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USL Phoenix Rising FC

Phoenix Rising FC Readies for 1-Vs-2 Showdown on $1 Beer Night

August 15, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Phoenix Rising FC's Bud Light $1 Beer Night is back at Casino Arizona Field this Friday night as the No. 1 club in the Western Conference takes on the No. 2 club, Reno 1868 FC. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will air on YourPHX CW (channel 6 on cable and 61.1 on satellite & over-the-air) as well as ArizonaSports.com.

Rising FC has won its last 13 matches in USL Championship play with the last win coming last Saturday in a 2-1 battle over El Paso Locomotive FC. Midfielder José Aguinaga scored his first goal of 2019 and captain Solomon Asante added the game-winning tally on a second-half penalty to seal the win.

Asante's goal gives him 16 for the season and just one goal shy of matching the club record for most goals scored in the regular season (17, Chris Cortez). Asante has already matched the club record for career goals (29, Cortez, Long Tan) and needs just one more to become the club's all-time leading scorer.

In addition to extending its winning streak to 13 matches, the club also extended its home unbeaten streak and its Casino Arizona Field sellout streak to 14 matches.

Reno 1868 FC comes into the match after a tough 4-1 loss to San Antonio FC at home. While the club is just 2-2-0 in its last four matches, prior to that stretch the team had won five straight matches. Reno's leading scorer, Corey Hertzog, has 11 goals this season but has been held scoreless in his last two matches.

This will be the final regular-season meeting between the clubs. In their last showdown, Phoenix Rising came out of Reno 3-0 winners. Adam Jahn's 7th-minute goal proved to be the game-winner, but Asante and Joey Calistri added insurance goals in the winning effort.

Gates to Friday's match open at 6:00 p.m. and the first 2,000 fans who enter will receive a black Phoenix Rising t-shirt courtesy of Arizona Complete Health.

PHXvRNO Series

This will be the 6th all-time meeting between the two cubs with PHX's all-time record being 2-1-2.

PHX is unbeaten in the last four games against Reno.

A Little Bit About Reno 1868 FC

The club's leading scorer is Corey Hertzog with 11 goals in 24 appearances.

Raul Mendiola leads the team in assists with seven. Three different players are tied for second in assists with five.

Reno's 51 goals puts the team 3rd out of 36 teams in USL Championship.

Per Opta, Reno has the third-highest team rating in USL Championship (6.9 rating).

Per Opta, Reno is second in USL Championship in big chances created (59).

Reno is 6-4-2 on the road this season.

Reno has won seven of their last nine games.

A Little Bit About Phoenix Rising

Per Opta, the team's 7.1 team rating is tops in USL Championship.

PHX has outscored opponents 43-9 during its 13-match winning streak.

PHX has scored three or more goals in 13 of its last 22 matches.

Per Opta, PHX has created 57 big chances as a team, third-best in USL Championship.

PHX's 58 goals scored is tops in USL Championship.

Solomon Asante leads all of USL Championship in goals (16) and assists (11).

Zac Lubin leads the league in clean sheets (11).

Per Opta, Asante has the best average player rating at 8.25. He's the only player currently above 8. PHX also has four of the top ten rated players in the league (Asante, Flemmings, Bakero, and Jahn).

Per Opta, Asante leads the league in shots on target per match (2.1) and is tied for first in chances created (15).

Goal-Scoring Machine

Solomon Asante needs two more goals to reach 32 and become the career leader in goals scored. Chris Cortez (31) is the club's current all-time leading goal scorer.

Triple Threat

Junior Flemmings scored his ninth goal of 2019 against LA Galaxy II. If he scores one more goal, he will become the third player this season with double-digit goals scored this season (behind Solomon Asante and Adam Jahn). It would be the first time in club history three players have scored ten or more goals in the same season. In each of the last two seasons, the club has had two double-digit goal scorers.

Spreading The Wealth

During Phoenix Rising's 13-match winning streak, 10 different players have scored goals: Solomon Asante, José Aguinaga, Jon Bakero, Joey Calistri, Amadou Dia, Junior Flemmings, Adam Jahn, Kevon Lambert, James Musa, and Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu. On the season, 13 different players have scored a goal. The club record for most players to score in a season is 17, set in 2017.

Protecting the house

Phoenix Rising is unbeaten at home this year with eight wins and 3 draws. They are one of three teams in USL Championship still unbeaten at home, joining Indy Eleven and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

Difference Makers

Not only is Phoenix Rising leading USL championship in goals (58) but the club's goal differential is also the best in the league by a wide margin. The club currently has a +38 goal differential, 9 goals better than the next highest total.

Tracking ahead of pace

Through the first 23 matches of the season, Phoenix Rising has 50 points. In 2018, the club had 41 points through the first 22 matches of the season en route to setting a club record for points in a season.

Goal scoring pace

Phoenix Rising now has 58 goals scored through the first 22 matches of the season. In 2018, the club scored 39 goals through 22 matches en route to setting the club record for goals in a season.

Iron Man Watch

Defender Amadou Dia remains the club's minutes leader with 1,800 minutes played. He's followed by Solomon Asante (1,784), Adam Jahn (1,732), Zac Lubin (1,710), and Mustapha Dumbuya (1,513) to round out the top five. 12 players total have logged 1,000 or more minutes this season.

The Unbeaten Legend Grows

Rising FC is now 12-0-0 on $1 Beer Night.

$1 Beer Goals, Goals, Goals

On the last $1 Beer Night on July 19, 2019, PHX broke their single-match record for goals at home with six goals in their 6-0 win over Austin Bold FC. Over 12 $1 Beer Night matches, the club has scored 40 goals.

Former Teammates

This matchup features several instances of former teammates now squaring up against each other. Adam Jahn and RNO defender, Emrah Klimenta, played on Sacramento Republic FC together in 2014 and 2016. Junior Flemmings played alongside Zach Carroll with NY Red Bulls II in 2016. Carl Woszczynski and Corey Hertzog were teammates on Orlando City in 2014. And last season, Joey Calistri and Hertzog, played together on Saint Louis FC last season.

Welcome back to Arizona

RNO's Kevin Partida and Daniel Musovski are no strangers to the Copper State. Both spent time with then USL League 2 club FC Tucson in 2017.

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