Cabral and Scearce return to the field, while Flores made his club debut
Phoenix Rising failed to find the back of the net for just the third time this season as it suffered a 2-0 defeat to Lexington SC on August 9 at Lexington SC Stadium. Forward Rémi Cabral and midfielder JP Scearce returned to action, while defender Daniel Flores made his Rising debut in the road result.
FAMILIAR FACES RETURN
After a lower-leg injury suffered on May 28 forced him to miss Rising’s last 10 matches in all competitions, Cabral returned to the field and played the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s match in Lexington.
Additionally, Scearce returned to the midfield for the first time in a month after he was sidelined by an injury at the beginning of July. An important part of Kah’s midfield, Scearce started and went 90 minutes in nine consecutive matches before picking up a knock. Now he’s back in the squad and available for selection as Rising begins its stretch run.
WELCOME DANNY
One day after arriving on loan, defender Daniel Flores made his Rising debut. The outside back replaced defender Emil Cuello at halftime and played the final 45 minutes.
A Tucson native, Flores arrived in Phoenix after spending the last three years in Mexico where he played for Club Deportivo Chivas Guadalajara’s youth teams as well as its reserve team C.D. Tapatio. Now, Rising needs him to provide crucial depth along the back line.
HOMECOMING ON THE HORIZON
Saturday marked the penultimate match of Rising’s road-heavy summer slate. The club played eight of its last 10 matches away from home, dating back to June 7. Now, it’s schedule flips as it returns home to play six of its next eight.
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
LEX – Forster Ajago, 29th minute: An attempted header by Lexington rattled off the top post and into the path of midfielder Forester Ajago, who used his right foot to send the ball into the back of the net.
LEX – Michael Adedokun (CJ Olney), 79th minute: Midfielder Michael Adedokun ran onto a direct long ball played over the top by CJ Olney, bringing it down in stride and dribbling from left to right across the penalty box before using his right foot to pick out the bottom-left corner of the net.
NOTES
-Saturday’s match in Lexington marked the beginning of Rising’s final multi-match road trip of the regular season.
-Additionally, it was the second and final matchup between Rising and the first-year USL Championship squad.
-Defender Daniel Flores, who signed with Rising on Friday, made his club debut in the 45th minute.
-Forward Rémi Cabral made his return after missing the club’s last 10 matches dating back to May 28.
-Midfielder JP Scearce also played his first minutes since he took the filed against Lexington SC on July 4 in Phoenix.
-Rising will play six of its next eight matches at home.
NEXT GAME
Rising next travels to St. Petersburg, Florida, for a nationally televised matchup against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, August 16 at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at Al Lang Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2 with radio coverage provided by Rising Radio (team socials).
Phoenix Rising (6-7-6, 24pts) at Lexington SC (5-7-7, 22pts)
August 9, 2025 – Lexington SC Stadium (Lexington, Ky.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 0 0 0
Lexington SC 1 1 2
Scoring Summary:
LEX: Ajago, 29
LEX: Adedokun (Olney), 79
Misconduct Summary:
PHX: Essengue (caution), 58
PHX: Flores (caution), 90+4
Lineups:
PHX: GK Henry, D Flood, D Essengue, D Boye ©, D Cuello (Flores, 45), M Okello (Scearce, 66), M Rizzo (Cabral, 80), M Emmers (Avayevu, 66), F Sacko (Johnson, 56), F Formella, F Dennis
Substitutes Not Used: GK Rakovsky, M De la Cruz, M Capetillo, F Rivera
TOTAL SHOTS: 4 (Multiple players, 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0 (none); FOULS: 13 (Okello, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
LEX: GK Thompson, D Hafferty, D Burks, D Gibert, M Firmino, M Sargeant, M Ferri (Zengue, 84), M Djeffal (Williams, 84), M Adedokun (Greene, 89), M Ajago, F Epps (Olney, 71)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ketterer, F Midence, F Stewart-Baynes
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Multiple players, 3) SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Multiple players, 1); FOULS: 7 (Multiple players, 2) OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 0
Referee: Alyssa Pennington
Assistant Referees: Zach McWhorter, Mateusz Dulski
Fourth Official: Rogelio Alvarez
Attendance: 4,233
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
