Phoenix Rising FC (12-8-9) moved into fourth place in the Western Conference with a 5-0 win vs. Detroit City tonight at 38th St/Washington.
Danny Trejo scored twice in the win, moving into first place in the Golden Boot race. Panos Armenakas added the third goal for Rising, along with an assist on Trejo’s second goal. Manuel Arteaga scored Phoenix’s fourth goal. He assisted on Trejo’s first of the match. Dariusz Formella smashed home the final goal, assisted by Fede Varela. Eddie Munjoma also picked up an assist in the lopsided win.
Phoenix is back in action at 38th St/Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 20 for $1 Beer Night (7:30 p.m.). Tickets for that match are available here or by calling 623-594-9606.
Tonight, Armenakas nearly found the back of the net in the seventh minute when he tried to blast a shot over the head of Detroit goalkeeper Ryan Shellow from just outside the area. The attempt looked to be looping over the head of the goalkeeper, but Shellow did well to dive backwards and tip the ball up and off the crossbar. It was quickly ushered away from danger by a Detroit defender and the match stayed 0-0.
Both Rising and Detroit were forced to make early substitutions as City’s Brett Levis was replaced by Richard Ballard in the 14th minute while Gabi Torres came off for Erickson Gallardo just before halftime.
In stoppage time of the first half, Rising took a 1-0 lead when Arteaga forced a turnover inside the area and quickly passed the ball latterly to Trejo. The forward reclaimed his place atop the league scoring charts with his 16th of the season, beating Shellow low to his right side. The shot also avoided a backtracking Detroit defender who hugged the post, but Trejo was able to split the duo to give the home side the lead.
Munjoma set up Phoenix’s second goal, speeding by his defender on the left flank in the 56th minute and centering a pass for Armenakas. Arriving late, Armenakas cracked a shot with his first touch, sending a shot in low past the goalkeeper to make it a two-goal lead.
Rising made it 3-0 in the 65th minute when Gallardo won the ball back on the right flank and got it to Armenakas with his first touch. Armenakas turned and found Trejo in-behind the Detroit defense. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Trejo chipped a shot over the head of Shellow. The shot took several bounces before settling into the back of the net. The goal gave Trejo his 17th of the season, putting him in first place in the race for the Golden Boot with five matches remaining in the regular season.
Cuello set up Arteaga for the fourth goal of the match in the 81st minute and Dariusz Formella smashed home the final goal, assisted by Fede Varela in the 90th minute.
Scoring:
PHX – Danny Trejo (Manuel Arteaga) 45+1
PHX – Panos Armenakas (Eddie Munjoma) 56
PHX – Danny Trejo (Panos Armenakas) 65
PHX – Manuel Arteaga (Emil Cuello) 81
PHX – Dariusz Formella (Fede Varela) 90
Discipline:
PHX – Renzo Zambrano (caution) 86
DET – Matthew Lewis (caution) 80
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Rocco Rios Novo, Mo Traore, Alejandro Fuenmayor, John Stenberg, Eddie Munjoma (Fede Varela 79), Gabi Torres (Erickson Gallardo 39), Renzo Zambrano, Jose Andres Hernandez (Carlos Harvey 70), Panos Armenakas (Dariusz Formella 70), Danny Trejo (Emil Cuello 80), Manuel Arteaga.
Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Rakovsky, Daniel Krutzen.
Detroit City – Ryan Shellow, Rhys Williams, Stephen Carroll, Abdoulaye Diop, Ben Morris, Connor Rutz (Oniel Fisher 87), Michael Bryant (Jalen Robinson 87), Matt Lewis, Brett Levis (Richard Ballard 14), Maxi Rodriguez, Devon Amoo-Mensah.
Substitutes Not Used: Nathan Steinwascher, Darío Suárez, Dominic Gasso.
