Charlie Dennis, Collin Smith net goals as Rising keeps fourth clean sheet of season
With playoff positioning still in the balance, Phoenix Rising picked up a crucial three points against North Carolina FC with a 2-0 victory on October 10 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Midfielder Charlie Dennis and defender Collin Smith found the back of the net, while goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky kept his fourth clean sheet of the regular season as Rising won on the road for a fifth time in 2025.
“I think (this result) has been building up,” Rising head coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “Obviously, we have had slow starts, but we have come back. To respond like this shows the character of this group, the grit it has and its never say die mentality.”
With Friday’s result, Rising jumped into 6th place in the West with two matches to play. Notably, the club sits a point outside of fourth place and faces that same San Antonio FC team in a week’s time at Phoenix Rising Stadium.
“We just have to keep stacking the days,” Kah said. “Making sure our preparation is right, making sure the accountability we have upheld all season is there and making sure (the players) give their max effort every day.”
DEFENDING FROM BACK TO FRONT
Rising left WakeMed Soccer Park without conceding a single goal, marking the fourth time Rakovsky has netted a clean sheet in 2025. Notably, Rising has yet to concede a goal to North Carolina in regular season play, now with a 0-0 draw (Aug. 24) and 2-0 win in the all-time series.
Additionally, Friday marked Rising’s first shutout since it kept Las Vegas Lights FC off the scoreboard on September 5. Kah’s side is now 3-0-1 in matches it has held an opponent scoreless.
“(Keeping a clean sheet) means a lot for the whole team,” defender Daniel Flores said. “It’s always good to keep the ball out of the net and defend the whole 95 minutes. The defense starts from the forward all the way to the goalkeeper, so we all defended well and that’s how we got the zero at the back.”
ROAD WARRIORS
Time and time again this season, Rising has proven difficult to break down on the road. The club has now earned at least a point in 10 out of its 14 regular season road matches, with its last road defeat coming on August 9.
“It was a pretty intense match with the travel across the country,” Flores said. “I think we managed it well and played well as a team. We trained well throughout the whole week, we knew what we had to do and we came out here and made it happen. We’re happy to get the three points.”
Kah’s side is now a perfect 4-0-1 when it scores at least two goals on the road, and now has its first win against Eastern Conference opposition. With one more road game remaining this season, against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the Steel City, Rising may have found its blueprint as it looks to close the season strong.
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
PHX – Charlie Dennis, 35th minute: Defender Collin Smith’s shot was saved by North Carolina goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, but only as far as a charging Charlie Dennis in the box, who reacted first to use his left foot to slide the ball into the back of the ne
PHX – Collin Smith (Darius Johnson), 61st minute: After dribbling from midfield down the left side of the field, forward Darius Johnson sent a floated cross to the back post that Smith headed into the back of the net.
NOTES
-Friday marked Rising’s fifth away win of the 2025 regular season.
-It was the club’s 16th result of 28 matches played.
-Additionally, Rising picked up its first-ever win against North Carolina FC (1-0-1).
-With his goal in the first half, midfielder Charlie Dennis netted his 6th goal of the regular season.
-He now has 12 goal contributions in all competitions (9G, 3A).
-Notably, the Englishman has come up with a goal contribution in three of Risings last four matches.
-Defender Collin Smith netted his second goal of the regular season.
-It was his first since scoring against Detroit City FC on April 12.
-Smith now has four goal contributions in all competitions this season (2G, 2A).
-Forward Darius Johnson notched his third assist of the regular season with his lofted cross to Smith.
-It was his first goal contribution since he scored against El Paso Locomotive FC on August 30.
-In goal, keeper Patrick Rakovsky secured his fourth clean sheet of the regular season.
NEXT GAME
Rising now returns to the Desert for its final home match of the regular season against San Antonio FC at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, October 18, at Phoenix Rising Stadium. The match will be broadcast on AZFS and ESPN+ with radio coverage available via KDUS 1060 AM (English) and La Onda 99.5 FM (Spanish).
Phoenix Rising (8-8-12, 36pts) vs North Carolina FC (12-11-5, 41pts)
October 10, 2025 – WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, NC.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 1 1 2
North Carolina FC 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
PHX: Dennis, 35
PHX: Smith (Johnson), 61
Misconduct Summary:
PHX: Flores (caution), 2
PHX: Johnson (caution), 38
NC: Donovan (caution), 55
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Flores (Okello, 85), D Czichos, D Boye ©, D Essengue, D Smith, M Scearce, M Moursou, M Avayevu (Emmers, 85), F Johnson (Sacko, 70), F Dennis
Substitutes Not Used: GK Henry, D Flood, D Rizzo, F Cabral
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Smith, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Smith, 2); FOULS: 19 (Multiple players, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 1
NC: GK Semmle, D Craig © (Burner, 64), D Donovan, D Sundstrom, D Roberts (Anderson, 45), D Al-Qaq (Hodge, 90+3), M Maldonado, M Sommersall (Quintanilla, 85), M Perez, F Da Costa, F Dolabella
Substitutes Not Used: GK Fitzgerald, GK McGuire, GK Mulqueen, D Washington
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Multiple players, 1) SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Burner, 1); FOULS: 13 (Craig, 3) OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 1
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referees: Rhett Hammil, Patrick Slane
Fourth Official: Yannick Rothfuss
Attendance: 2,526
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
