Phoenix Rising Scores Late in 2-1 Win over Orange County SC to Advance in U.S. Open Cup
USL Phoenix Rising FC

Phoenix Rising Scores Late in 2-1 Win over Orange County SC to Advance in U.S. Open Cup

Published on April 2, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Phoenix Rising FC defender Luke Biasi vs. Orange County SC
Phoenix Rising FC defender Luke Biasi vs. Orange County SC
(Phoenix Rising FC)

IRVINE, Calif. - Phoenix Rising remains alive in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Forward Gunnar Studenhofft scored his second goal of the season, while defender Aleksandar Vukovic netted the game winner in extra time to send Rising to the Round of 32 for a third straight season.

"The drive, the hunger and desire from the boys to fight... (the result) is really well deserved," Rising Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said. "I know this type of performance has been building up and you need these types of wins to get yourself going."

In net, goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky finished with a season-high five saves, while defender Jackson Gaydon became the fourth PRFC Academy to make his professional debut this season. In attack, forward Ihsan Sacko extended his run of goal contributions to four straight.

Rising will learn its Round of 32 opponent following the draw on the morning of April 2. Guaranteed to be an MLS opponent, it marks a third straight season in which the club will get to measure itself against tough competition.

Early Returns From The New Guys

Of Rising's 11 goals scored in all competitions, only three players have found the back of the net more than once: Juan Carvajal, Gunnar Studenhofft and Aleksandar Vukovic. Notably, all three were brought into the club over the offseason and their presence is already evident on the goal sheet.

Both forwards have now scored in USL Championship and U.S. Open Cup play, with Studenhofft scoring Rising's opening goal in the 35th minute of Wednesday night's match in Orange County. Vukovic has scored both his goals in U.S. Open Cup play.

"We're an incredibly stubborn team," Kah said. "We don't know the word 'give up.' It doesn't exist in our vocabulary. We're a hard-working team with a lot of quality on the ball, and we know we can always score goals. For us, it's our mentality, our will to keep pushing."

The early season returns of Studenhofft, Carvajal and Vukovic - all new to Kah's system - are a positive sign for a Rising attack looking to improve on the 61 goals it netted across all competitions a season ago.

Continuing in the Cup

Through the first two rounds of its 2026 U.S. Open Cup campaign, Rising is outscoring opponents 6-2, with three of those goals coming after the 90th minute.

Five different players have netted in the cup competition, with Vukovic being the lone Rising player to find the back of the net twice, both in starts.

With an MLS opponent next on tap, Rising will soon have an opportunity to advance to the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup for a second time in three seasons.

"This is a positive step in where we want to go in our season," forward Darius Johnson said. "The boys showed the character we have been searching for. To see games out, hit first and come back from whatever it is that has put us down. Hopefully we keep growing from this game going into Sacramento this weekend."

Goal-Scoring Plays

PHX - Gunnar Studenhofft, 35th minute: High pressure in the final third forced a giveaway from Orange County, which Studenhofft took advantage of to win the ball and dribble toward an empty net before finishing with his right foot.

OC - Ousmane Sylla (Yaniv Bazini), 86th minute: Running on to a loose ball at the top of the box, Ousmane Sylla took it and dribbled deeper into the area before using his right foot to find the bottom left corner of the net.

PHX - Gunnar Studenhofft (Ihsan Sacko), 96th minute: On a corner kick served in from the right, Aleksandar Vukovic lept up and sent a powerful header off the ground and into the back of the net.

Notes

-Saturday marked the second matchup of 2026 between Rising and Orange County SC.

-Both teams played to a 1-1 draw on March 14 at Phoenix Rising Stadium.

-The match marked the 36th all-time meeting between the two clubs, the most between two opponents in the history of the USL Championship.

-With the draw in regulation, Rising now leads the all-time series 14-11-11

-Notably, it was the first time both teams have squared off in the U.S. Open Cup.

-Forward Gunnar Studenhofft netted his second goal of 2026 season late in the first half.

-He is the one of three Rising players to score multiple goals this season in all competitions, joining forward Juan Carvajal and defender Aleksandar Vukovic.

-The goal put Rising in a winning position for a third time this season (v. OC, 3/14; v. SRFC, 3.17).

-With his goal in the 96th minute, Aleksandar Vukovic netted for a second time in 2026.

-Notably, both the defender's goals have come in U.S. Open Cup play.

-With his assist on the corner kick, forward Ihsan Sacko extended his streak of goal contributions to four straight matches (1G, 3A).

-Jackson Gaydon, 17, made his professional debut, entering the match in the 105 th minute.

-He became the fourth Rising Academy player to make his professional debut this season (Ramirez, Cross, Balanzar de la Cruz).

-Rising has now outscored opponents 6-1 in U.S. Open Cup play this season.

Phoenix Rising (USLC) at Orange County SC (USLC) | USOC 2nd Round

April 1, 2026 - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, Calif.)

Goals by Half 1 2 ET FT

Phoenix Rising 1 0 1 2

Orange County SC 0 1 0 1

Scoring Summary:

PHX: Studenhofft, 35

OC: Sylla (Bazini), 86

Misconduct Summary:

OC: Partida (caution), 25

PHX: Moursou (caution), 34

PHX: Pelayo (caution), 44

PHX: Vukovic (caution), 40+1

OC: War (caution), 50

PHX: Capetillo (caution), 51

PHX: Dennis (caution), 78

PHX: Smith (caution), 88

OC: Marinch (caution), 90

OC: Brewitt (caution), 90

OC: Benalcázar (caution), 92

PHX: Rakovsky (caution), 94

PHX: Biasi (caution), 102

PHX: Johnson (caution), 108

PHX: Zubak (caution), 116

Lineups:

PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Biasi, D Vukovic, D Pelayo © (Smith, 69), D Ramirez (Avayevu, 85), M Moursou (Scearce, 69), M Capetillo (Johnson, 69), M Gómez, F Studenhofft (Dennis, 57), F Carvajal (Gaydon, 105+2), F Sacko

Substitutes Not Used: GK Odunze

TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Sacko, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Sacko, 2); FOULS: 24 (Multiple players, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 5

OC: GK Rando, D Partida (Doghman, 66), D Tubbs (Espy, 84), D Brewitt ©, D War, M Solis (Marinch, 84), M Benalcázar, M MacKinnon (Sylla, 73), F Palomino (Zubak, 66), F Bazini (Kurnik, 105), D Hegardt

Substitutes Not Used: GK Kadono

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Multiple players, 3) SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Marinch, 2); FOULS: 19 (Multiple players, 3) OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2

Referee: Mark Verso

Assistant Referees: Fernando Fierro, Aleh Maslianka

Fourth Official: Anthony Almeida

Attendance: 1,100

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

Check out the Phoenix Rising FC Statistics

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Phoenix Rising FC defender Luke Biasi vs. Orange County SC
Phoenix Rising FC defender Luke Biasi vs. Orange County SC
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 2, 2026


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