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

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Malik Grant rushed for three second-half touchdowns and Wesley Neal Jr. blocked a field-goal attempt on the game’s final play as Rhode Island rallied to beat Albany 20-17 on Saturday.

With the Rams (9-2, 6-1 Coastal Athletic Association) trailing 17-0 at halftime to the Great Danes (3-8, 1-6), Grant scored on runs of 42, 3 and 7 yards, the final touchdown coming with 9:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Albany had a short field for its final drive after Jacari Carter returned a punt 23 yards to the Rhode Island 24 with 1:27 remaining. The Great Danes were third-and-18 on the Rhode Island 19 when they went for the field goal but John Opalko’s 36-yard try was blocked. Albany’s previous drive ended when Weber’s pass from the Rhode Island 11 was picked off by Andre Depina-Gray at the 3.

Grant finished with 100 yards on 25 carries. Hunter Helms threw for 248 yards but was intercepted twice.

Van Weber threw for 354 yards on 31-of-51 passing with two touchdowns for Albany but was also intercepted twice. Levi Wentz caught nine passes for 138 yards.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25

Copyright
© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

U.S. News & World Report just released their 2025 elementary and middle school rankings in each state, and Barrington Public Schools lead the lists for Rhode Island with four rankings.

The digital media company used data from the U.S. Department of Education to base their rankings of over 70,000 public schools on four indicators: mathematics proficiency, reading proficiency, mathematics performance and reading performance. Analyzed schools were then given a score based on a formula which factored in the four criteria and socioeconomic context.

Here are the full rankings for Rhode Island schools.

Top 10 elementary schools in RI

Here are U.S. News & World Report’s 10 best Rhode Island elementary schools of 2025:

1. Nayatt School (K-3) – Barrington
2. Community School (K-5) – Cumberland
3. Jamestown School-Melrose (PK-4) – Jamestown
4. Clayville School (PK-5) – Clayville
5. Sowams Elementary School (K-3) – Barrington
6. Lincoln Central Elementary School (K-5) – Lincoln
7. Raymond Laperche School (PK-5) – Smithfield
8. Forest Park Elementary School (K-5) – North Kingstown
9. Primrose Hill School (PK-3) – Barrington
10. Hamilton School (K-5) – North Kingstown

Providence schools: Providence student information compromised in hack. What to know.

Top 10 middle schools in RI

Here are U.S. News & World Report’s 10 best Rhode Island middle schools of 2025:

1. Barrington Middle School (6-8) – Barrington
2. Wickford Middle School (6-8) – North Kingstown
3. Archie R. Cole Middle School (6-8) – East Greenwich
4. North Cumberland Middle School (6-8) – Cumberland
5. Jamestown School-Lawn (5-8) – Jamestown
6. North Smithfield Middle School (5-8) – North Smithfield
7. Narragansett Pier School (5-8) – Narragansett
8. Exeter-West Greenwich Regional Junior High School (7-8) – West Greenwich
9. Portsmouth Middle School (5-8) – Portsmouth
10. Lincoln Middle School (6-8) – Lincoln