Rising falls short in seven-goal second half
Phoenix Rising scored three goals in the second half of its match against Oakland Roots SC on June 20, but it wasn’t enough to outpace the visitors in a 4-3 defeat at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Forward Ihsan Sacko finished with two goal contributions (1G, 1A), while forward Kelvin Arase scored his first Rising goal as Rising closed the first half of its season.
“Sometimes we just start sloppy,” Arase said. “Then once we concede a goal, we start truly playing football, but it should be the other way around. We’re trying to start better every game.”
HALFWAY THERE
Saturday marked the halfway point of Rising’s 2026 league campaign, with the club holding a 4-5-5 record and sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference and four points out of second.
Rising has lost just two of its first 7 home matches and played four of its six cross-conference matches (2-2-0). It has three multi-game road trips remaining (July 4-11, August 1-8, September 26-October 3) and two more multi-game home stands (July 18-25, September 12-19).
The club will take its Mental Health break next week, returning to action on July 4 on the road against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
“We have five days to recover and take a moment to reset and come back,” Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said.
SACKO LIGHTS IT UP
Sacko scored his ninth goal of the regular season against Oakland. Notably, the goal marked his fifth conversion from the penalty spot, which leads the league.
So far this season, Sacko has netted three braces and has scored at least a goal in three other matches. Additionally, the Frenchman has contributed to multiple goals in four regular-season matches and is the second-highest scorer in the USL Championship.
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
OAK– Peter Wilson (Penalty), 49th minute: With his right foot, forward Peter Wilson slotted the ball in at the far post.
OAK– Danny Trejo (Peter Wilson), 49th minute: Down the right side, Peter Wilson sent a low cross into the path of Danny Trejo, who used his right foot to slot the ball home.
PHX– Ihsan Sacko (Penalty), 62nd minute: Using his right foot, Ihsan Sacko slotted the ball into the bottom right side of the net.
PHX– Diego Gómez (Ihsan Sacko), 72nd minute: After making a run down the right side, Sacko sent a cross into the box that found the right foot of midfielder Diego Gómez, who slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner.
OAK– Florian Valot (Wolfgang Prentice), 74th minute: Wolfgang Prentice crossed the ball to the center of the box, which Florian Valot headed home.
OAK– Peter Wilson (Wolfgang Prentice), 78th minute: Off a throw-in, Trejo lays the ball into the path of Wolfgang Prentice, who sent a low cross to the foot of Peter Wilson, who put the ball in at the far post.
PHX– Kelvin Arase (Aleksandar Vukovic), 90th minute: On a corner kick, the ball found the head of defender Aleksandar Vukovic, who redirected the ball to forward Kelvin Arase, who headed the ball into the net.
NOTES
-Saturday marked the second of three matches between Rising and Oakland Roots SC.
-Both teams played to a 2-2 draw in the first meeting on March 21.
-Ihsan Sacko’s goal in the 62nd minute was his 9th of the season.
-Five of Sacko’s nine goals have come from the penalty spot.
-Sacko is the second-leading scorer in the USL Championship through the season’s first 15 match days.
-With his assist, Sacko has contributed to multiple goals in a match four times in the regular season.
-Diego Gómez netted his second goal of the season in the second half.
-He became the sixth Rising player to score multiple goals this season.
-10 of Rising’s 18 goals scored at home have come after the 61st minute.
-Kelvin Arase scored his first goal of 2026 in the match.
-The goal marked his first with Rising and third goal contribution (1G, 2A).
-Aleksandar Vukovic’s assist was his first for Rising.
-He now has three goal contributions (2G, 1A).
Phoenix Rising (4-5-5, 17 pts) vs Oakland Roots SC (5-3-6, 21 pts)
June 20, 2026 – Phoenix Rising Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 0 3 3
Oakland Roots SC 0 4 4
Scoring Summary:
OAK: Wilson (Penalty), 49
OAK: Trejo (Wilson), 56
PHX: Sacko (Penalty), 62
PHX: Gómez (Sacko), 72
OAK: Valot (Prentice), 74
OAK: Wilson (Prentice), 78
PHX: Arase (Vukovic), 90
Misconduct Summary:
OAK: Gibson (caution), 43
PHX: Pelayo (caution), 48
OAK: Edwards (caution), 53
OAK: de Vicente (caution), 55
OAK: McIntosh (caution), 59
PHX: Gómez (caution), 86
OAK: Trejo (ejection), 90+10
PHX: Biasi (ejection), 90+10
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Biasi, D Pelayo (Studenhofft, 64), D Boye, D Smith (Flores, 45), M Moursou, M D. Rivera (Badji, 77), M G. Rivera (Arase, 77), M Gómez (Vukovic, 88), M Scearce, F Sacko
Substitutes Not Used: GK Odunze, D Ramirez, M Ping, F Kowall
TOTAL SHOTS: 18 (Multiple players, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Sacko, 4); FOULS: 9 (Multiple players, 1); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
OAK: GK McIntosh, D de Vicente, D Hackshaw, S Edwards, D Gibson (Tingey, 69), M Valot (Bravo, 83), M McCabe, M Byaruhanga, M Jacquesson (Prentice, 69), F Wilson (Roberson, 89), F Trejo
Substitutes Not Used: GK Spiegel, M Bettache, F Lepley
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Wilson, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Wilson, 2); FOULS: 17 (Multiple players, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 6
Referee: Ricard Fierro
Assistant Referees: Clarence Clark, Brendan Lucas
Fourth Official: Jorge Medina
Attendance: 3,740
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
