PAWTUCKET — Rhode Island FC was under pressure at the start of both opening whistles.

Goals in the fourth and 48th minute doomed the home side against Birmingham Legion FC. The visitors halted Rhode Island’s recent success in USL Championship and tournament play.

The 3-1 loss saw Birmingham score twice over the final 45 minutes in front of 7,596 at Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, May 2. Rhode Island (2-3-2) attempted to change its tempo with a triple substitution in the 66th minute. But it was too late against the two-goal deficit.

Rhode Island returns to Pawtucket on May 9 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Start time is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“I thought we started the game poorly,” RIFC coach Khano Smith said. “We worked our way back into the game and I thought we were the team with the intensity to close out the first half. And then the second half, just for me, it’s a couple of moments of ill-discipline. If you do that at this level, you get punished. If we want to be an elite team in this league, we cannot concede three goals at home.”

Rhode Island’s backline was leaky from the start as Dawson McCartney’s cross from the left side curled its way through the defense and Sebastian Tregarthen buried it to the far post for Birmingham. And in the 12th minute, before Rhode Island answered, Hamady Diop was stripped on the back line and Ronaldo Damus hit the post to nearly double the advantage on the sequence.

Birmingham’s second goal came off a set piece from the top of the box. It was punched away initially by Koke Vegas, but fell to Phanuel Kavita for an easy rebound score that proved to be the eventual winner.

“I’m sure we’ve made mistakes in games in the past,” Smith said. “And tonight we were just punished. We made mistakes on the second goal and the third goal. We talked about how we want to press on goal kicks, and that was not a goal-kick pressing structure.”

Damus’ goal in the 57th minute forced Vegas to rally the group at midfield. It’s an uncharacteristic loss for Rhode Island, which entered with just nine goals conceded on the year.

“There’s one thing we always talk about, it’s the intensity between the defense, midfield and forwards,” RIFC forward Leo Afonso said. “Everyone has to match the same intensity, and I think tonight it wasn’t matched between the three groups.”

The Ocean State club scored seven goals across its last two USL Championship games, with a penalty-shootout win over Hartford Athletic in the Prinx Tires USL Cup. The offensive side showed that confidence as Leo Afonso equalized Birmingham in the 17th minute. Clay Holstad carried possession up the middle before dropping off to Afonso for a right-footed shot to the near post.

JJ Williams had scoring chances in the second half and Rhode Island held a 19-11 shots margin and finished with 61% of the game’s possession. The three substitutions added Zach Herivaux and Dwayne Atkinson to the midfield and Nick Scardina to the defense as Smith tried to spark the back line. 

“It felt like we came off on the back foot a little bit,” Afonso said. “The rotation last week, most of the starting 11 didn’t start. So, I think maybe a little flat-footed from the beginning of the game and letting in easy goals that we were blocking in games before.”

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The Rhode Island State House was open for special Saturday hours ahead of Rhode Island Independence Day on May 4.

Lawmakers said the open hours were to let residents and visitors alike learn more about the state’s history as one of the first to declare independence from Great Britain.

Some of Rhode Island’s 250th birthday exhibitions were on display during the open hours.

Next month, 50 kids from across New England will be dressed in their best as they walk the runway at this year’s Glimmer Gala.

It’s an evening for childhood cancer survivors to feel like celebrities.

“For them, not only do they get to feel like a normal kid doing a normal activity, but they get to feel larger than life,” said Alison Hornung, founder and CEO of the Glimmer of Hope Foundation. “I hear the kids go into their classrooms after and say, ‘I got to walk the runway show and I got to do a photo shoot.’”

That photo shoot and shopping spree are something each child, like 6-year-old Bella Berg from Lexington, gets to take part in.

“For everything that they go through and that loss of identity, it really makes them feel like they’re beautiful and strong, inside and outside,” Hornung said.

The Glimmer of Hope Foundation started six years ago. It brings hope to families whose children are battling cancer. This year’s gala is expected to be their biggest yet, with at least 500 people expected to attend.

Breanna Marie

Breanna Marie

The goal is to give the kids confidence and make them feel special.

“They get to be alongside kids that are going through the same thing as them, so they don’t feel different,” said Hornung. “They just feel seen and understood.”

The Glimmer Gala takes place Saturday June 13 at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Click here for more.