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USL Phoenix Rising FC

Starting Anew in a Familiar Place

September 10, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Goals in soccer are life-sustaining. They breathe life into lethargic play, rise home crowds from near-zombie states or jumpstart seasons that appeared to be six feet under.

And they can sometimes revive careers.

"Obviously, I hope it helps my confidence," said Arizona United midfielder/forward Schillo Tshuma about his game-winning goal against Los Angeles Galaxy II two weeks ago. "It's always tough for a forward when you don't score any goals or get any assists...You don't want to think about it when you play, but you do. So hopefully, this will help me with my confidence going forward."

Prior to Tshuma's game winner, he hadn't scored a goal in 1,745 career minutes in USL. That's nearly 20 matches worth of minutes poking and prodding opposing defenses but never finding the back of the net (although, he did have two assists). Still, for a forward looking to make a name for himself, the drought was taxing.

"It's so much pressure," Tshuma said. "Not just because you're trying to score for (yourself) but also because you're also representing your club. And when they bring you to a club, they expect you to score some goals. So, you try and stay as focused as you can be. But it's always going to be tough."

Tshuma's professional career began in January 2014, when the Portland TImbers drafted him 17th overall out of Maryland in the MLS SuperDraft. From there, he couldn't crack the first team, so he was loaned out to Orange County Blues FC for two matches. Then, the Timbers loaned him out to Arizona United SC. During his time with United, Tshuma appeared in 17 matches (15 starts) and notched an assist.

His first professional season didn't result in regular season minutes with Portland's first team (he made one U.S. Open Cup appearance), but there was hope for his second professional season. The Timbers started their own USL club, which meant Tshuma wouldn't have to be loaned out far from the club. And playing for this new USL club, T2, meant that Tshuma could train in front of the very staff he was trying to impress to reach the first team.

But the first-team minutes didn't come. And there weren't many minutes with T2 either. Tshuma appeared in 10 matches (six starts) and had just one assist.

"You want to get minutes," Tshuma said. "If you're on a team and you're used to being one of the main guys who contributes to the team and it gets to the point where you're not playing, it never feels good."

Late in the season, Tshuma had a conversation with his head coach in Portland, Caleb Porter. It was honest: Tshuma wasn't going to get a lot of first-team minutes with the Timbers and it was probably best for him if the club released him. On July 20, Tshuma was waived by Portland.

"It's very upsetting as a player," Tshuma said. "You don't want to go to someplace and not fit in. Especially for me. Since I was a kid, I've never not fit in with a team. That was the first time I felt so much pressure because I wasn't one of the guys that was playing a lot.

"It definitely doesn't feel good but at some point you realize it's for the best and you have to move forward and go play somewhere else. I'm still young and it's good for me to get released at that point and get my opportunities somewhere else."

Tshuma is excited to be back in Arizona. He says that the process of starting with a new team has been made easier by the fact that he's already played here before and knows some of the players and coaches.

It's a second chance at making a great first impression. An impression that opposing defenders should be wary.

The goals are coming.

"You want to score every game and you want to get assists every game," Tshuma said. "You have to just leave everything on the field."

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 10, 2015


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