With major playoff-seeding implications on the line, Phoenix Rising tied with Orange County SC 1-1 as a late equalizing goal secured a point at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium on Sept. 30.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!First Half
Orange County had an opportunity, in the 21st minute, to capitalize off of a Rising mistake as Phoenix defender Alejandro Fuenmayor tried to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, Rocco Rios Novo.
As the ball came to Rios Novo’s feet, Orange County midfielder Kyle Scott put pressure on the him as Scott tried to intercept.
Rios Novo was able to kick it away in the knick of time, but it fell right to Orange County striker Thomas Amang who went for a long-range shot outside of the box.
In a form of despiration, Rios Novo was able to back himself up to push the dangerous scoring chance away for a corner kick.
The first half had a few minor chances, but the Rising had a majority of possession in the first half.
Second Half
As the game wore on, the Rising and Orange County started to create scoring chances, while also got chippy.
The first goal went in the 61st minute created by a turnover.
Orange County right-back Owen Lambe had a throw-in and launched the ball to subistitute Brian Iloski.
Then, Iloski was stripped of the ball by Rising center-back John Holger Michael Stenberg.
Stenberg’s interception sent the ball right to Iloski’s brother, Milan Iloski, who fired it past Rios Novo to give Orange County a 1-0 lead.
In a bit of frustration, Rising’s José Hernández pushed Scott and received a yellow card in the 70th minute.
After the foul, Orange County left-back Ryan Doghman sent a cross into the box towards Brian Iloski who had a huge chance to score.
Instead, he tried to create extra space past Rising defender Mohamed Traore before ending up shooting right at Rios Novo.
Soon after the missed chanced, the Rising’s attack started to get into a rhythm.
In the 82nd minute, Traore sent a cross to Stenberg who had a wide-open opportunity, but headed the ball off the post and out of bounds.
Just a minute later, Rising midfield Danny Trejo was harshly tripped and fouled by Orange County center-back Dillon Powers before Traore pushed Powers to the ground.
Both Traore and Powers received yellow cards for the incident.
When the drama concluded, the Rising broke through in the 85th minute.
Rising midfielder Emil Cuello looked like he was going to pass, but he instead let the ball fly from long range and shot towards the top corner of the goal to knot the game up 1-1.
WHAT A ROCKET 🚀! #RisingAsOne | @CircleKStores pic.twitter.com/pzfm91JHha
— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) October 1, 2023
Possession favored the Rising with 57% possession, but Orange County led in shots on-target 5-2.
Both sides had 11 fouls and 2 yellow cards each.
After the Result
With this stalemate, the Rising stay put in fourth place with 48 points and clinched a playoff spot.
This is their third 1-1 tie in a row as the Rising drew with the Indy Eleven Sept. 20 and the El Paso Locomotive Sept. 23.
𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 ✈️⁰ ⁰@PHXRisingFC has clinched a spot in the 2023 Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/tTCgmfbVCK
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) October 1, 2023
Orange County stay in fifth with 48 points as well in the USL Western Conference standings.
San Diego Loyal SC, who were tied with the Rising and Orange County with 47 points before last night, breezed past Monterey Bay FC 4-1 last night and now have a three-point cushion in third with 50 points now.
Trailing still by a point, with 47, in sixth place is the Colorado Springs Switchbacks who drew with Rio Grande Valley FC 1-1 last night.
The Rising host tenth-placed New Mexico United for their last regular season game at home in Arizona on Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
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Alec Cipollini is a journalist covering the Arizona Coyotes and Phoenix Rising for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his new X account @CipolliniBCS
