Rising Ride High-Octane Attack to 5-4 Win Over Texoma FC
June 28, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release
Phoenix Risings' Jamison Ping in action
(Phoenix Rising FC)
SHERMAN, Tex. - Phoenix Rising brought chaos, and plenty of goals, to North Texas as it downed Texoma FC by a score of 5-4 in its third match of USL Jägermeister Cup play on June 28 at Bearcat Stadium. Midfielder Charlie Dennis contributed four goals (3G, 1A), while defender Emil Cuello scored the match-winner as Rising picked up its first-ever win in the cup competition.
"There's a lot of lessons to be learned," Dennis said. "We can't turn up and expect to win. We have to be switched on and everyone needs to be way better than we were tonight. Conceding four goals against (Texoma) is just not good enough."
The victory adds to Rising's successful record away from home, where it has won four times and is 4-2-4 in all competitions. With five points through three matches, Rising sits second in Group 2. The club will wrap up Group Stage play away against El Paso Locomotive FC on July 19. First, it returns home for a much-needed match in front of its own fans.
"It has been a long stretch," Dennis said. "As you know, travel in the USL is tough. Traveling all the way to Charleston, to Tulsa takes its toll. Now that we have a win, we'll take that momentum and look forward to playing in front of our home fans."
Dennis the Menace
Entering the match with just a goal to his name so far in 2025, Dennis left Bearcat Stadium with another four goal contributions (3G, 1A). Dennis put all four of his shots on frame as he became the first Rising player to net a hat-trick since Junior Flemmings accomplished the feat against New Mexico United in August 2020. Additionally, the Englishman is just the second player to net a hat-trick in the history of the cup competition.
"It's great to get on the scoresheet, especially with three goals," Dennis said. "I'm going to be working even harder now to keep that up."
Full-Throttle Attack
With several three (5/31 v. NM, 6/7 v. OC) and four-goal nights (3/15 @ELP) already on the books this season, Rising decided to one-up itself in Sherman, Texas, and score five times. Dennis scored three of the goals, while Johnson and Cuello also etched their names on the score sheet as Rising's attack hit a goal total it hadn't achieved since it scored five against Detroit City FC in September 2023.
The nine-combined goals mark a USL Jägermeister Cup record as Head Coah Pa-Modou Kah's side has now scored multiple goals in 10 of its 19 games in all competitions so far this season. Additionally, Cuello's winner in the 90+6 minute marked his first goal of the season and stands as the latest goal the club has scored in 2025 to date.
Goal-Scoring Plays
TXO - Brandon McManus (Donald Benamna), 7th minute: On a counterattack, midfielder Donald Benamna charged through midfield before sending a well-weighted through-ball into the path of forward Brandon McManus who took a touch before using his right foot to slot the ball into the back of the net.
PHX - Charlie Dennis (Penalty Kick), 21st minute: Using his left foot, midfielder Charlie Dennis dispatched the ball into the upper-right corner of the net.
PHX - Darius Johnson (Charlie Dennis), 24th minute: After carrying the ball down the right channel, Dennis sent a lofted cross to the back post that forward Darius Johnson met in the air and headed back into the bottom-right side of the goal.
TXO - Diego Pepi, 24th minute: Midfielder Diego Pepi pounced on a bouncing ball that fell into the final third, where he only had to use his right foot to tap the ball into the back of the net.
TXO - Diego Pepi (Brandon McManus), 41st minute: After creating an overload down the left, McManus used a quick touch to send a precise low ball into the feet of Pepi in the box, who used his right foot to fire the ball into the roof of the net.
PHX - Charlie Dennis (Jamison Ping), 52nd minute: On a corner kick taken from the left, midfielder Jamison Ping served the ball toward the back post that Dennis lept and headed into the back of the net.
TXO - Lamin Jawneh (Leland Gray), 68th minute: After receiving the ball down the right, Lamin Jawneh dribbled to the byline before cutting toward goal and using his left foot to send the ball into the back of the net.
PHX - Charlie Dennis (Penalty Kick), 71st minute: Using his left foot, Dennis went near-post to secure his first hat-trick with the club.
PHX - Emil Cuello (Ihsan Sacko), 90+6 minute: After building up play down the right side of the field, forward Ihsan Sacko switched play over to defender Emil Cuello on the left side of the box. The Argentine took a touch to set up a knuckling left-footed strike that picked out the top right.
Notes
-Saturday marked Rising's third match in USL Jägermeister Cup competition.
-Additionally, midfielder Xian Emmers picked up his first start with the club in Sherman, Texas.
-With three goals and an assist Saturday night, midfielder Charlie Dennis upped his total contribution tally to five (3G, 2A) in 2025.
-Notably, Dennis is the first Rising player to score hat trick since Junior Flemmings did it against New Mexico United in August 2020.
-He is the second-ever player to net a hat-trick in USL Jägermeister Cup play.
-Additionally, it was the second time Dennis scored from the penalty spot in a USL Jägermeister Cup match, as he netted in the penalty shootout against New Mexico United (5/31).
-In his second start of 2025, forward Darius Johnson scored his second-ever goal as a Rising player (@NM, 5/10).
-Dennis notched his first assist of 2025 with his lofted cross that Johnson headed home.
-Midfielder Jamison Ping secured his second assist of 2025 with his corner kick nodded home by Dennis in the second half.
-Emil Cuello's winner in second-half stoppage time marked his first goal of the 2025 season.
-The assist was forward Ihsan Sacko's fifth in all competitions so far this season (3G, 5A).
-The intra-USL showdown marks the fourth time Rising has scored three or more goals.
-Additionally, it's the second time Kah's side has netted at least four goals (3/15 @ELP).
-Rising last scored five goals in a match against Detroit City FC on Sept. 16, 2023.
-With nine combined goals, Saturday's match went down as the highest-scoring match in USL Jägermeister Cup history.
-The victory goes down as Rising's fourth on the road in all competitions (4-2-4).
Next Game
After nearly a month away from home, Rising returns to The Valley for a Fourth of July showdown against Lexington SC, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. (PT) on July 4 at Phoenix Rising Stadium. The game is set to air on 3TV and stream on AZFS and ESPN+. Radio coverage will be available on KDUS 1060 AM (English) and La Onda 99.5 FM (Spanish).
Phoenix Rising (1-1-1, 5pts) at Texoma FC (0-1-1, 1pt)
June 28, 2025 - Bearcat Stadium (Sherman, Tex.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 2 3 5
Texoma FC 3 1 4
Scoring Summary:
TXO: McManus (Benamna), 7
PHX: Dennis (penalty kick), 21
PHX: Johnson (Dennis), 24
TXO: Pepi, 26
TXO: Pepi (McManus), 41
PHX: Dennis (Ping), 52
TXO: Jawneh (Gray), 68
PHX: Dennis (penalty kick), 71
PHX: Cuello (Sacko), 90+6
Misconduct Summary:
TXO: Staszewski (caution), 43
TXO: Valentine (caution), 89
PHX: Formella (caution), 90+8
TXO: Kilwien (caution), 90+8
TXO: Perkins (caution), 90+8
PHX: Cuello (caution), 90+10
Lineups:
PHX: GK Henry, D Cuello, D Montgomery (Essengue, 64), D Sainté ©, D Smith, M Scearce, M Ping (Margaritha, 64), M Emmers (Sacko, 79), F Johnson (Avayevu, 79), F Formella, F Dennis
Substitutes Not Used: GK Rakovsky, D Flood, M Rizzo, F Kowall
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Dennis, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Dennis, 4); FOULS: 14 (Cuello, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 2
TXO: GK Seeger (McCready, 56), D Staszewski, D Chavez © (Kilwien, 45), D Gray, D Perkins, D Valentine, M Jawneh (Baker, 90+4), M Pepi, M Dlamini (Spengler, 90+4), M Benamna (McCormick, 65), F McManus (Bortniczuk, 57)
Substitutes Not Used: M Ramos
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Jawneh, 3) SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Pepi, McManus, 2); FOULS: 19 (Staszewski, 4) OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
Referee: Corbyn May
Assistant Referees: Jarred Mosher, Josh Eli
Fourth Official: Jay Norris
Attendance: 1,045
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
Images from this story
 Phoenix Risings' Jamison Ping in action |
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