Phoenix Rising Returns To Orange County For Western Conference Final Rematch

What You Need To Know

• Phoenix Rising hasn’t lost in California since July 14, 2018.
• Phoenix Rising has allowed just one goal in its last five matches (four clean sheets).
• Phoenix Rising currently leads the Western Conference in shots (149) and shots on target per match (6).

THIS WEEK
Saturday, May 4 — at Orange County SC, 7:00 p.m.
TV: Your PHX CW  
Stream: ESPN + (U.S. viewers); YouTube (International viewers) 
Radio: ArizonaSports.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Phoenix Rising FC returns to Orange County for the first time since the club won the USL Western Conference title at Championship Soccer Stadium in OC Great Park. It’s also the first time both clubs will meet in 2019. Rising FC fans can watch the match at the club’s official watch party at Thirsty Lion in San Tan Village. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

This match will be the last of a quick two-match road trip in California. Rising FC traveled to Sacramento last week and battled to a 0-0 draw against Sacramento Republic. The match marked the fourth clean sheet in five starts for Goalkeeper Zac Lubin. Earlier this week, Lubin was nominated for USL Player of the Month for the month of April thanks to the four clean sheets, 13 saves and 92.9 save percentage.

Orange County comes off a 2-2 draw against Fresno FC last Friday night. In that match, Orange County held a 2-0 lead for much of the match but gave up two goals late to settle for the road point.

A Little Bit About Orange County SC

• Forward Darwin Jones leads the club in goals scored with four
• Forward Jerry van Ewijk (14) and midfielder Aodhan Quinn (13) are the top two players on the club in chances created. Jones has created seven chances of his own.
• Orange County has managed to score in six of their first eight matches in 2019.
• Orange County has scored two or more goals in all six of the matches they have scored.
• The two times Orange County has been shut out were both on the road. 
• Orange County’s 19% conversation rate is tied for 5th in the league but its 18 goals conceded is tied for eighth-most in the league.
• Orange County is third in the league in fouls conceded (121) and tied for fifth in yellow cards (17).

A Little Bit About Phoenix Rising

• Per Opta, Phoenix Rising’s team rating of 6.9 remains the third-best in all of USL Championship.
• Phoenix Rising is third in USL Championship in shots on target per match (6.1).
• Midfielder Solomon Asante’s four assists are just one off the league leader.
• Per Opta, Solomon Asante has the second-best average player rating in all of USL Championship (7.8).
• Asante also leads all of USL Championship in key passes per match (3.4) and shots on target per match (1.9).
• Solomon Asante has the longest active consecutive starts streak (13) for the club.
• Phoenix Rising has allowed just one goal in its last five matches (four clean sheets).

PHX and OC

• This will be the nineteenth all-time meeting between the two clubs (playoffs included) with PHX’s all-time record being 8-5-5.
• OC is PHX’s most-common opponent in club history (18 matches). The next two most common opponents in club history are LA Galaxy II (15) and Sacramento Republic (13).
• Including the playoffs, PHX has won or drawn nine of the last ten meetings between the two clubs, going 4-1-5 in that stretch.
• PHX is unbeaten in its last six matches at OC (including the playoffs), going 2-0-4 in that stretch. The last time OC beat PHX at home was on April 18, 2015, a 3-0 win.
• In 2018, PHX had the slight edge in the series, going 2-1-1 in four matches.
• Former PRFC forward Chris Cortez holds the club record for career goals against OC (5). The only active player on the roster who has previously scored against OC is Solomon Asante (4).

Record-breaking goal pace    
Rising's 14 goals through the first eight matches of the season is even with the record-setting goal pace the club set last year. The club had scored 14 goals in its first eight matches in 2018.

Iron Man Watch
Solomon Asante remains the only player to have started in every match in 2019 (he has also started 13 consecutive matches dating back to last season). Two other players, Junior Flemmings and Jason Johnson, have also appeared in every match of 2019. Asante’s 712 minutes played is the team high, followed by Amadou Dia’s 630 minutes played and A.J. Cochran’s 619 minutes played.

Welcome to May
PHX enters May 2019 with a less-than-stellar May record. The club has played a total of 25 matches in the fifth month of the year and is 9-13-3 in those matches. Much of the club’s May woes came from its early seasons. The team won just three May matches out of 15 in its first three seasons with a record of 3-9-3 in that stretch. Since then, the club has performed better, going 6-4-0 in May over the past two seasons.

Avoiding L’s
PHX may be off its 2018 record-setting point pace, but the club has at least matched its best-ever start in terms of losses (well, lack thereof). The club has lost just once in its first eight matches this season, the same number of losses the club had in its first eight matches of 2018.

History in Orange County
This will be PHX’s first match in OC since the club clinched the USL Western Conference Championship on November 3, 2018. The club won 2-1 with goals from Chris Cortez and Didier Drogba. Cortez’s goal, which occurred in the second minute, broke a league record for quickest goal scored in a playoff match.
 

What You Need To Know

• Phoenix Rising hasn’t lost in California since July 14, 2018.
• Phoenix Rising has allowed just one goal in its last five matches (four clean sheets).
• Phoenix Rising currently leads the Western Conference in shots (149) and shots on target per match (6).

THIS WEEK
Saturday, May 4 — at Orange County SC, 7:00 p.m.
TV: Your PHX CW  
Stream: ESPN + (U.S. viewers); YouTube (International viewers) 
Radio: ArizonaSports.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Phoenix Rising FC returns to Orange County for the first time since the club won the USL Western Conference title at Championship Soccer Stadium in OC Great Park. It’s also the first time both clubs will meet in 2019. Rising FC fans can watch the match at the club’s official watch party at Thirsty Lion in San Tan Village. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

This match will be the last of a quick two-match road trip in California. Rising FC traveled to Sacramento last week and battled to a 0-0 draw against Sacramento Republic. The match marked the fourth clean sheet in five starts for Goalkeeper Zac Lubin. Earlier this week, Lubin was nominated for USL Player of the Month for the month of April thanks to the four clean sheets, 13 saves and 92.9 save percentage.

Orange County comes off a 2-2 draw against Fresno FC last Friday night. In that match, Orange County held a 2-0 lead for much of the match but gave up two goals late to settle for the road point.

A Little Bit About Orange County SC

• Forward Darwin Jones leads the club in goals scored with four
• Forward Jerry van Ewijk (14) and midfielder Aodhan Quinn (13) are the top two players on the club in chances created. Jones has created seven chances of his own.
• Orange County has managed to score in six of their first eight matches in 2019.
• Orange County has scored two or more goals in all six of the matches they have scored.
• The two times Orange County has been shut out were both on the road. 
• Orange County’s 19% conversation rate is tied for 5th in the league but its 18 goals conceded is tied for eighth-most in the league.
• Orange County is third in the league in fouls conceded (121) and tied for fifth in yellow cards (17).

A Little Bit About Phoenix Rising

• Per Opta, Phoenix Rising’s team rating of 6.9 remains the third-best in all of USL Championship.
• Phoenix Rising is third in USL Championship in shots on target per match (6.1).
• Midfielder Solomon Asante’s four assists are just one off the league leader.
• Per Opta, Solomon Asante has the second-best average player rating in all of USL Championship (7.8).
• Asante also leads all of USL Championship in key passes per match (3.4) and shots on target per match (1.9).
• Solomon Asante has the longest active consecutive starts streak (13) for the club.
• Phoenix Rising has allowed just one goal in its last five matches (four clean sheets).

PHX and OC

• This will be the nineteenth all-time meeting between the two clubs (playoffs included) with PHX’s all-time record being 8-5-5.
• OC is PHX’s most-common opponent in club history (18 matches). The next two most common opponents in club history are LA Galaxy II (15) and Sacramento Republic (13).
• Including the playoffs, PHX has won or drawn nine of the last ten meetings between the two clubs, going 4-1-5 in that stretch.
• PHX is unbeaten in its last six matches at OC (including the playoffs), going 2-0-4 in that stretch. The last time OC beat PHX at home was on April 18, 2015, a 3-0 win.
• In 2018, PHX had the slight edge in the series, going 2-1-1 in four matches.
• Former PRFC forward Chris Cortez holds the club record for career goals against OC (5). The only active player on the roster who has previously scored against OC is Solomon Asante (4).

Record-breaking goal pace    
Rising’s 14 goals through the first eight matches of the season is even with the record-setting goal pace the club set last year. The club had scored 14 goals in its first eight matches in 2018.

Iron Man Watch
Solomon Asante remains the only player to have started in every match in 2019 (he has also started 13 consecutive matches dating back to last season). Two other players, Junior Flemmings and Jason Johnson, have also appeared in every match of 2019. Asante’s 712 minutes played is the team high, followed by Amadou Dia’s 630 minutes played and A.J. Cochran’s 619 minutes played.

Welcome to May
PHX enters May 2019 with a less-than-stellar May record. The club has played a total of 25 matches in the fifth month of the year and is 9-13-3 in those matches. Much of the club’s May woes came from its early seasons. The team won just three May matches out of 15 in its first three seasons with a record of 3-9-3 in that stretch. Since then, the club has performed better, going 6-4-0 in May over the past two seasons.

Avoiding L’s
PHX may be off its 2018 record-setting point pace, but the club has at least matched its best-ever start in terms of losses (well, lack thereof). The club has lost just once in its first eight matches this season, the same number of losses the club had in its first eight matches of 2018.

History in Orange County
This will be PHX’s first match in OC since the club clinched the USL Western Conference Championship on November 3, 2018. The club won 2-1 with goals from Chris Cortez and Didier Drogba. Cortez’s goal, which occurred in the second minute, broke a league record for quickest goal scored in a playoff match.