Rhode Island FC beats Brooklyn FC in penalty shootout thriller

Koke Vegas turned the final kick into the defining moment, burying Rhode Island FC’s winning penalty in a 4-3 shootout victory over Brooklyn FC after the sides finished 1-1 at Centreville Bank Stadium. The goalkeeper made five saves in regulation, then stepped to the spot and scored the first professional penalty of his career to send Rhode Island out of its Prinx Tires USL Cup finale with a result that felt far larger than a single point swing.

The match on Saturday in Pawtucket came on the final day of the Group 5 schedule in the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup, the third edition of the interleague competition that featured all 43 clubs from USL Championship and USL League One. With each team playing four group-stage matches and only the seven group winners plus one wild card advancing, Brooklyn still had a quarterfinal path available when it arrived in Rhode Island. Instead, the shootout win gave Rhode Island two points and Brooklyn one, ending the visitors’ tournament run and leaving Rhode Island outside the advancing places as Hartford Athletic finished top of the group.

The game had knockout-level tension from the opening minutes. Pierre Da Silva forced the first save of the night in the 19th minute after a solo run from his own half, but Rhode Island answered immediately when Jojea Kwizera drove down the right side and set up Agustín “Pity” Rodríguez for his first career goal for the club. That early exchange established the tempo for a match that never settled into anything comfortable for either side.

Brooklyn dragged the game back level in first-half stoppage time when Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. curled home a free kick that beat Vegas. Rhode Island then played the second half with 10 men after Frank Nodarse was shown a second yellow card early after the break, a moment that shifted the burden even further onto Vegas and a back line already stretched by the game’s pace.

Instead of cracking, Rhode Island held its nerve. Vegas kept Brooklyn from finding a winner in regulation, then ended the shootout by converting the decisive attempt himself. It was the sort of finish that reshapes a club’s internal story: a goalkeeper who has spent three straight penalty shootouts making saves for Rhode Island FC suddenly authored the last line of the match. He had already been part of the club’s history as the first player signed on Nov. 1, 2023, and the 30-year-old from Antequera, Málaga, Spain, added another chapter with one swing of his right foot.

Rhode Island had also beaten Brooklyn 4-1 in league play on May 23, another reminder that the matchup has tilted toward the Ocean State side. This time, the margin was thinner and the stakes were different, but the outcome carried the same edge: Rhode Island found composure under pressure and left with a finish that will linger well beyond the group stage.