences why not
like mls is putting galaxy lafc on friday Why
not have one of the league's best, you know,
blossoming, you know, fights that can take place
on the pitch? Yeah, I think this might have been
intentional. We can definitely ask. We can ask
the technical team if they had any influence
on this. But sometimes it also just works out
that way, too. I won't call it dumb luck. Maybe
it's divine providence that that's what's happening.
What are your thoughts? I think there's definitely
some intention behind this. But. You know, maybe
Divine Providence sounds kind of funny, too.
We had to sacrifice a Sacramento midweek to get
this game right before the World Cup. Kano didn't
like it, but that's the way it went. Ben S asks
a question, and this one's a tough one. Which
do you think fans care about more, this derby?
Watching RFC win or hate watching Hartford lose?
Zia has not made a lot of fans. So there are
people that just may generally want to see him
fail. And then it comes at the behest of Rhode
Island FC when what do you think the fans, especially
the super fans are gearing up for to hate Hartford
or to love our FC? I want to say that there are
two sides of the same coin. They are, but you
have to pick one for this. this question. Well,
so I think it depends on the person I am. Everyone
in the chat right now, I need you guys to say,
do you do you care more about watching what RFC
win this particular game or Hartford losing completely?
I mean, the Welches are probably hate watching.
Absolutely. Absolutely. And like, sure, I don't
like Sia, but I think I want more of an RFC win
than my actual hatred for Hartford. So I think
it's very, it's very much a personal thing. and
everyone is on like one side of that fence, but
we're all together in the sense of that, you
know, beat Hartford. So far only watching RFC
win, RFC win. So maybe there's not a bunch of
salty New Englanders out there who care more
about tearing down their opponents. Matt M says
here, we were terrible at PKs. You asked the
question, do we even practice PKs? And now we're
good at PKs rather than there being egg on your
face when we nail them. You should be taking
credit for reminding the team that they need
to practice. Matt, thank you for writing that
in on the Discord. If I start taking credit for
things though, it will reverse the curse back.
So I just have to be the anti -hero, just as
club deserves. I have to do the dirty work so
that they can be lifted up and above. I even
told you in Discord, do I just need to ask Kano,
are you capable of winning the entire USL Championship
this season? And then he'll get mad at you and
then he'll do it. He'll do the dang thing, right?
So I don't hate it, but I can't ever take credit.
The second I start doing that, my head will explode.
These headphones will not be able to contain
it. Liz K writes in. Do you think the parking
problems are going to kill momentum for people
to support this club? It's hard to say because
there are a lot of people online who love to
complain. There's a certain group. I don't want
to give them any sort of acknowledgement to do
nothing but try and bash this club, which is
just insane to me. Like who has this much bandwidth
in their life to just go online and be like,
I hate this thing that other people are enjoying.
I like I did see some of the people complain
online. There is a lot of like, guys, guys, guys,
guys, guys, everyone. Yeah, everyone look at
me. Everyone right now. Everyone look at me.
If you know someone that is complaining about
parking, it is your responsibility to teach them
the tips, the tips and tricks on how to not pay
for parking. OK. we all know about the train
we all know about the train parking lot and the
free shuttle we all know the other places around
the city we all have our spots that we park in
when we need to that we don't pay anything whether
they're legal illegal or something in between
like get honest with yourselves and if you see
a fan and duress help them guide them but don't
burn out your spots because then everyone will
be parking in them so just fyi on that but like
i don't i think the problem is more optics i
think the club doesn't do a good job of getting
out in front of it to where they can ease that
burden, especially when it gains traction online.
I don't think we have a parking problem. I think
we have just an optics problem. I know that the
was it Tidewater is not good for it being completely
shut down under the bridge because that is a
narrow like that's a conduit to help alleviate
some of the navigation and then finding other
parking opportunities. But if you're relying
strictly on stadium instructions on how to park
in the city. Be a better Rhode Islander and figure
it out. Ask a friend, bribe a politician, whatever
you got to do. I'm telling you, your life will
be immediately easier when you stop relying on
LAZ and RFC to help you figure out where to park
your car. Yeah. Mike S says, Brett Johnson was
on WJAR and said he wanted to sign the next young
and upcoming Cape Verdean or Colombian. Two questions.
Was he pandering because of the populations here
in Pawtucket? And who would you guys tell him
to go sign if we could? One, I don't like using
the word pandering because I think that he just
understands the population and if he wants to
have locals represented by those populations
reflected on it, I just think that's good for
business. I think it'll make them feel seen.
Our defined 1636 president is Guatemalan and
he keeps complaining every time we don't sign
any Guatemalan players. So like there's a there's
a link. There's a connection that brings people
closer when they have their their representations
of their countries and their immigration reflected
in the team in front of them. I mean, we saw
that with the Puerto Rican when team when they
traveled in to play that friendly. We saw the
impact that Isaac Anking had on that. We've seen
Zach Haribo as a Haitian relationship. So like,
no, you. when you're represented by your community,
that's a big thing. So I don't think he's pandering.
I think he's just understanding that would do
well for all parties involved. Smart business
there. Yes, he's a smart business boy. That being
said, when you ask who would we sign as a young
up -and -coming starter for Cape Verde or for
Columbia, I don't know. the U -20 system. I barely
know USL championship and a sprinkling of MLS.
My international and my my other league game
isn't even that strong. So if you ask me to like
find two players, I'm going to say Vezina. He's
pretty young, right? Like, yeah, like what? Forty
one. Like that's super young or played out 50
these days, right? Or or what was it? It was
the two strikers for Cabo to put Dupuy and like
two names. yeah yeah like but but then i went
and go look at their like leagues they're playing
and one's playing in like the bolivian premier
league and then the other one's playing uh i
think they're on loan from benfica and and so
that's the thing i do know that's the bigger
problem at least for a cape birdian perspective
remember how in the world cup we found out that
like only one player for the cape bird squad
like lived in cape bird and everyone else was
a product of like a Portuguese soccer system
that like wasn't good enough for Portugal. So
then they went and played for Cape Verde instead.
And that's not to say that they don't have Cape
Verdean heritage, but they're coming from different
places. Or they do have Cape Verdean heritage
or immigration, but then they go to academies
like Benfica and Porto to try. And then those
players get loaned off to like, you know, the
Turkish Super League, like they don't ever come
this direction. So like Cabo Verde is actually
really hard because Portugal's already got their
fingers in the cookie jar. They're stealing all
the talent that could even be connected. So what
you're really need to ask yourself, if we want
to Cape Verdean, we got to figure out how to
crack the code into the Portugal youth system,
because that's where we're going to go and be
able to poach that talent and get them started
in a USL squad. So I'm not saying it's impossible,
but that one piece of the pie, I do understand
very well. So we got to we got to get really
comfortable with the Portugal Federation and
see what can happen from there. Lisa V asked
the question, how do we make sure our FC never
does fireworks at half Friday's legacy experience
was dumb. I heard about this. This is insane.
They did a fireworks show during halftime. Like
I was it rain. Maybe it was that's the eye. I
don't know. Because I remember that the last
one, the second the game was over, they immediately
just started fireworks because it was also Kind
of raining so maybe they knew that like boston
legacy fans travel all the way from boston and
they want to get home early So they leave halfway
through the match You know, they're like classic
la fans classic boston fans. There's too much
traffic Public transportation is not as good
as it could be gotta go. I mean I I do not foresee
the club doing this But hey, there are channels
to reach out to them and let them know and say
hey I saw this at a boston legacy game I do not
like this. Please do not do that. Irvin is in
the chat. Bring me a Guatemalan. James disagreeing
saying we do have a parking lot problem. The
loose stone in the t -lots is an issue. I don't
like the gravel in the t -lots. I completely
agree with you on that. I think some people have
gotten flat tires, but that's been taken care
of. Mike has a comment here that an academy system
of our own would help. I don't disagree with
that, but that then becomes a 10 year project,
right? You've got to wait 10 years for that to
bear fruit. Most times, especially considering
you're competing with not just the Bay sides
and surf of Rhode Island, but then you're competing
with New England Revolutions Academy programming,
Seacoast United, Vermont Green. I think our club
also has to hit certain milestones for that to
make sense too. Well, I know that they're still
looking to work on a training center. That's
off -site closed and indoors I think once you
get that on then you can start having Academy
players like working 21 or 24 7 that would be
really bad for children But you get my point
and then Nate ski riding in Virginia is Miami
bound. He is not going into Miami That is a big
rumor. I don't see a world where they sign a
41 year old keeper on that squad considering
how tight they are on payroll but there is a
question we have to go back to Jason is there
any Jeff Hughes asks is there any chance of a
decent ref on the weekend yeah so speaking of
refs then let's get right into the ref assignment
here we have a head ref Gerald Flores assistant
refs Zeno Cho and Douglas Clayton with the fourth
official Justin Lopez after being caught a little
surprised about you know Guido. We did some research.
We got guido'd pretty hard, guys. Yeah, we got
guido'd pretty hard. So we did some research
into Jaro Flores to kind of just take a look
at what's going on with them. Nothing controversial
here. Has been reffing in the championship since
2020. Average is about 5 .1 cards per game. We
actually have some experience with him. He reffed
our first match back against North Carolina in
2024. RIP. Yeah, RIP. 32 fouls call on it. So
keep that in mind. I wonder if he is ready for
a match of this. Gravitude, but you know, so
far nothing to suggest that it's going to be
bad per se. I do hope that either there is a
symposium for the USL pro ref people that they
need to learn to let things go at some point.
It may not happen in this year, but it's gotta
be talked about going into like. USL Premier
in the next two years. But that being said, I'm
still really curious how would IFC gets out of
this foul aggression that they've suddenly been
in. Again, earlier in the season, 12th, they
were middle of the road. But these last five
or six games, they've gone to second place in
terms of fouls committed. Don't know if they're
just getting bad calls with bad refs. I mean,
we know how bad Guido was, but interestingly
enough, I don't know that there's enough here
to be concerned. But the second we don't talk
about it, everything's fine and the second or
sorry the second we do talk about it nothing
happens the second we don't everything falls
apart so uh let's get into watch information
for the weekend looking ahead for the saturday's
game against heart for the athletic it's not
looking good from a forecast perspective everyone
76 degrees yes rain expecting to start at 6 p
.m with possible thunderstorms in the area no
so we've got that we get to deal with i i guess
at this point you know we just have to lean into
it we shouldn't have it any other way Stadium
staff if you're listening if we win you just
need to play garbage. I'm only happy when it's
rains Only if we win though, obviously great
choice just just lean into it great choice tailgating
does open at 430 with the rest of parking opening
at 530 gates at 634 that 730 p .m. Kickoff you
will want to get there early people for this
one and I don't mean 630 you may be wanting to
wait in line in the rain as This will be the
coca Vegas bobblehead giveaway night this game
is expected to sell out and I mean well tickets
distributed so who knows about attendance at
this point but there are only 3500 bobbleheads
so make sure you are in line to secure yours
if you can't catch this game or you just want
to stay dry you can watch all of the alclamico
action on myri tv or wpri 12 plus espn select
or of course listen to the radio with 790 the
score with our guys nick and tom on the call
Uh, this has been a fun, this has been a fun
show. El Climaco has always seemed to bring out
the worst and best in us. I can't wait to see
the chaos here on Saturday. Yeah. And just a
quick programming note, uh, Matt will be out
on special assignment next week. So back by popular
demand, fan favorite, Torrin Kelly will be stepping
in to help me recap the match as well as preview
the match against Pittsburgh next week. I can't
believe we brought him back. Who would have ever
seen that? Thanks y 'all for joining us. Can't
wait to see you at the Hartford match. Anchors
up. Anchors up. for all your New England soccer
coverage, including RAFC news at theblazingmusket
.com. Fans, we thank you for listening. We ask
you to be kind and courteous to your neighbors
as you leave the show. We thank you for joining
us and look forward to seeing you again. Until
then, I'm your main man Juju, and on behalf of
the Racing Anchor crew, goodbye for now. And
as always, we are Rhode Island FC.