Phoenix Rising Falls, 2-0, in Preseason Finale

March 1, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Phoenix Rising FC News Release

PHOENIX, Arizona – Phoenix Rising FC fell, 2-0, to LA Galaxy II tonight in its final preseason tune-up leading into next Saturday’s home opener.

Fans can purchase tickets to that match at PHXRisingFC.com or by calling 623-594-9606.

Tonight, a costly turnover at midfield created a free kick opportunity for Los Dos in just the 10th minute of the match. From 25-yards out, a Galaxy II striker made Phoenix pay, striking a left-footed curler that caught the bottom of the crossbar and settled into the back of the net to make it, 1-0.

Rising nearly pulled level in the 17th minute when Edguardo Rito sent in a cross from Phoenix’s right flank. The line-drive cross found Gabi Torres at the back post and the Brazilian headed a sharp shot on goal. Unfortunately for Rising, the hard shot was directly at the Los Dos goalkeeper, who collected the shot and did not allow a rebound.

Darius Formella came free on a quick restart in the 24th minute. He tried to beat the Los Dos goalkeeper low to his near post, but the Galaxy II goalkeeper made an outstanding kick save with his left foot.

LA made it 2-0 on a corner kick in the 27th minute. After a nice save by Rocco Rios Novo, a Galaxy midfielder send a corner to the back post, where a header was redirected down and just inside the post.

Rising earned a free kick in a similar area as Los Dos’ first goal in the 75th minute. Panos Armenakas ripped a shot on goal, but the attempt was blocked high up into the air. Near the end line, Laurence Wyke chased down the loose ball and put a shot on goal at the front post, but once again, the LA goalkeeper was in good position to make the save. That was as close as Rising would come to finding the back of the net this night.

“Overall we played well in the first half,” said Rising head coach Danny Stone. “We conceded two, but I felt we controlled the match outside a spell of about 10 minutes. Same in the second half, I felt that we just lost our rhythm at times. We created a lot of good moments. I’m a bit disappointed we haven’t been able to take those chances. As far as the overall performance, we were threatening tonight. The team will be disappointed they didn’t get a result. When I walk into that locker room, that will be the feeling. We played well enough to earn more than we got.”

Scoring:

LAII – Goal 10

LAII – Goal 27

Discipline:

PHX – Jose Hernandez (caution) 8

LAII – caution 22

LAII – caution…