Pa-Modou Kah makes his debut as Rising Head Coach, Braxton Montgomery receives his first professional minutes
Phoenix Rising fell just short in its home opener, conceding midway through the first half in a 1-0 loss to FC Tulsa on Saturday afternoon. Pa-Modou Kah manned the touchline for the first time at Phoenix Rising Stadium, while academy product Braxton Montgomery made his professional debut.
“Obviously, you give away a goal, but for me it’s the performance that matters to me the most,” Kah said. “We’re not in control of the results but we are in control of the performance, and I think the boys gave their effort and I will never fault them for that. They were brilliant.”
A NIGHT OF DEBUTS
Seven Rising players (Noble Okello, Ihsan Sacko, Carl Sainté, Damián Rivera, Hope Avayevu, Braxton Montgomery, Collin Smith) played their first minutes with the team, while Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah took charge from the sidelines for the first time.
Notably, Braxton Montgomery –– a product of the Phoenix Rising Academy –– made his professional debut, checking in for the game’s final 15 minutes. The 17-year-old defender is one of five academy players to recently sign a USL Academy contract, which allows players to retain college eligibility while playing professional soccer.
“To have one of our academy players make his debut at home is massive for (Montgomery),” Kah said. “We’re happy to play him. We needed players in the position, know he can do the job and he did his job fantastically.”
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
TUL – Alexander Dalou, 25th minute: Capitalizing on a Tulsa shot that fell to the middle of the box, Dalou ran onto the rebound and used his right foot to curl a shot into the upper-right corner of the net.
NOTES
- Tonight’s match was Phoenix Rising’s first of the 2025 USL Championship season.
- Notably, it was the first under new Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah.
- Defender Braxton Montgomery made his professional debut tonight, entering the match in the 75th minute.
- Goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky finished with a game-high four saves.
NEXT MATCH
Rising next embarks on its first road match of the 2025 season, traveling to El Paso, Texas, to face El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday, March 15 at Southwest University Park. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. (Mountain) on AZFS and ESPN+. Local radio broadcasts can be found on KDUS 1060 AM (English) and La Onda 1190 AM (Spanish).
Phoenix Rising (0-1-0, 0pts) vs. FC Tulsa (1-0-0, 3pts)
March 8, 2025 – Phoenix Rising Stadium (Phoenix, AZ.)
Goals by Half 0 0 0
Phoenix Rising 0 0 0
FC Tulsa 1 0 1
Scoring Summary:
TUL: Dalou, 25
Misconduct Summary:
TUL: Dalou (caution), 24
PHX: Formella (caution), 35
TUL: Cissoko (caution), 66
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Flood (Montgomery, 75), D Traore, D Mar Boye (C), D Smith, Avayevu (Dennis, 80), M Okello, M Sainte, F Rivera (Johnson, 71), F Cabral (Sacko, 71), F Formella
Substitutes Not Used: GK Henry, D Neville, D Araneda, M Scearce, M Ping
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (seven players tied, 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (three players, 1); FOULS: 15 (Okello, Rivera, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
TUL: GK Peñaranda, D Batista, D Cissoko (C) (Pierre, 68), D Rogers, M Damm (Seagrist, 89), M Diallo, M Colli, M St. Clair, F Dalou (Laszo, 61), F Calheira (ElMedkhar, 68), F Stojanovic (Bettache, 89)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Dowd, M Lukic
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (two players, 2) SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Dalou, 2); FOULS: 17 (Diallo, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referees: Darren Bandy, Bennett Savage
Fourth Official: Abdu Razzaq Juma
Attendance: 6,478
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
