Nodarse lifts Rhode Island FC past Hartford Athletic 1-0

Frank Nodarse’s first-half finish was enough to push Rhode Island FC past Hartford Athletic 1-0 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where Hartford failed to record a shot on target in torrential conditions. The result came in the first league edition of El Clamico, a rivalry that had already produced a 1-1 draw on June 1, 2024, and a 3-0 Rhode Island win on Aug. 10, 2024.

Nodarse, the Cuban center back, scored midway through the first half and gave Rhode Island the only breakthrough it needed. With Hartford unable to test the goal frame, the match turned into a clean example of how one moment can outweigh any talk of attacking volume, especially when the weather strips a game down to its sharpest details.

Rhode Island said the victory moved the club above the playoff line, a useful checkpoint in a USL Championship season where narrow margins often decide who stays in the hunt and who falls behind. A 1-0 result does more than add three points when it comes with a shutout, particularly against a regional opponent that is already beginning to feel like a fixture rather than a novelty.

That is what made this derby matter beyond the score line. The first league meeting under the El Clamico label was decided by one header, one finish, one moment of control, and the ability to keep Hartford off target for 90 minutes. Rhode Island did not need a flood of chances to change its position in the table, only the kind of disciplined, single-play execution that can travel when the Championship season tightens.