PHOENIX, Arizona Saturday, October 1 – Phoenix Rising downed Red Bull New York II, 5-1, tonight at Wild Horse Pass.
Gabi Torres and Aodhan Quinn found the back of the net in the first half, while Baboucarr Njie, Richmond Antwi and JJ Williams extended Rising’s lead in the second half. Williams collected two assists after coming on for the final 21 minutes of the match. Joey Calistri, who made his 100th regular-season appearance for the club, picked up an assist on Willaims’ goal in stoppage-time.
Rising is on the road next weekend before returning to Wild Horse Pass for its regular-season finale on Saturday, October 15 (7:30 p.m.).
Rising struck immediately in just the second minute when Torres took control of the ball 40-yards from goal and dribbled his way through the New York defense. No Red Bull defender stepped up to stop the run and Torres continued to take space until he was inside the area, ripping a left-footed shot that settled just inside the post for the 1-0 lead.
Torres earned a penalty kick for Rising in the 23rd minute after Arturo Rodriguez freed him in-alone on goal against Red Bull goalkeeper Alan Rutkowski. The ‘keeper charged off his line but Torres arrived first, leaving Rutkowski able to latch onto nothing but the foot of the midfielder. Referee Greg Dopka pointed to the spot and Quinn converted the chance, low to the goalkeeper’s right side to make it 2-0.
Red Bull was reduced to 10-men just after halftime when Mike Knapp was shown his second caution of the match for tugging on the jersey of Rodriguez to impede his progress near midfield.
Njie made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute when JJ Williams took a throw-in from Rising’s right flank and turned his defender. The forward was in on goal but graciously played a pass to Njie at the back post. The midfielder hammered a shot on goal, rattling the crossbar but keeping it low enough that the ball settled into the back of the net.
Antwi came on for the final 11 minutes of the match and made it 4-0 in the 84th minute on the feed from Williams, who now has six assists this season.
New York pulled one back on a goal by Jordan Adebayo-Smith in the 88th but Rising retook its four-goal lead when Williams finished off a chance that was set up by Calistri.
Scoring:
PHX – Gabi Torres 2
PHX – Aodhan Quinn (PK) 23
PHX – Baboucar Njie (JJ Williams) 73
PHX – Richmond Antwi (JJ Williams) 84
NY – Jordan Adebayo-Smith 88
PHX – JJ Williams (Joey Calistri) 90+1
Discipline:
NY – Mike Knapp (caution) 6
NY – Daniel De Leon (caution) 43
PHX – Aodhan Quinn (caution) 47
NY – Mike Knapp (caution) 51
NY – Mike Knapp (ejection) 51
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Ben Lundt, Baboucarr Njie, Joe Farrell, Hayden Sargis, Gabi Torres (Joey Calistri 68), Carlos Anguiano, Darnell King, Aodhan Quinn (Luis Seijas 58), Greg Hurst (JJ Williams 69), Santi Moar (Richmond Antwi 79), Arturo Rodriguez.
Substitutes Not Used: Lalo Delgado, Lamin Jawneh.
New York Red Bulls II – Alan Rutkowski, O’Vante Mullings, Yostin Salinas, Omar Valencia (Bento Estrela 71), Matt Nocita (Daniel De Leon 15), Mike Knapp, Nate Worth, Erick Ruiz (Curtis Ofori 59), Henry Wise (John Murphy 60), Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Jonny Filipe.
Substitutes Not Used: Giannis Nikopolis David Alexandre.
