Rising continues its three-match week against the two-time reigning Players’ Shield winners
Phoenix Rising returns to 38th & Washington looking to continue its climb up the Western Conference against Louisville City FC on Wednesday, June 10, at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will air on AZFS, ESPN+, Rising Radio (English), and 90MasRising (Spanish).
Wednesday marks the second match of a three-match week for Rising, with Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah and his coaching staff managing lineups to ensure the best possible squad is available for league play.
“When you have a game on Wednesday, an important league game, you have to be smart with the
rotations that you make,” Kah said following last Saturday’s defeat against New Mexico United. “We have had a lot of minutes under our legs with some of our players, so we must take care of them.”
Rising has lost just one of its last six league matches (4-1-1), a stretch that has seen Kah’s side climb to third in the Western Conference. Undefeated at home in USL Championship play, Rising looks to continue the momentum it has built as it faces a Louisville side winless in its last five matches (0-4-1).
“We’re not going into this match taking it lightly,” Kah said. “Louisville is an ambitious club with a lot of pride. For us, we go with the mindset of being at home looking to get the three points.”
GAMEDAY INFORMATION –
WHAT: Phoenix Rising vs Louisville City FC
WHEN: Wednesday, June 10 (7:30 p.m. PT)
WHERE: Phoenix Rising Stadium
HOW TO WATCH: AZFS, ESPN+, Rising Radio (English), 90MasRising (Spanish)
WELCOMING THE EAST
Wednesday marks Rising’s fourth of six matchups against Eastern Conference opposition, but first of 2026 at home. Kah’s side went 2-1-0 in cross-conference road matches, with a 3-0 win over Miami FC on April 18 and 1-0 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on May 2. Most recently, the club fell 3-0 against the Player’s Shield-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies, who are still undefeated in 2026.
Louisville City is the first East foe to visit 38th & Washington this season, with Hartford Athletic (July 25) and Indy Eleven (August 29) also set to make the trip to the Desert Southwest. Notably, Rising continues to look for its first cross-conference home win under Kah, with the club finishing 0-1-3 against the East at home a season ago.
“It’s good to get (the road matches against the East) over, done with quickly,” Kah said. “If you can get it out in the beginning, like we did, not only does that help us from a physical and mental mindset as well… this country is big, and we chose this profession, so that’s part of it.”
On Wednesday, it will be Louisville dealing with the same challenges as Rising looks to take advantage on its home turf.
RESILIENT RISING
A week after suffering its first league loss since April 4, Rising once again put its resilience on full display in its last league match, a 2-0 victory over Sacramento Republic FC on May 30. With the win, Rising is now 4-0-1 immediately following defeat in all competitions.
“(The match in Tampa) was a terrible game for us,” Sacko said. “We were sloppy. That’s why we wanted to win (against Sacramento). I mean, I’m happy, I’m happy to see Diego (Gómez) back, because you have a lot of enjoyment… It was a good win.”
It will look to do the same against Louisville on Wednesday as it looks to bounce back from its 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup defeat to New Mexico United over the weekend.
HOSTING THE REIGNING SHIELD WINNERS
Louisville City enters the match with a 5-5-2 overall record and a 2-2-2 mark on the road this season. They are coming off a 1-1 draw against Birmingham Legion FC, earning a point after a difficult stretch of results.
Sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, the two-time reigning Player’s Shield winners is searching for its first win in five matches, posting a 0-4-1 record over that span. Offensively, the team is led by Jansen Wilson, who has scored four goals this season, while Chris Donovan has added three goals.
Wednesday marks the third-ever meeting between the two sides, with the prior two meetings ending in draws (0-0 @LOU, 7/20/22; 2-2 v. LOU, 6/17/2023).
