Rhode Island FC has established itself on and off the field in its inaugural season, becoming the first true expansion club to reach the USL Championship Playoffs since 2019. | Photo courtesy Rhode Island FC
For both the USL Championship’s Rhode Island FC and USL League One’s Spokane Velocity FC, the primary aim of their inaugural seasons was to set a foundation.
From building their inaugural squads to building top-class facilities, this was the starting point for the major aspirations both clubs possess for their futures.
But now both have reached the postseason, offering potential that was certainly hoped for at the beginning of the season, but that has typically been hard to come by recently for first-year teams.
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MAKING THEIR MARK: Rhode Island is the first true first-year club to reach the USL Championship Playoffs since four out of a seven-club expansion class in 2019 did so. While Oakland Roots SC (2021) and Detroit City FC (2022) also reached the playoffs upon joining the Championship, both of those clubs had previously established credentials in the professional ranks.
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BREAKING THROUGH: Velocity, meanwhile, is only the second expansion side to reach the League One Playoffs in its inaugural season, following three-time Players’ Shield winner Union Omaha in 2020. That’s a sign of the potential for what’s to come in Spokane.
Velocity’s arrival brought with it the opening of ONE Spokane Stadium, which has quickly developed an atmosphere on gameday that both Velocity and the organization’s USL Super League club Spokane Zephyr FC have gained from.
Spokane Velocity FC is only the second expansion team in USL League One history to reach the postseason in its inaugural season. | Photo courtesy Brandon Campea / Spokane Velocity FC
The 5,000-seat venue provided the foundation for the club earning a postseason berth, taking five of seven regular season wins before its home fans. Those include victories against each of the top two seeds in this year’s League One Playoffs, Omaha and Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, as the club has grown on the field and off.
“I think it’s been such a great process so far on both sides,” said former United States international and Velocity midfielder Luis Gil recently. “Right from the beginning, we’ve just been trying to be a part of the community as much as possible, and you can see the culture and the fan base’s engagement. It’s just going to keep growing.”
In Rhode Island, the big reveal of the club’s permanent home is set for next spring. The opening of the stadium at Tidewater Landing has been long-anticipated, but hasn’t kept RIFC from succeeding on the field under Sporting Director and Head Coach Khano Smith as it played out its first campaign at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, R.I.
The side came into its own in the second half of the season. Since a 5-2 victory on the road against Louisville City FC on June 22 – which marked RIFC as the only team to take points from the Championship Players’ Shield winner at home this season – the side has gone 11-3-6, accumulating the second-most points in the league to Louisville over that span.
Alongside the club’s marketing across the state, the club has built a strong foundation of support that saw sellout crowds in place for two of its final four home games of the regular season.
“I’m so thankful for what everybody in the front office and marketing team has really done for us, it’s meant a lot,” said Rhode Island forward JJ Williams after notching the first hat trick in club history last Saturday. “The support that we’ve had everybody from Rhode Island coming out has been amazing.
“It only goes to go to show what it’s going to be like next year, especially when we have a place to call home. Everything that people have done going towards that stadium, the constant things that go on behind the scenes that we don’t even know, it’s just amazing.”
Rhode Island FC has developed a strong fanbase led by supporters group Defiance 1636 that is set to transfer into its permanent home when it opens next Spring. | Photo courtesy Rhode Island FC
The No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, Rhode Island will head to face No. 4 seed Indy Eleven on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET | ESPN+) for its inaugural postseason game. League One’s No. 7 seed Spokane, meanwhile, will head to face No. 2 seed Northern Colorado on Saturday night (9 p.m. ET | ESPN+).
For both, there’s hope of an upset, even with the trajectory Velocity’s form and that of the Hailstorm has taken. In the playoffs, the wildest possibilities can sometimes manifest.
In Rhode Island, meanwhile, there’s an excitement the side can make some serious noise to close out its first campaign.
“It doesn't matter what position you are in, doesn't matter how late it is in the game,” said Williams. “Doesn't matter if you're winning, losing, whatever, you have to make sure you’re executing all the way to the final whistle. You’re never out of it. You really [never] are. So just make sure that you stay in there, keep looking forward and keep performing. That’s what we got to do.
“Anything to do to get a win. Never Say Die.”