Patrick Rakovsky saves two penalty kicks as Rising advances to the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
TULSA, Okla. – Phoenix Rising advanced to the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, drawing FC Tulsa 1-1 in regulation before emerging victorious following a penalty kick shootout at Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium on April 16. Forward Jearl Margaritha scored his team’s lone goal, while goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky finished with four saves, including two penalty saves, to ensure Rising advanced to the Round of 32 for a second consecutive season.
“What an unbelievable performance from the whole group,” Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “It shows the character and resilience this group possess. Things didn’t go the way we wanted it, but these are the victories that will push the team forward.”
Rising will find out its next opponent in the U.S. Open Cup, as well as a potential Round of 16 foe, tomorrow morning. The draw is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. (PT) on March 17 and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network.
ANSWERING THE CALL
After missing out on the last three matches, Rakovsky returned to the starting lineup Wednesday evening and made an immediate impact. The German made four saves, but none were bigger than his penalty save in the 120+1 minute in which he used his outstretched right paw to deflect the ball out of danger.
“I saved the PK, which gave us the momentum, and then we were ice-cold in front of the box and scored all the penalties,” Rakovsky said. “It was awesome.”
Had Tulsa converted the spot kick, the game would have likely ended minutes later. Instead, Rakovsky allowed a Rising team that had played with 10 men for over 45 minutes to push the match to penalties. There, the keeper stood tall once more to deny Kalil ElMedkhar’s effort, allowing Rising to take the front-foot in the shootout. Four perfecty-placed penalties later and it was game, set, match.
“With this game, we should have great momentum,” Rakovsky said. “To go into the next game, play in front of our home fans and get that first win.”
LEADING ATTACKERS
Rising has racked up 12 goals in all competitions so far this season, with eight separate players finding the back of the net. Notably, three Rising players are already up to four goal contributions after Rémi Cabral (3G, 1A) notched his first assist of the season.
Cabral joins forward Ihsan Sacko (1G, 3A) and midfielder Hope Avayevu (2G, 2A) for the team lead in goal contributions. Additionally, forward Jearl Margaritha has a goal contribution in three straight matches, scoring against San Antonio FC (4/6) and FC Tulsa (4/16), and assisting against Detroit City FC (4/12).
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
PHX – Jearl Margaritha (Rémi Cabral), 51st minute: Ihsan Sacko’s back-heel pass to Hope Avayevu in the left half-space sprung Rising’s attack. His low cross into the box was ushered along by Rémi Cabral to Jearl Margaritha at the back post, who used his right foot to rifle the ball into the top of the net.
TUL – Stefan Lukic, 86th minute: A cross sent into the box from the left ended at the feet of Stefan Lukic at the back post, who knocked the ball into the back of the net with his left foot.
PENALTY KICKS
TUL: Kalil ElMedkhar- Saved
PHX: Emil Cuello- Scored
TUL: Faysal Bettache- Missed
PHX: JP Scearce- Scored
TUL: Arthur Rogers- Scored
PHX: Casey Walls- Scored
TUL: Giordano Colli- Scored
PHX: Carlos Sainté- Scored
NOTES
-Today marked the start of Rising’s 11th U.S. Open Cup campaign.
-With the win, Rising advance to the Round of 32 for a second consecutive season.
-Notably, it matches the furthest the club has ever advanced in the competition.
-Forward Jearl Margaritha has now notched a goal contribution in three consecutive matches (2G, 1A).
-Additionally, the assist marked forward Rémi Cabral’s first of the 2025 season.
-The Frenchman (3G, 1A) now matches forward Ihsan Sacko (1G, 3A) and midfielder Hope Avayevu (2G, 2A) for the most goal contributions so far this season.
-With four saves, Patrick Rakovsky has now made 12 saves in all competitions this season.
-One goal matches the fewest goals Rising has conceded in a match this season (1-0 vs. TUL; 3/8).
-Rising has now picked up a result in three of its four road matches in all competitions.
NEXT GAME
Rising resumes regular season play against Sacramento Republic FC. The match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, April 19, at Phoenix Rising Stadium with broadcast coverage available on 3TV, AZFS and ESPN+. Radio coverage will be on KAZG 1440 AM (English) and La Onda 1190 AM (Spanish).
Please CLICK HERE to find a highlights from tonight’s match.
Phoenix Rising at FC Tulsa
April 16, 2025 – Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium (Tulsa, Okla.)
Goals by Half 1 2 ET FT (PK)
Phoenix Rising 0 1 0 1 4
FC Tulsa 0 1 0 1 2
Scoring Summary:
PHX: Margaritha (Cabral), 51
TUL: Lukic, 86
Misconduct Summary:
TUL: Cerato (caution), 19
PHX: Cabral (caution), 69
PHX: Cabral (ejected), 75
PHX: Rivera (caution), 120+3
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Cuello, D Mar Boye ©, D Montgomery, D Smith, M Scearce, M Okello (Ping, 105), M Avayevu (Sainté, 79), F Margaritha (Johnson, 103), F Cabral, F Sacko (Walls, 86)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Henry, F Rivera, F Kowall
TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Margaritha, 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Margaritha, 4); FOULS: 11 (Cabral, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 4
TUL: GK Peñaranda, D Batista, D Cissoko © (Laszo, 97), D St Clair (Lukic, 63), M Damm (Rogers, 105), M Colli, M Cerato (Bettache, 103), M Pierre, F Dalou (ElMedkhar, 63), F Calheira, F Stojanovic (Toure, 80)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Dowd
TOTAL SHOTS: 23 (Calheira, 6) SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Calheira, 4); FOULS: 14 (Pierre, 4) OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 16; SAVES: 7
Referee: Rodrigo Albuquerque
Assistant Referees: Jay Norris, AJ Franklin
Fourth Official: Brandon Queri
Attendance: 704
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
