Holding its opponent scoreless for the third straight match, Rising takes all three points from Virginia.
LEESBURG, Virginia (August 31) — After an hour-long rain delay in Virginia, Phoenix Rising (7-9-8) kicked off against Loudoun United, scoring once and holding their opponent scoreless to secure all three points on the road.
“We needed the win, we needed the goal to breathe,” said Interim Head Coach Diego Gomez. “It’s a team win — all of the guys have been working very hard for this and we think we deserve more. We’ve been working well together and when you don’t concede goals that shows a team effort.”
Rising entered the match having held opponents scoreless in four of its last five games, while Loudoun United boasted an impressive home record, with seven of its nine wins coming at Segra Field.
The first half was played at a high pace, with Keegan Tingey recording the first shot of the match for the home side in just the fifth minute. Loudoun continued to press the Phoenix net throughout the half, forcing Rising goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo to make five saves in the first 45 minutes.
Rising opted for a more controlled and steady approach. With a quarter of an hour gone, Rising had double the final third entries compared to Loudoun and controlled 66 percent of possession. Rising also created the best chance of the half, with Tomas Angel forcing a save from Hugo Fauroux after settling the ball near the six-yard box, beating his defender, and aiming for the lower left corner. Fauroux reacted quickly, palming the shot away.
In the second half, Rising conceded some possession in favor of a more direct style of play — focusing less on working the ball from the outside in and more on breaking through the channels between defenders.
Just as he did in his home debut, Jearl Margaritha was aggressive in the attack, taking every opportunity to challenge his defender and unleash a shot on goal. In the 60th minute, after receiving a backheel pass from Emil Cuello, Margaritha nearly ended Rising’s scoring drought, but his right-footed shot went straight to Fauroux.
Finally, in the 84th minute, Rising and Margaritha found their breakthrough. The chance came immediately after Gabi Torres and Jose Hernandez entered the match, with both contributing significantly to the goal. Torres won the ball near the Rising penalty area and pushed forward, finding Hernandez near midfield. Hernandez lifted a pass over the top to Margaritha, who had Kwame Awuah isolated. Margaritha quickly cut inside and struck the ball, which deflected off a Loudoun defender and flew into the back of the net.
It had been 500 minutes since Rising last scored. With the goal finally secured, the match ended 1-0 in favor of Phoenix. Notably, it was another clean sheet for Rising, who have now held their opponents scoreless in their last three matches. Next up, Rising returns home to face FC Tulsa. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN 2. Get tickets for the Friday night matchup, which will also be Rising’s third Dollar Beer Night of the season, at phxrisingfc.com/tickets.
Scoring:
PHX – 84′ Jearl Margaritha (Jose Hernandez)
Discipline:
LDN – 40′ Yanis Leerman (caution)
PHX – 70′ Emil Cuello (caution)
LDN – 74′ Zach Ryan (caution)
PHX – 80′ Alejandro Fuenmayor (caution)
LDN – 90+4′ Pape Wane (caution)
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Rocco Rios Novo, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Pape Mar Boye, Laurence Wyke, Emil Cuello (83′ Gabi Torres), Renzo Zambrano, Giulio Doratiotto (68′ Dariusz Formella), Charlie Dennis (84′ Jose Hernandez), Jearl Margaritha (87′ JP Scearce), Tomas Angel, Edgardo Rito (67′ Darius Johnson).
Substitutes Not Used – Patrick Rakovsky, Juan Carlos Azocar.
Loudoun United FC – Hugo Fauroux, Kwame Awuah, Jacob Erlandson, Yanis Leerman, Gavin Turner (68′ Pape Wane), Tommy McCabe, Florian Valot, Keegan Tingey, Kalil ElMedkhar (68′ Isaiah Johnston), Zach Ryan, Wesley Leggett (79′ Alex Nagy).
Substitutes Not Used – Dane Jacomen, Keegan Hughes, Tommy Williamson, Christiano Francois, Robby Dambrot.
