April 24, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release
Phoenix Rising FC travels East to take on expansion side, Rhode Island FC this Friday, April 25. That match will air live on Arizona’s Family Sports beginning at 4:30 p.m. The game will also stream live on Arizona’s Family Sports App and ESPN+.
Rising is coming off a 3-1 loss at home to Pittsburgh on Saturday despite outshooting the Riverhounds, 19-10 and controlling possession 62-38.
“I’m disappointed with the result and the game,” said Rising head coach Danny Stone after the match. “We have ourselves to blame. We had chances to score more goals than we did. Those moments of taking your chances are very, very important. For large spells of the game, we limited their attacking threat. We created a lot of opportunities. We had chances where we should have scored goals.”
Of the 19 shots Phoenix took against Pittsburgh, four were on target compared to half of Pittsburgh’s (5 of 10 shots on goal).
“Goals really do change games,” added Stone. “When we had the momentum, when we had chances, we did not take them. The goals we conceded were not good goals. I’m disappointed we did not put ourselves in front and give them something to have to chase.”
Rising scored first in each of its two wins this season. Last season, the USL Champions went 12-1-4 when scoring first. The lone loss was to San Antonio after playing all but 12 minutes of the game down a man.
An expansion team, Rhode Island is still getting used to its new setting and has yet to pick up its first win at home in three tries. The club scored very late in its home opener (90+2) to salvage a 1-1 draw with New Mexico on March 16, then played to scoreless draws with Charleston and Pittsburgh on April 6 and April 13.
“I’ll look at the numbers to see what they have to say about the opportunities in threatening areas,” said Stone following the Pittsburgh match. “But I don’t feel like we lacked those. What we didn’t do was take our chances.”
Goals have been scarce this season, with a single goal deciding five of the first six games. That won’t change this weekend. The first one will be vital in picking up a result in Rhode Island.
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