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USL Phoenix Rising FC

Phoenix Rising FC Wins, 2-1, vs. Orange County SC

September 19, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 18) - Phoenix Rising FC (16-3-5) remained atop the league table with its 10th win at Wild Horse Pass, beating Orange County SC, 2-1, tonight despite playing the second half a man down.

Santi Moar gave Rising a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute following a corner kick from the opposite flag. Solomon Asante collected the loose ball after it skipped through the box and tapped a pass to Moar, who had found a pocket of space inside the area. Without any hesitation, Moar laced a ball hard towards the back post, fitting the ball in a very tight window between Orange County goalkeeper Patrick Rakousky and the woodwork to make it 1-0.

Rising had a second goal by Moar disallowed in the 18th minute after referee Elton García ruled that Quinn obstructed the goalkeeper's vision while in an offsides position.

Asante nearly put Rising ahead by two in the 44th minute when another loose ball found the two-time defending league MVP at the top of the box. Rising's captain cracked a shot through a crowd on the volley but Rakousky made a diving save to his left side to keep the score, 1-0.

Just before the halftime whistle, Tate Schmitt was shown his second caution card of the match for a tactical foul, reducing Phoenix to 10 men for the remainder of the game.

Up a man, Orange County equalized two minutes into the second half when a cross played in from the left flank by Brian Iloski was expertly redirected by Ronaldo Damus. The header clicked off the bottom of the crossbar and settled into the back of the net to make it 1-1 in the 47th minute.

Andre Rawls came up with a huge save to keep Rising level in the 55th minute. Reacting to the initial shot to his left side, the goalkeeper quickly changed directions after the ball clipped a defender on its way through the box. Rawls stuck out his right foot at the last second to save a sure goal with a kick save.

Rising nearly unlocked the Orange County defense in the 64th minute when Quinn found Asante in the center of the pitch with a sharp pass. Asante put Darren Mattocks in on goal with another crisp, first-touch pass but the forward was unable to control the ball under pressure and the ball tricked to Rakousky.

Quinn forced a quality save out of Rakousky in the 68th minute after Darnell King intercepted a pass at midfield and started the counterattack. The ball found Quinn at the top of the area, where the midfielder ripped a hard shot high towards the bar, but Rakousky got a hand to it to send it out for a corner kick.

Mattocks put away the game-winner for Phoenix in the 86th minute when Quinn took the ball wide to the left and to the end line before crossing a simple pass into the middle of the six-yard box. Unmarked, Mattocks simply tapped the ball over the end line to score his first goal at Wild Horse Pass.

Scoring:

PHX - Santi Moar (Solomon Asante) 9

OCSC - Ronaldo Damus (Brian Iloski) 47

PHX - Darren Mattocks (Aodhan Quinn) 86

Discipline:

PHX - Tate Schmitt (caution) 31

OC - Brian Iloski (caution) 33

PHX - Santi Moar (caution) 42

PHX - Tate Schmitt (caution) 45+1

PHX - Tate Schmitt (ejection, second caution) 45+ 1

OC - Ben Mines (caution) 82

PHX - Kevon Lambert (caution) 85

PHX - Andre Rawls (caution) 90

Lineups:

Phoenix Rising FC - Andre Rawls, Tate Schmitt, James Musa, Joey Farrell, Darnell King, Kevon Lambert, Aodhan Quinn, Arturo Rodriguez (Joey Calistri 45+4), Santi Moar (Manuel Madrid 87), Solomon Asante (David Loera 80), Darren Mattocks.

Substitutes Not Used: Lalo Delgado, Prince Saydee, David Egbo, Jon Bakero.

Orange County SC - Patrick Rakousky, Kevin Alston (Brent Richards 61), Rob Kiernan, Michael Orozco, Kobi Henry, Ronaldo Damus, Eric Castillo, Mikko Kuningas (Ben Mines 41), Brian Iloski, Sean Okoli, Dillon Powers (Thomas Enevoldsen 75).

Substitutes Not Used: Abaraham Romero, Darwin Jones, Nathan Smith, Seth Casiple.

Rising head coach Rick Schantz

General thoughts on the match...

I've never been more proud of a group of players. They were more calm [at halftime] than I was. I might have put a hole in the wall and had a few things to scream and shout. Thank goodness the staff lets me be alone for a little bit, but I go into the locker room and they were quiet. They were calm. They knew.

I told them before the game, and they'll laugh, I said that they had superpowers, and to think about what superpower they're going to use tonight. Resilience, determination... To play with 10 for 45 minutes, to give up a goal two minutes into the second half and play the way they did... It's about 90 degrees with a lot of humidity. I've never been prouder of a group of players. That was unbelievable.

On scoring a late game-winner down a man...

Maybe it evens the playing field. I don't know. It sounds a little arrogant, but sometimes when a team has 10, they actually get more concentration. They get more focus. Everybody realizes they have to do just a little bit more. But man, what can you say about [Kevon] Lambert and Aodhan [Quinn].

The amount of miles those two have put in this season, for them to finish a game like this and for Aodhan to get the assist... [Darren] Mattocks, we didn't think he was going to finish the game because of his hamstring, but we had to use a sub for Tate [Schmitt]. I felt bad taking Arturo [Rodriguez] out because he was playing really well. I told him I'm so sorry. He told me after the game, coach, I understand, I know it's important to the team.

Forward Darren Mattocks

On his goal...

I cannot take the credit - credit to the team. We played 45 minutes with 10 men. This team is a really good team. Be patient, be compact, we're going to get one. We're going to get one chance and we've got to take it. Fortunately, we had three or four chances. But credit to the guys - Andre [Rawls], all the backs, the midfielders. Very industrious performance today. For me, it was the icing on the cake, but credit to the nine guys behind me.

Forward Santi Moar

On whether he feels like he's getting back to his form at the start of the season...

No, when you are with confidence, goals will come a little easier. I've been playing 24 games. I might score in some, some I don't score. It's good to participate and help the team, sometimes with goals and sometimes with passes like at the end with Aodhan Quinn to Darren. That doesn't go on my stat board, but I'm super happy because I helped the team somehow. Sometimes it's not about scoring, it's just about being part of this team. Even the guys that don't play. They are also pushing us forward.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 19, 2021


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