USL Phoenix Rising FC

Seijas' Rocket Wins It for Rising

Published on April 24, 2022 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Luis Seijas
Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Luis Seijas
(Phoenix Rising FC)

PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, April 23) - Phoenix Rising FC won its sixth consecutive match across all competitions, coming from a goal down to win, 2-1, vs. Miami FC tonight at Wild Horse Pass.

Kevon Lambert scored his first of the season while Luis Seijas picked up the game-winner in epic fashion, scoring a line-drive goal from 25 yards out to win it late. The goal was Seijas' team-leading fourth of the season.

The match started at the opposite end with goalkeeper Ben Lundt saving the team from giving up a goal in the 10th minute. The play began with a poor turnover in the back that sprang Miami FC's Romeo Parkes. The forward waited to Lundt to commit to his left side before firing a low shot towards the back post, but the German goalkeeper dragged his back leg just long enough to cover, knocking the shot away from goal.

Arturo Rodriguez earned a free kick for Rising in a dangerous area in the 22nd minute. Just outside the top right corner of the area, Aodhan Quinn whipped in a left-footed ball that was redirected into the back of the net only to have the lineman rule the forward was in an offsides position.

Miami FC took a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute when a ball that was sent by Pierre Da Silva from Rising's right flank found the head of Joshua Perez, who found a lot of space in the six-yard box. Perez had time to track the movement of Lundt and put his header into the corner of the net, giving the goalkeeper no chance to make a save on the play.

Lambert won the ball back for Rising near midfield and joined the attack just before the halftime whistle. The ball went out wide to Joey Calistri, who fired a low shot towards the back post. Miami goalkeeper Connor Sparrow dove to his right and pushed the shot wide of goal, but Claudio Repetto reacted first. The forward got to the rebound and knocked a short pass back into the area for Lambert to finish off, making it 1-1 at halftime.

Miami and Phoenix traded chances in the opening 20 minutes of the second half but neither side was able to break through.

The best chance for Rising came from Calistri in the 64th minute. Receiving the ball on the right flank, Calistri looked to center the ball before his defender backed off. Seeing his chance, Calistri darted towards net and tried to pick out the far corner with a hard shot. Miami's Sparrow rose to meet the shot, high to his right side the goalkeeper slapped the ball out of the top corner of the goal to keep the score locked, 1-1.

Seijas kicked down the door in the 88th minute, following a Rising corner kick. The initial service popped high into the air, forcing the midfielder to retreat and bring the ball down to his feet with his back to goal. Somehow, the Venezuelan took one touch to reel in the ball and with his second, blasted a thunderbolt that cleared the goalkeeper before catching the bottom of the crossbar and giving the home side a 2-1 victory.

Scoring:

MIA - Joshua Perez 28

PHX - Kevon Lambert (Claudio Repetto) 45

PHX - Luis Seijas 88

Discipline:

PHX - Luis Seijas (caution) 23

MIA - Devon Williams (caution) 40

PHX - Manuel Madrid (caution) 90+5

Lineups:

Phoenix Rising FC - Ben Lundt, Ryan Flood (Baboucar Njie 90+2), Joe Farrell, Kevon Lambert, Darnell King, Aodhan Quinn, Arturo Rodriguez (Marcus Epps 65), Luis Seijas (Manuel Madrid 90+3), Joey Calistri, Claudio Repetto (Santi Moar 65), Greg Hurst.

Substitutes Not Used: Lalo Delgado, Channing Chasten, Carlos Anguiano.

Miami FC - Connor Sparrow, Junior Palacios, Ben Ofeimu, Mark Segbers, Aedan Stanley, Devon Williams, Bolu Akinyode, Florian Valot (Christian Sorto 90), Joshua Perez (Lamar Walker 76), Pierre Da Silva (Adonijah Reid 90), Romeo Parkes (Kyle Murphy 76).

Substitutes Not Used: Jake McGuire, Othello Bah, Dennis Dowouna.

Rising head coach Rick Schantz

General thoughts on the match...

Miami is a very good team. They're good in possession. They're difficult to press. We didn't really commit to the game plan in the first half. Once they started knocking it around on us, we were forced to drop off quite a bit. We struggled in transition again in the first half. The second half you saw a real commitment to who we are.

That goal from Lambert right before the half. It turned the game for us. It gave us belief at halftime.

On Kevon Lambert...

It's unbelievable, what he is doing. He's dominant in the air. He's good in one-on-ones. He's great on the ball. He's calm and composed. He played as a six his whole career. I know he has played as a center back for the Jamaican National Team. Hopefully he gets another opportunity.

Rising center back Kevon Lambert

On scoring his first goal and celebrating with his first flip of the season...

We've all been waiting for it. I have been waiting for it. You guys have been waiting for it. The fans have been waiting for it. I feel like it was the right time for it to be honest. We had a breakdown in the back, and we needed an extra push two minutes before halftime. Something in my head told me to keep going when we won the ball back. I made that one run and the ball came right back to me in front of goal. It was a simple tap-in goal from there. It's great to get my first goal and first flip of the season.

Rising midfielder Luis Seijas

On scoring the game-winning goal...

I had an awful game. We didn't play the way we had the past few games. We struggled a bit. We were not synchronized in the first half. We suffered a bit but sometimes you need to have something different to overcome adversity - this team has it. I told Rick [Schantz] it was all him because he kept me on the field.

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Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Luis Seijas
Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Luis Seijas
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 24, 2022


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