Rhode Island
Rhode Island FC beats Charleston Battery. Next stop: the league championship match
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Emilio Ycaza and Nick Markanich walked over to the Charleston Battery end zone to salute the club’s supporters one last time.
After the pair acknowledge their fans the two turned and embraced for a long moment. The duo looked down the field at Rhode Island’s jubilant celebration and could only shake their heads and think about what might have been had things gone differently.
But this is playoff soccer.
For the second straight year, the Charleston Battery had to watch a visiting team celebrate on their home field and hoist a trophy following the match.
Karifa Yao and Noah Fuson each scored for Rhode Island FC and held off a furious Charleston rally to beat the Battery, 2-1, in the USL Championship Eastern Conference finals before a sellout crowd of more than 5,000 at Patriots Point on Saturday night.
Rhode Island will face the winner of the Colorado Switchbacks FC-Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship final next Saturday.
Charleston Battery forward Nick Markanich and MD Myers came into the playoffs as the highest scoring duo in USL Championship history – combining for 47 goals. But the Rhode Island defense harassed the pair for the entire match, not allowing them to get into any rhythm.
“They are going to get the ball and they’re going to get it in dangerous spaces, and you just have to hope you keep them in areas of the field where they can’t hurt,” said Rhode Island coach Khano Smith. “They certainly had some opportunities, but we tried to at least nullify them getting into dangerous areas.”
The match was physical from the opening kickoff as several post-play scrums between the teams erupted during the match.
“They fouled Nick and the guys and kicked the crap out of us and the ref allowed that to happen,” Pirmann said. “That’s not why we lost. They made sure our playmakers couldn’t get into a flow, and it didn’t go our way.”
Rhode Island grabbed a 1-0 lead on Yao’s header in the 43rd minute off a throw-in from midfielder Clay Holstad.
RIFC extended its lead to 2-0 on Fuson’s blast from just inside the 18-yard box. After a buildup in the Battery’s defensive third, Fuson got the ball on the left side and muscled it past Battery keeper Adam Grinwis for the score.
Charleston cut the lead in half on Juan David Torres’ free kick in the 61st minute.
The loss ended the Battery’s quest for a second straight appearance in the USL Championship finals. A year ago, Pheonix Rising FC defeated the Battery on penalty kicks in the championship game on the same field.
“This just stinks,” said Charleston Battery coach Ben Pirmann. “Sports in general can be the most amazing thing and it can also be the cruelest thing. I’ll be fine, I can compartmentalize, I’m task oriented, but I just feel for these players.”
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie and a 1-1 draw in their two matchups during the regular season.
With Saturday’s win, RIFC becomes the first expansion club to qualify for the USL Championship final in its inaugural season since Louisville City FC in 2015.
This story was provided by The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C.
apmiller@postandcourier.com
Lixeandro Andrade, 28, and Zahir Fortes, 19, were both arrested Monday on charges of carrying a pistol or firearm without a license and large capacity feeding devices prohibited, the state police said in a media release.
Andrade and Fortes were processed at the Lincoln Woods Barracks and arraigned, according to the release.
Awilda Perez Goris was arrested shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday on charges of obtaining more than $10,000 under false pretenses and accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes, the Rhode Island State Police said in a media release.
Perez Goris, a resident of Uxbridge, was processed at the Wickford Barracks, arraigned and issued a notice to appear in court, according to the release.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Foundation is offering three composers $30,000 grants — applications due Aug. 10 – What’s Up Newp
Rhode Island composers have until August 10 to apply for $30,000 fellowships from the Rhode Island Foundation, with three grants available to emerging and mid-career musicians looking to advance their work.
The grants come through the Foundation’s Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson Fellowship Fund and are unrestricted — meaning recipients can use the money however best serves their artistic growth, whether that’s creating new work, purchasing equipment, traveling, researching, or training in new technologies and techniques.
Applicants must have lived in Rhode Island for at least 12 months before the deadline. Current high school and college students, graduate students enrolled in degree programs, and composers at advanced levels of career achievement are not eligible. Submissions may be in any genre, including chamber, choral, contemporary, electronic, experimental, jazz, opera, musical theater, symphonic, and world music.
Recipients are selected by a panel of out-of-state industry professionals managed by the Artist Communities Alliance. Previous fellows include cellist Adrienne Taylor, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Courtney Swain, and electroacoustic composer Kristina Warren.
The MacColl Johnson Fellowships rotate among composers, writers, and visual artists on a three-year cycle; next year’s round will go to writers. The fund was established in 2003 in honor of Rhode Islanders Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson, both devoted to the arts throughout their lives.
More information and applications are at artistcommunities.org.
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