Rising heads to Albuquerque after a 3-3 draw to Lexington
Phoenix Rising snapped Lexington SC’s winning streak Saturday night, earning a dramatic 3-3 draw to close out the regular season and secure a playoff berth. Rising struck early, scoring twice in the first half before adding a third shortly after the break. Lexington responded late, finding the net twice after the 65th minute to level the score and force a draw. With the regular season complete, Rising now turns its attention to the playoffs, heading to Albuquerque next weekend to face its rivals in a postseason showdown.
“It’s a new season now – it’s four new games,” Kah said. “You take one game at a time and we have the game against our rivals, we’re excited.”
RISING AT HOME
Phoenix Rising closed out its home campaign with a 7-3-5 record, reinforcing its reputation as a difficult opponent on its home turf. Rising earned a result in 12 of its 15 home matches, consistently finding ways to compete in front of its home supporters. The team scored 31 goals at home, with 11 different players finding the back of the net. Rising also carried its offensive momentum into the final stretch of the season, scoring three goals in each of its last three matches.
“It was a game against a good Lexington side, but like I said last week, we’ve been having the phrase “by any means necessary” going around the team and that’s how we did it today,” Odunze said. “We got it done.”
RECORDS ON RECORDS ON RECORDS
Saturday night was one to remember for Phoenix Rising, as several players closed out the 2026 regular season with record-setting performances. Ihsan Sacko finished the regular season with 17 goals and five assists, securing the USL Championship Golden Boot. He also recorded 63 shots and created 55 chances for Rising. JP Scearce cemented his place in the record books, becoming the only field player in the league to play every minute of every regular-season match, totaling 2,700 minutes. The only other players to accomplish the feat were goalkeepers.
“I am very proud to have played every game, every minute,” Scearce said. “Thankfully, I’ve stayed healthy, even though there are matches where you aren’t at 100%, I always want to be there for the team, I want to be available for every game, and thank God, I’ve done it.”
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
PHX- IHSAN SACKO, 10; Left footed cross from the right side of the field from Collin Smith to the top of the box and Ihsan Sacko put it away from inside the box low left of the goal.
PHX- GUNNAR STUDENHOFFT, 29; Ball in from the right side of the field from Sacko into Studenhofft who jukes the Lexington goalkeeper and scores from inside the box, lower left.
LEX- PHILLIP GOODRUM, 46; Left footed cross to the back post and the head of Zengue who headed it back near post to an open Phillip Goodrum inside the six-yard-box.
PHX- OWN GOAL, 53; Off of a direct kick from Schmitt which was headed by Phillip Goodrum into his own netting.
LEX- BRAUDILIO RODRIGUES, 65; Right footed shot from well outside the 18-yard-box by Rodrigues into the top left of the net, assisted by Burks.
LEX- AARON MOLLOY, 77; Off of a direct kick outside of the 18-yard-box to the top right of the net.
NOTES
- Rising is searching for its first win against Lexington in all comps. (0-4-0).
- Saturday’s match against Lexington is Rising’s 15th and final home game of the 2026 season.
- At home, Rising has earned a result in 10 of its home matches, scoring 28 goals across 11 different scorers.
- Ihsan Sacko scored his 17th goal for Rising, making him the Golden Boot leader.
- Collin Smith knocked his first goal contribution of the season with the assist to Sacko.
- JP Scearce became an Ironman, playing all minutes in all matches this season.
- Gunnar Studenhofft scored his 6th goal of the 2026 season.
- Ihsan Sacko assisted Studenhofft, making that his fifth of the season.
- Ihsan Sacko was named with the Golden Boot.
Phoenix Rising (10-10-9, 39 pts) vs. LEX (14-10-5, 47 pts)
Goals by Half: 1st – 3; 2nd – 2; FT – 6
Phoenix Rising: 1st – 2; 2nd – 1; FT – 3
Lexington: 1st – 1; 2nd – 2; FT – 3
Scoring Summary:
PHX: SACKO (SMITH), 10
PHX: STUDENHOFFT (SACKO), 29
LEX: GOODRUM (ZENGUE), 46
PHX: OWN GOAL (GOODRUM), 53
LEX: RODRIGUES (BURKS), 65
LEX: MOLLOY, 77
Misconduct Summary:
PHX: MOURSOU, (caution); 70
PHX: BIASI, (CAUTION), 74
PHX: ESSENGUE, (caution); 75
PHX: BOYE, (caution); 84
LEX: RODRIGUES, (caution); 88
LEX: OKELLO, (caution); 89
Lineups:
PHX: GK Odunze, D Biasi (Torres, 79), D Essengue, D Boye, D Moursou, M Scearce, M Gomez, M Schmitt (Flores, 76), M Smith (Rivera, 80), F Studenhofft (Badji, 62), F Sacko
Substitutes Not Used: GK Rakovsky, D Pelayo, D Cross, D Gaydon, F Ambursley
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 22; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
LEX: GK Semmie, D Greene, D Brown (Muir, 83), D Burks, D Zengue, M Ferri, M Molloy, M De Araujo Firmino (Rodrigues, 45), F Epps (Seagrist, 78), Goodrum, F Fry (Okello, 60)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Thompson, F Tschantret, M Yosef
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 0
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistant Referees: Carson Frizell-Thomas, Jay Norris
Fourth Official: Mark Novosel
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
