Courtesy credit: Rhode Island FC

Today, Rhode Island FC announced its schedule for the 2025 season, including 30 regular season USL Championship contests and four games in the newly-expanded USL Jägermeister Cup. The Ocean State club will play its first six games of the season on the road before kicking off for the first time inside The Stadium at Tidewater Landing in downtown Pawtucket on Saturday, May 3.

Rhode Island FC fans can secure their place in the historic home opener with a 2025 season ticket membership, 10-Game partial plan or 5-Game partial plan at rhodeislanfc.com.

“All of Rhode Island has embraced RIFC from day one and we are incredibly excited for the opportunity to provide a world-class fan experience at our new home stadium,” said Rhode Island FC President David Peart. “May 3rd will be another important and historic milestone when we host our very first match in our new home. The Stadium at Tidewater Landing is built to be soccer-centric and will set the standard for sports and entertainment destinations in New England. As a club, we want to be the best, both on and off the field, and our new stadium will provide our passionate fans and our team a place to call home for many seasons to come.”

Rhode Island FC will split its 34-game schedule evenly, playing 17 games at home and 17 on the road. The club will once again compete in the 12-team Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, playing 22 intraconference games (11 home, 11 away) and eight interconference games (4 home, 4 away) along with four USL Jägermeister Cup group stage games (2 home, 2 away).

2025 Rhode Island FC Schedule

GAMEDAYDATETIMEOPPONENT
1SaturdayMarch 15TBDat Charleston Battery
2SaturdayMarch 22TBDat Phoenix Rising FC
3SaturdayMarch 29TBDat Loudoun United FC
4SaturdayApril 5TBDat Oakland Roots SC
5SaturdayApril 19TBDat Detroit City FC
6SaturdayApril 26TBDat Westchester SC*
7SaturdayMay 3TBDvs San Antonio FC
8SaturdayMay 10TBDvs Monterey Bay FC
9WednesdayMay 14TBDat Birmingham Legion FC
10SaturdayMay 17TBDat Tampa Bay Rowdies
11SaturdayMay 24TBDvs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
12SaturdayMay 31TBDat Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC*
13SaturdayJune 7TBDvs Miami FC
14WednesdayJune 11TBDat Louisville City FC
15SaturdayJune 14TBDvs North Carolina FC
16SaturdayJune 21TBDvs Sacramento Republic FC
17SaturdayJune 28TBDvs Hearts of Pine SC*
18SaturdayJuly 5TBDvs Birmingham Legion FC
19SaturdayJuly 12TBDat Indy Eleven
20SaturdayJuly 19TBDvs Hartford Athletic
21SaturdayJuly 26TBDvs Hartford Athletic*
22SaturdayAug. 2TBDat Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
23WednesdayAug. 6TBDvs Detroit City FC
24SaturdayAug. 9TBDvs Loudoun United FC
25SaturdayAug. 23TBDat Hartford Athletic
26SaturdayAug. 30TBDvs Charleston Battery
27SaturdaySept. 6TBDvs Louisville City FC
28SaturdaySept. 13TBDvs Indy Eleven
29SaturdaySept. 20TBDat Miami FC
30SaturdaySept. 27TBDat El Paso Locomotive FC
31SundayOct. 5TBDvs Las Vegas Lights FC
32SaturdayOct. 11TBDvs Tampa Bay Rowdies
33SundayOct. 19TBDat North Carolina FC
34SaturdayOct. 25TBDat New Mexico United

*USL Jägermeister Cup Group Stage

Rhode Island FC will open the season on the road at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in South Carolina, where it lifted the 2024 Eastern Conference Final trophy, playing a rematch with Charleston Battery on March 15. From there, RIFC’s USL Championship regular season campaign will include trips to 2023 USL Champions Phoenix Rising FC (March 22), Loudoun United FC (March 29), Oakland Roots SC (April 5) and Detroit City FC (April 19) before returning home to The Stadium at Tidewater Landing for the first time on May 3. Prior to its home opener, RIFC will also travel to USL League One expansion side Westchester FC for its inaugural Jägermeister Cup game on April 26.

Rendering of Tidewater Landing. Courtesy credit: Rhode Island FC

The Ocean State club will open its home slate against 2022 USL Champions San Antonio FC before playing 11 of its next 16 games in its new home stadium through the beginning of August. The home stretch includes a pair of derby matchups with regional rival Hartford Athletic (July 19, July 26), including RIFC’s second time hosting in the USL Jägermeister Cup on July 26. After playing Hartford twice in seven days, RIFC will also travel to Connecticut for the reverse regular-season derby fixture on Aug. 23.

RIFC’s road campaign in 2025 will include stops at all of its 2024 Eastern Conference playoff opponents. After facing Charleston to open the season, the club will also travel to Louisville City FC (June 11) and Indy Eleven (July 12). The club defeated Indy 3-2 in its first-ever playoff game, and delivered Louisville its only two home losses of the entire 2024 season, including a 3-0 conference semifinal win.

Rhode Island Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith will face his former club, Birmingham Legion FC, twice in 2025. After defeating Birmingham in both home and away meetings in 2024, RIFC will welcome the Alabama side to Pawtucket on July 5 before heading to the Yellowhammer State on Aug. 16.

Including its second home clash with Hartford, RIFC’s USL Jägermeister Cup debut features a pair of contests with USL League One expansion sides, and a familiar Eastern Conference foe. RIFC will head to Westchester SC (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) on April 26, travel to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on May 31 and host nearby Portland Hearts of Pine (Portland, Maine) on June 28 to round out the group stage.

The Ocean State club is also anticipating its second appearance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2025. Although U.S. Soccer has yet to release the full schedule for the 2025 edition of the historic tournament, RIFC’s inaugural cup run last year took place on April 16, where it fell to USL League One side Charlotte Independence in a penalty shootout. Depending on scheduling outcomes, there is a possibility RIFC hosts an Open Cup game prior to its USL Championship home opener on May 3.

Rhode Island FC will conclude the regular season with four games in October, facing the Tampa Bay Rowdies in its home finale on Oct. 11 before hitting the road for its final two games of the regular season against North Carolina FC (Oct. 19) and New Mexico United (Oct. 25). Should RIFC finish in eighth place or higher in the Eastern Conference, a return to the single-elimination, fixed bracket format USL Championship Playoffs would kick off the first weekend of November. After the conference semifinals and final, the postseason will conclude with the 2025 USL Championship Final on the CBS Television Network between Nov. 21-23.

For Rhode Island FC news and updates, visit rhodeislandfc.com, download the official team app, and follow the club on InstagramFacebookX and LinkedIn.

Courtesy credit: Rhode Island FC

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...