PHOENIX, Arizona (Wednesday, April 5) – Phoenix Rising FC earned its first victory and shutout of the season, downing Greenville Triumph SC, 1-0, tonight at 38th St/Washington.
Carlos Harvey scored the lone goal for Rising in the 21st minute. Baboucarr Njie assisted on the goal. The win advances Rising to the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament. Rising’s opponent will be revealed via a draw being held by U.S. Soccer tomorrow.
Njie showed off his speed in the 14th minute, latching onto the ball near midfield and speeding through a pack of three defenders. Nearing the top of the area, Njie pushed a pass through for Jackson Conway. The forward got there ahead of Greenville goalkeeper Jared Mazzola but Conway’s centering attempt was kicked out for Rising’s first corner of the match.
Rising went ahead 1-0 in the 21st minute when Eddie Munjoma crossed a ball to the back post for Njie. The wingback volleyed the pass back into the area, where Carlos Harvey won a header over his defender, sending the ball into the back of the net.
Phoenix held a 70-30 advantage in possession to start the second half and continued to press for a second goal. Head Coach Juan Guerra brought on his No. 10 Fede Varela for Erickson Gallardo in the 62nd minute. Less than a minute later Fede set the table for Jackson Conway, slipping him a pass through the center of the pitch. Catching up to it at the top of the box, Conway forced a diving save out of Mazzola at the near post.
Conway sprung Munjoma in on goal with a cross field pass in the 79th minute. In alone, Munjoma tried to beat Mazzola low to the far post with a hard line-drive shot but the goalkeeper got enough on the shot to push it out for a corner kick.
Rising goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky made his presence felt very late in the match, diving to his right side to push a shot by Greenville’s Lucas Coutinho up and off the crossbar to preserve the win for Phoenix.
Phoenix travels to Birmingham, Alabama this Sunday, April 9. That match will air live at 2:30 p.m. on AzFSEN & ESPN+). Rising returns to 38th St/Washington on Saturday, April 15 (7:30 p.m.). Tickets for that match are available here or by calling 623-594-9606.
Scoring:
Carlos Harvey (Baboucarr Njie) 21
Discipline:
GT – Tylor Polak (caution) 52
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Patrick Rakovsky, Darnell King, Alejandro Fuenmayor (Kevon Lambert 62), Mo Traore (Henry Uzochukwu 80), Carlos Anguiano, Carlos Harvey (Daniel Krutzen 46), Erickson Gallardo (Fede Varela 62), Emil Cuello, Eddie Munjoma, Babucarr Njie (Gabi Torres 72), Jackson Conway.
Substitutes Not Used: Rocco Rios Novo, Manuel Arteaga.
Greenville Triumph SC – Jared Mazzola, Tyler Polak, Jonah Biggar, Evan Lee, Noah Franke, Aaron Walker (Lucas Coutinho 70), Noah Pilato (Devin Boyce 60), Jacob Labovitz, Leonardo Castro, Venton Evans, Lyam MacKinnon (Nate Shultz 69).
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Cox-Ashwood, Hassan Gabo, Brandon Fricke, Allen Gavilanes, Tevin Shaw, Gunther, Jamie Smith.
