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SMITHFIELD — Saturday night was a disjointed mess of stoppages.
Rhode Island FC and Oakland Roots SC are both in the thick of a playoff race with 10 matches left. And with Oakland nursing an early advantage at Beirne Stadium, Rhode Island quickened its pace searching for a goal. Oakland used every pause to its advantage and much to the dismay of Rhode Island.
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Tensions then boiled over in the 72nd minute when Oakland’s Neveal Hackshaw was tagged with a red card for pulling down JJ Williams on the break just outside of the box. Rhode Island’s free kick was blocked, but they found the equalizer before extra time.
Joe Brito, who just entered the match, found Albert Dikwa in the center of the box for a clean header to the far post in the 86th minute. The 1-1 score held through seven minutes of stoppage time as Rhode Island secured one point and have the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. RIFC is now unbeaten in 10 of its last 11 matches, including its last five at home.
“I don’t normally complain about the referees, but it was poor,” Khano Smith said. “Time management was poor. How many times did their players go down waste time?
“I’d be embarrassed if my players did that. I wouldn’t — I don’t want my players to behave like that. I want the game to be fast, fast-paced and try to win the game. I’m sorry our fans had to watch that, to be honest, because that’s not what we’re trying to provide.”
Oakland took the advantage on a header from Hackshaw off a corner in the 32nd minute. Rhode Island finished the match with 14 corners attempted to Oakland’s four and had 22 shots. RIFC also had possession for over 60% of the match, which featured 25 total fouls.
“I felt like we were the better team,” Smith said. “Sometimes I won’t say that, but it was clear to me that we were the better team today. We were the one team that was trying to attack and trying to take the initiative in the game, [just] fell asleep on a set piece.”
Oakland was only tagged with one yellow card for time wasting and it came in the 96th minute. Four points separate RIFC and North Carolina FC, who lost on Saturday, for the final playoff spot in the conference. Rhode Island travels to Loudoun United FC, who sits just ahead of them in the standings, on Aug. 24.
“I’m disappointed to tie the game,” Smith said. “I’m not disappointed in how we played. We were the dominant team from [the first minute] to minute 97. So I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the game, I’m not disappointed in the way they played.”
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
On X: @ByJacobRousseau
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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