PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, August 21) – Phoenix Rising FC goalkeeper Andre Rawls made a season-high nine saves in a 0-0 draw, which keeps the defending Western Conference Champions unbeaten at its new home at Wild Horse Pass.
Rising travels to Oakland for a mid-week match against Roots before returning home to face New Mexico United at Wild Horse Pass, next Saturday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight, Phoenix held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks through the first 22 minutes of the match and produced three shots on goal while Sacramento had none. The Republic’s first shot of the match came in the 28th minute, following a foul by Rising center back James Musa, 40-yards from goal. Dariusz Formella set up the chance for the visitors by playing a centering pass to the top of the box for Mario Penagos. Penagos turned to his right and struck a low, hard shot towards the near post, but Phoenix goalkeeper Andre Rawls was in position to make a diving save to his right side to block the attempt.
Sacramento nearly went ahead two minutes into the second half when Penagos spun his defender at the top right corner of the area and blasted a shot towards the far post. Rawls looked back to track the shot and watched as it smacked off the woodwork, keeping the match tied, 0-0.
Rawls was tested again in the 53rd minute, making a diving save to his left side on a free kick taken by Formella from just outside the area.
Sacramento continued to press near the 60th minute when Joe Farrell was called upon to win back-to-back ariel duels. His second clearance made it just outside the box, where Sacramento’s Nabilai Kibunguchy tried to beat Rawls with a high shot to his right side, but the goalkeeper was in perfect position to make an easy save, his fourth of the match.
Rising head coach tried to swing the tide with three substitutions in by the 62nd minute. Prince Saydee, who scored last time out, Arturo Rodriguez and Joey Calistri – all of Phoenix’s available offensive options were sent into the match with 28 minutes left to play.
Aodhan Quinn intercepted a pass and sprung Saydee in the 75th minute. The forward cut to the left side of the box before firing a shot towards the near post, but the chance hit the outside of the goal, inches away from beating Sacramento goalkeeper Tomas Gomez.
Rawls made his seventh outstanding save of the night, slapping a hard shot from distance over the bar in the 80th minute and his eighth in the 83rd minute, setting up a chance for Rodriguez to score a game-winner in stoppage time.
The Mexican weaved through defenders on the left flank, near the end line, before firing a right-footed shot from a difficult angle. Unfortunately for Rising, Sacramento’s Gomez was in position to make a solid save, his second of the night.
Rawls finished the night with nine saves, the most for a Rising goalkeeper this season.
Scoring:
None
Discipline:
PHX – James Musa (caution) 27
SAC – Dariusz Formella (caution) 37
SAC – Shannon Gomez (caution) 41
PHX – David Egbo (caution) 51
PHX – Aodhan Quinn (caution) 69
PHX – Joe Farrell (caution) 84
SAC – Petteri Pennanen (caution) 88
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Andre Rawls, Tate Schmitt, James Musa, Joe Farrell, Darnell King (Noah Billingsley 90+1), Aodhan Quinn, Kevon Lambert (Ryan Flood 90+1), Jon Bakero (Prince Saydee 62), Santi Moar, David Egbo (Arturo Rodriguez 62), Solomon Asante (Joey Calistri 52).
Substitutes Not Used: Ben Lundt, Manuel Madrid.
Sacramento Republic – Tomas Gomez, Shannon Gomez, Dan Casey (Fatai Alashe 85), Cameron Iwasa, Kharlton Belmar (Foster Maalique 78), Dariusz Formella, Duke Lacroix, Luis-Felipe Rodrigues, Mario Penagos (Petteri Pennanen 78), Jaime Villareal, Nabilai Kibunguchy.
Substitutes Not Used: Rafael Diaz, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, Jordan McCrary, Rafael Jauregui.
Phoenix Rising head coach Rick Schantz
On his overall thoughts on the game…
Defensively, we were unbelievable. Andre Rawls was fantastic. I feel like I made the right decision tonight to give him the game and he stepped up. There were moments when we got a bit frustrated. We put our heads down. There were some second balls where we let them have opportunities. He [Andre] saved our butts tonight. We all owe Andre a very big thank you. We've still got a lot of work to do.
On what wasn't clicking in the attack tonight…
We didn't shoot. It's not that it's not clicking, teams are playing with nine guys behind the ball. We've worked on it this week. We’re seeing five on the back line and we weren't getting crosses in. We weren't getting guys into the box. They weren't committing. There were no cutbacks.
When you get a team pinned back like that, you got to be willing to shoot. We're looking for the perfect opportunity to score rather than just letting it rip. It's something that hopefully with Darren [Mattocks] here, we'll have an experienced forward. I think that he will take those chances. David still has to learn to be more dangerous. Overall, Solo [Asante], Santi [Moar], all the midfielders, when we start to struggle, they take too many touches. When we play slow and try to make it an individual game, we're in trouble. We have to get back to two-touch and movement off the ball.
Rising goalkeeper Andre Rawls
On his overall thoughts on the game…
Exhausted. Tiring game, long game, frustrating game. We had our moments. We had strong moments. We were really good in the first half. We battled in the second half. We really wanted three points. We could have had three points there but at the end of the day, I'll take the point. I'll take the clean sheet. It was great work from the defense. We've got a tough week up ahead. We have to put this behind us and focus on Oakland on Wednesday.
On how much he feeds off the energy of the supporter section when he's on that side…
It's fun. Save or not, they're always cheering. They're always bringing the noise. It's great playing in front of them. Not only them, but everybody here in Phoenix, here in the stands. They keep the guys going. As much as I want to take credit for it, it's not me, it's them. Every time we do something good, they're the first ones making noise and the first ones getting the chants going. They're bringing the energy from the back. It's just flowing all the way to the front.
PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, August 21) – Phoenix Rising FC goalkeeper Andre Rawls made a season-high nine saves in a 0-0 draw, which keeps the defending Western Conference Champions unbeaten at its new home at Wild Horse Pass.
Rising travels to Oakland for a mid-week match against Roots before returning home to face New Mexico United at Wild Horse Pass, next Saturday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight, Phoenix held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks through the first 22 minutes of the match and produced three shots on goal while Sacramento had none. The Republic’s first shot of the match came in the 28th minute, following a foul by Rising center back James Musa, 40-yards from goal. Dariusz Formella set up the chance for the visitors by playing a centering pass to the top of the box for Mario Penagos. Penagos turned to his right and struck a low, hard shot towards the near post, but Phoenix goalkeeper Andre Rawls was in position to make a diving save to his right side to block the attempt.
Sacramento nearly went ahead two minutes into the second half when Penagos spun his defender at the top right corner of the area and blasted a shot towards the far post. Rawls looked back to track the shot and watched as it smacked off the woodwork, keeping the match tied, 0-0.
Rawls was tested again in the 53rd minute, making a diving save to his left side on a free kick taken by Formella from just outside the area.
Sacramento continued to press near the 60th minute when Joe Farrell was called upon to win back-to-back ariel duels. His second clearance made it just outside the box, where Sacramento’s Nabilai Kibunguchy tried to beat Rawls with a high shot to his right side, but the goalkeeper was in perfect position to make an easy save, his fourth of the match.
Rising head coach tried to swing the tide with three substitutions in by the 62nd minute. Prince Saydee, who scored last time out, Arturo Rodriguez and Joey Calistri – all of Phoenix’s available offensive options were sent into the match with 28 minutes left to play.
Aodhan Quinn intercepted a pass and sprung Saydee in the 75th minute. The forward cut to the left side of the box before firing a shot towards the near post, but the chance hit the outside of the goal, inches away from beating Sacramento goalkeeper Tomas Gomez.
Rawls made his seventh outstanding save of the night, slapping a hard shot from distance over the bar in the 80th minute and his eighth in the 83rd minute, setting up a chance for Rodriguez to score a game-winner in stoppage time.
The Mexican weaved through defenders on the left flank, near the end line, before firing a right-footed shot from a difficult angle. Unfortunately for Rising, Sacramento’s Gomez was in position to make a solid save, his second of the night.
Rawls finished the night with nine saves, the most for a Rising goalkeeper this season.
Scoring:
None
Discipline:
PHX – James Musa (caution) 27
SAC – Dariusz Formella (caution) 37
SAC – Shannon Gomez (caution) 41
PHX – David Egbo (caution) 51
PHX – Aodhan Quinn (caution) 69
PHX – Joe Farrell (caution) 84
SAC – Petteri Pennanen (caution) 88
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Andre Rawls, Tate Schmitt, James Musa, Joe Farrell, Darnell King (Noah Billingsley 90+1), Aodhan Quinn, Kevon Lambert (Ryan Flood 90+1), Jon Bakero (Prince Saydee 62), Santi Moar, David Egbo (Arturo Rodriguez 62), Solomon Asante (Joey Calistri 52).
Substitutes Not Used: Ben Lundt, Manuel Madrid.
Sacramento Republic – Tomas Gomez, Shannon Gomez, Dan Casey (Fatai Alashe 85), Cameron Iwasa, Kharlton Belmar (Foster Maalique 78), Dariusz Formella, Duke Lacroix, Luis-Felipe Rodrigues, Mario Penagos (Petteri Pennanen 78), Jaime Villareal, Nabilai Kibunguchy.
Substitutes Not Used: Rafael Diaz, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, Jordan McCrary, Rafael Jauregui.
Phoenix Rising head coach Rick Schantz
On his overall thoughts on the game…
Defensively, we were unbelievable. Andre Rawls was fantastic. I feel like I made the right decision tonight to give him the game and he stepped up. There were moments when we got a bit frustrated. We put our heads down. There were some second balls where we let them have opportunities. He [Andre] saved our butts tonight. We all owe Andre a very big thank you. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.
On what wasn’t clicking in the attack tonight…
We didn’t shoot. It’s not that it’s not clicking, teams are playing with nine guys behind the ball. We’ve worked on it this week. We’re seeing five on the back line and we weren’t getting crosses in. We weren’t getting guys into the box. They weren’t committing. There were no cutbacks.
When you get a team pinned back like that, you got to be willing to shoot. We’re looking for the perfect opportunity to score rather than just letting it rip. It’s something that hopefully with Darren [Mattocks] here, we’ll have an experienced forward. I think that he will take those chances. David still has to learn to be more dangerous. Overall, Solo [Asante], Santi [Moar], all the midfielders, when we start to struggle, they take too many touches. When we play slow and try to make it an individual game, we’re in trouble. We have to get back to two-touch and movement off the ball.
Rising goalkeeper Andre Rawls
On his overall thoughts on the game…
Exhausted. Tiring game, long game, frustrating game. We had our moments. We had strong moments. We were really good in the first half. We battled in the second half. We really wanted three points. We could have had three points there but at the end of the day, I’ll take the point. I’ll take the clean sheet. It was great work from the defense. We’ve got a tough week up ahead. We have to put this behind us and focus on Oakland on Wednesday.
On how much he feeds off the energy of the supporter section when he’s on that side…
It’s fun. Save or not, they’re always cheering. They’re always bringing the noise. It’s great playing in front of them. Not only them, but everybody here in Phoenix, here in the stands. They keep the guys going. As much as I want to take credit for it, it’s not me, it’s them. Every time we do something good, they’re the first ones making noise and the first ones getting the chants going. They’re bringing the energy from the back. It’s just flowing all the way to the front.
