The excitement was building for Days maybe even Month's as Phoenix Rising opened their Stadium in Phoenix on Saturday evening April 1st. This was not an April Fools Joke, this was the long awaited home opener.
The opposition was a familiar one in San Diego Loyal, the team Rising played two weeks ago on the road in San Diego. Rising fans came out to support in large numbers with the official announced attendance was 10,437 making it a new Club record!!
The new location on Washington Street has the feel of a big time stadium, with tailgating allowed and supporters arriving hours before to get the bbqs going and the fun and excitement started. Overall getting into the stadium was easy, parking was fast and the lines to get thru the gates were moving at a good pace. Of course being the first day you would expect some growing pains and there were some but nothing that turned the excitement down. A great job was done by all involved to make it run as smooth as they could for the opening night.
The excitement could be felt as you were waiting for the teams to take the field for pregame warmups, it was the same stadium but had a different feel on Saturday night!! After a good presentation from Club Governor of the Board Bill Kraus where he asked that everyone be patient with the dust as we turn this into something great, we were all set to watch some USL Championship Football.
San Diego came out and had the better of the play for the first 15 mins or so, it looked a lot like things were going to be the same as they were two weeks ago in San Diego. Rising were being out worked and were having some difficulty finding passes. Around the 20th min you could see Phoenix settling in some and they started to connect some passes. This led to the 22nd min when midfielder Federico Varela found forward Manual Arteaga who split the Loyal defense and was 1on 1 with the keeper but his shot missed just wide right. Ten minutes later Arteaga would get another opportunity when Phoenix defender Alejandro Fuenmayor, would place a perfect ball about 70 yards in the air and find the chest of Henry Uzochukwu. Uzo who was in a full sprint did and amazing job of bringing the ball down to his foot and played a perfect ball across the front of the goal where Arteaga made good on his second opportunity and hammered the ball into the net for his first goal of the season giving Rising the 1-0 lead. Play was back and forth for the next few mins when San Diego got a good look at goal with a ball across the front of the net but Phoenix defender Fuenmayor was able to step in front of the Loyal Forward and get his head on the ball while keeper Rocco Rios Novo came off his line to make the save. Novo was fouled by Ronaldo Damus in the process of making the save as well. Phoenix was able to hold on and close out the half with a 1-0 lead. Possession favored San Diego I. The first 45 mins but Phoenix was battling and got the opening goal to send them into the half with confidence.
Half time was not a friend of Rising last year and the crowed was hoping things would change but in the first few minutes it looked like we were seeing a repeat of last year! It didn't take long before the Loyal were knocking at the goal, and in the 57th minute Phx Keeper Novo had to make a Fantastic diving save off a header to keep Rising in the lead. That seemed to wake the boys up and bring about some good football. In the 63rd minute after another long pass that Uzochukwu once again brilliantly brought down before finding Emil Cuello in space, Cuello took off before cutting across the top of the area and firing a hard shot that took all of Koke Vegas to keep it out of the net. The rebound fell to Arteaga who finished off a half volley for his second goal of the night and a 2-0 Phoenix lead. The atmosphere was insane Rising supporters were feeling this team is back!! Unfortunately that feeling only lasted about 5-6 mins and you could just tell that San Diego was clawing their way back into the game, and 10 minutes after the Rising goal the Loyal would be rewarded when Nick Moon found the back of the net to pull San Diego within one goal. Things seemed to be heading in the wrong direction for Phoenix, a feeling that was all to familiar for the supporters. 7 minutes after pulling within one the Loyal had the game tied in the 80th minute after Rising's keeper was standing on his head making save after save from point blank range.. Loyal Forward Damus was able to poke at the ball and it made its way into the net for a 2-2 tie.
The game picked up intensity at this point and it was back and forth with Phoenix having the better of the play in the final few mins.
It sure looked like in the 84th minute referee Elton Garcia missed a handball by Loyal Midfielder Nick Moon inside the San Diego Penalty Area, Moon and Rising forward Erickson Gallardo were battling for a ball when they both fell and as Moon was getting up he appears to grab the ball and push it under his body with his right hand. Garcia may have not had a great angle but it almost certainly was a handball and should have been a Penalty Kick for Phoenix, but instead Loyal was awarded a free kick going out after Moon was fouled. The moral here is finish the game and score more goals then your opponent so if a call is missed it doesn't hurt you. The match went back and forth and had some heated moments with Rising Manager Juan Guera and Assistant Manager Danny Stone each being shown a yellow card. Full time was called and Rising comes away with a point, not the result they wanted but anytime you can get a point you take it.
Overall not a bad game, but it appears Phoenix may have some trouble holding onto a lead. That gives the coaching staff something to work on going forward. This week they welcome the return of the US Open Cup as US Soccer Mens National team Alum John Harkes brings his Greenville Triumph to town. It's also the long awaited return of Dollar Beer Night!! This should be a fun game to come out to the Stadium and watch.
Scoring:
PHX – Manuel Arteaga (Uzo) 35
PHX – Manuel Arteaga 63
SD – Nick Moon (Blake Bodily) 72
SD – Ronaldo Damus 80
Discipline:
PHX – Carlos Harvey (caution) 82
PHX – Manuel Arteaga (caution) 2
PHX – Emil Cuello (caution) 44
PHX – Daniel Krutzen (caution) 45+2
PHX – Carlos Harvey (caution) 82
SD – Elijah Martin (caution) 83
PHX – Alejandro Fuenmayor (caution) 90+1
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Rocco Rios Novo, Henry Uzochukwu, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Kevon Lambert, Daniel Krutzen, Carlos Harvey, Renzo Zambrano, Fede Varela (Erickson Gallardo 74), Emil Cuello, Gabi Torres (Eddie Munjoma 81), Manuel Arteaga (Jackson Conway 90).
Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Rakovsky, Carlos Anguiano, Babucarr Njie, Mo Traore.
San Diego Loyal SC – Koke Vegas, Grant Stoneman, Blake Bodily, Elijah Martin (Jackson Simba 90+4), Collin Martin, Kyle Adams, Nick Moon, Joe Corona (Camden Riley 68), Alejandro Guido (Tumi Moshobane 60), Elliot Collier (Evan Conway 68), Ronaldo Damus. Substitutes Not Used: Duran Ferree.
Attendance: 10,437
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