PHOENIX, Arizona (Saturday, August 19) – Phoenix Rising FC (8-8-8) fell, 1-0, on the road in Rio Grande Valley tonight.
The team travels to Las Vegas next Saturday, August 26. The match is set to kick off live on AZFSEN and ESPN+ beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight, RGV took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute of the match on a corner kick that was played to the near corner of the six-yard box by Taylor Davila. Juan Galindrez made his run to that spot and redirected a perfect header, just inside the near post to beat goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo.
Rising regained its composure and created two set piece opportunities before the 31st minute but was unable to convert on either. The latter was far more dangerous. Panos Armenakas sent a curling cross to the back of the six-yard box, where John Stenberg won the ball. Unfortunately, the header smacked off the chest of an RGV defender, allowing goalkeeper Tyler Deric to scoop up the loose ball and send it away from danger.
Rising gained a one-man advantage for the remainder of the match when RGV’s Juan Cabezas picked up two yellow cards in four minutes, just before halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Rising’s second leading scorer, Manuel Arteaga took the field. In the 61st minute he received the ball at the top of the box, turned his defender and struck a hard shot towards the back post. Deric reacted well and made a diving save to his left side to preserve the Toros’ 1-0 lead.
RGV sat in a low block that Phoenix could not find a way to break down for the remainder of the second half, despite playing with a man advantage. Rising ended the match with a 66-34 edge in possession but could not find a way to get a shot by Deric and the match ended 1-0 in favor of the home side.
Scoring:
RGV – Juan Galindrez (Taylor Davila) 17
Discipline:
RGV – Juan Cabezas (caution) 43
RGV – Juan Cabezas (caution) 45+2
RGV – Juan Cabezas (ejection) 45+2
PHX – Rocco Rios Novo (caution) 45+3
PHX – Carlos Harvey (caution) 80
RGV – Wilmer Cabrera (caution) 90
PHX – Gabi Torres (caution) 90+2
RGV – Jose Torres (caution) 90+5
Lineups:
Phoenix Rising FC – Rocco Rios Novo, Darnell King (Henry Uzochukwu 66), Alejandro Fuenmayor, John Stenberg, Eddie Munjoma (Dariusz Formella 57), Carlos Harvey (Emil Cuello 84), Renzo Zambrano, Jose Andres Hernandez, Panos Armenakas (Manuel Arteaga 46), Danny Trejo, Fede Varela (Gabi Torres 57).
Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Rakovsky, Mo Traore.
RGV Toros FC – Tyler Deric, Jonathan Ricketts, Erik Pimentel, Wahab Ackwei (Eric Kinzner 56), Frank Nodarse, Juan Cabezas, Taylor Davila, Ricky Ruiz, Christian Pinzon (Tomas Ritondale 90+3), Wilmer Cabrera Jr (Jose Torres 90), Juan Galindrez (Cristiano Francois 76).
Substitutes Not Used: Carlos Merancio, Ian Cerro, Frank Lopez.
