Sacko nets a brace as Rising maintains perfect home record in league play
Phoenix Rising returned to winning ways on Saturday night, with forward Ihsan Sacko netting a first-half brace to lead the club to a 2-0 victory over Sacramento Republic FC on May 30 at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky kept a clean sheet as Rising put 10 shots on target in a full-team effort that allowed the club to remain unbeaten at 38th & Washington in regular season play.
“I think it was a great response as we spoke about the whole week,” Rising Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “Obviously, we didn’t show who we were when we were down in Tampa, but I think the whole week the focus and concentration was exceptional. Today, I think was some of the best football we actually played with in the first half and second half. We created opportunities to go 3-4 up, but I think overall it was a great performance from the boys.”
Through eight home games in all competitions, Rising is outscoring opponents 15-5 and has yet to allow an opponent to net more than twice. Additionally, the win marked Rising’s first against Sacramento Republic since August 2023.
“The performance from the team as a whole was a good performance,” Sacko said. “We’re happy with the result.”
Rising next hits the road to face New Mexico United on June 6 at RGCU Field at Isotopes Park for its third match in 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup action. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (PT) and will air on AZFS, ESPN+ and Rising Radio (English).
ALLEZ, ALLEZ, ALLEZ
With his brace, Sacko increased his regular-season tally to eight and leapt back to the top of the goal scoring leader board in USL Championship play. After three matches without a goal, the Frenchman made up for lost time, taking a season-high six shots and putting three on target.
“The first (penalty), before I shot, I saw (Sacramento goalkeeper Danny Vitiello) look at me in the eyes, make eye contact with me, and make this (motion) like I’m home,” Sacko said. “The second one, yeah, I was just thinking about, like, two weeks, three weeks ago, I wanted to dance against Miami, but I forgot.”
Sacko’s offensive output played a crucial role in a performance in which Rising put a season-high 10 shots on goal.
RESILIENT RISING
A week after suffering its first league loss since April 4, Rising once again put its resilience on full display against Sacramento Republic FC. With the win, the club is now 4-0-1 immediately following defeat in all competitions.
“Like I said, I think last week was a terrible game for us,” Sacko said. “We were sloppy. That’s why we wanted to win. 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.”
Another big reason for the result? Rakovsky’s shutout. The shot-stopper stepped up time and time again, keeping his fifth clean sheet of the season in all competitions. Notably, his four clean sheets in regular season play is the second most in the USL Championship.
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
PHX – Ihsan Sacko (Penalty), 39th minute: From the penalty spot, Ihsan Sacko used his right foot to slot the ball into the bottom-right corner of the net.
PHX – Ihsan Sacko (Penalty), 40+4th minute: From the penalty spot, Ihsan Sacko used his right foot to beat the goalkeeper at the near post.
NOTES
-Saturday marked the second and final meeting between Rising and Sacramento Republic of 2026.
-Each team won its home game in the series.
-The win was Rising’s first against Sacramento Republic since August 2023.
-Rising remain undefeated at home in regular season play (2-0-3).
-The club is outscoring opponents at home 15-5 in its eight home matches in all competitions
-Rising improved to 4-0-1 following defeats in 2026.
-With his brace, Ihsan Sacko leads the league with eight goals in regular season play.
-He leads Rising in goal contributions with 10 (8G, 2A).
-Sacko’s six shots are the most for a Phoenix Rising player this season.
-Patrick Rakovsky kept his fifth clean sheet in all competitions in the win.
-The German’s fourth clean sheet in regular season play is the second most in the USL.
-Rising’s 23 shots and 10 shots on goals both mark season highs.
Phoenix Rising (4-3-4, 16 pts) vs Sacramento Republic FC (3-3-4, 13 pts)
May 30, 2026 – Phoenix Rising Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 2 0 2
Sacramento Republic FC 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
PHX: Sacko (Penalty), 39
PHX: Sacko (Penalty), 45+4
Misconduct Summary:
PHX: Sacko (caution), 39
PHX: Biasi (caution), 47
PHX: Scearce (caution), 76
PHX: Vukovic (caution), 86
PHX: D. Rivera (caution), 90+1
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Biasi, D Scearce, D Boye, D Smith, M Moursou, M G. Rivera (Vukovic, 72), M Avayevu (flores, 72), M Gómez (Dennis, 62). M Sacko (Ping, 90), F Studenhofft (D. Rivera, 62)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Odunze, D Gaydon, D Cross
TOTAL SHOTS: 23 (Sacko, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Sacko, 3); FOULS: 16 (Studenhofft, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
SAC: GK Vitiello, D Benítez, D Desmond (Timmer, 45), D Kaye (Casas, 67), D Gurr, M Crisostomo (Wanner, 78), M Essel (Ukaegbu, 57), M Malango, M Rodríguez (Rodriguez, 45), M Wolff, F Ajago
Substitutes Not Used: GK Moya, D Ukaegbu, D Spaulding, F Edwards
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Ajago, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Benítez, 1); FOULS: 13 (Benítez, 4); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 7
Referee: JC Griggs
Assistant Referees: Bruno Rizo, Emmanuel Padilla
Fourth Official: Mark Novosel
Attendance: 5,294
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
