Rising Takes Down San Antonio FC, 1-0, in Home Finale
USL Phoenix Rising FC

Rising Takes Down San Antonio FC, 1-0, in Home Finale

Published on October 19, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


PHOENIX - Phoenix Rising scored early and kept another clean sheet as it picked up its second straight victory, a 1-0 shutout, against San Antonio FC on October 18 at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Midfielder Charlie Dennis scored the opening goal, while goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky and the club's defense held strong to keep San Antonio off the board en route to a crucial win on Fan Appreciation Night.

"It was a good game from our side," midfielder Noble Okello said. "It was a playoff atmosphere today and I think everyone was ready from minute one to minute 96."

More Clean Sheets

For the second time this season, Rising's defense came up with consecutive clean sheets. A week after holding North Carolina FC scoreless in a 2-0 victory on the East Coast, Kah's side allowed just five shots (one shot on goal) against a San Antonio side just a point above it in the standings.

Notably, it was the first time since May that Rising has gone 180 consecutive minutes without allowing the ball to hit the back of the net, when it took down Monterey Bay FC (2-0) and Las Vegas Lights FC (1-0) in consecutive weeks. Big-picture, Rakovsky has now kept five clean sheets in regular-season play and will look to make it six when the club ends the regular season in Pittsburgh on October 25.

"It's coming close to the end of the year now," Okello said. "We're pushing for the playoffs and every point matters for us to push for a home match here. Hopefully we can do that, but at the end of the day it's the playoffs coming up so we want to make sure we can be defensively strong."

Playoffs?

Rising's formula for the playoffs come next weekend is simple: win, and the club is in. A win with some help from El Paso Locomotive FC and the club could finish in the top four and host a playoff match back at Phoenix Rising Stadium.

A draw also ensures safety but would see Rising hit the road for its first playoff match. A loss, however, will see the club have to rely on the results of Lexington SC and Orange County SC to learn its fate. Heading to the Steel City, the message from Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah down is to focus on the task ahead - and to just win.

"We have one foot in (the playoffs), but we're not satisfied," Kah said. "We have to keep going because there's another game next week."

Goal-Scoring Plays

PHX - Charlie Dennis (Darius Johnson), 11th minute: After a shifty run into the box from the left side of the field, forward Darius Johnson played the ball toward the feet of midfielder Charlie Dennis, who turned to build space before using his right foot to dink the ball into the back of the net.

Notes

-Saturday marked Rising's final home match of the 2025 regular season.

-The club earned a result in 11 of the 15 regular-season matches played at Phoenix Rising Stadium.

-Rising finished its regular-season home slate with 27 goals scored.

-With his goal in the 11th minute, midfielder Charlie Dennis notched his fourth goal in as many matches.

-Additionally, he has five goal contributions in four of Rising's last five matches (4G, 1A).

-Forward Darius Johnson's assist marked his first since July 30 (@OC).

-He now has five goal contributions in the regular season (2G, 3A).

-Goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky has now kept consecutive clean sheets for a second time this season (5/17-5/18).

-Rising has now kept five shutouts this season.

-The win guarantees Rising will finish the season without consecutive defeats.

Next Game

Rising closes its regular season on the road against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, October 25, at Highmark Stadium. The match will be broadcast on 3TV, AZFS and ESPN+ with radio coverage available on Rising Radio (team socials).

Phoenix Rising (9-8-12, 39pts) vs San Antonio FC (10-12-7, 37pts)

October 18, 2025 - Phoenix Rising Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)

Goals by Half 1 2 FT

Phoenix Rising 1 0 1

San Antonio FC 0 0 0

Scoring Summary:

PHX: Dennis (Johnson), 11

Misconduct Summary:

PHX: Johnson (caution), 45+1

SA: Soto (caution), 45+3

PHX: Dennis (caution), 45+4

SA: Taintor (caution), 81

PHX: Sacko (caution), 84

PHX: Scearce (caution), 86

Lineups:

PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Smith (Rizzo, 78), D Boye ©, D Sainté, D Essengue, D Flores (Flood, 22), M Okello (Scearce, 75), M Avayevu, M Moursou, F Dennis, F Johnson (Sacko, 75)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Henry, GK Shaw, M Emmers, F Arase

TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Dennis, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Dennis, 3); FOULS: 12 (Flood, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 1

SA: GK Sánchez, D Medranda, D Taintor ©, D Souahy, D Neville (Buckmaster, 71), M Omar (Hernandez, 78), M Berron, M Soto (Dollenmeyer, 60), M Hernandez, M Haakenson (Linhares, 60), F Patino (Greive, 71)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Namani, D Osorio

TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Medranda, 2) SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Berrón, 1); FOULS: 14 (Berrón, 3) OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3

Referee: Brad Jensen

Assistant Referees: John Krill, Mark Novosel

Fourth Official: Pavel Georgiev

Attendance: 7,563

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 19, 2025


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