Phoenix Rising FC advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals following a 3-0 win over Portland Timbers 2 in front of a record sellout crowd of 7,511 fans at Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex. It was the first-ever postseason win in club history.
Forwards Didier Drogba and Jason Johnson and midfielder Solomon Asante scored goals for Phoenix Rising. Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski notched his 13th clean sheet of the season.
Phoenix Rising now waits for the winner of the Sacramento Republic FC vs. Swope Park Rangers match on Saturday evening. If Sacramento wins, Phoenixwill have to go on the road for its next match. If Swope Park wins, PhoenixRising will host a second-consecutive home playoff match.
Drogba opened the match’s scoring in the 28th minute with a spectacular long-range free kick from 30-plus yards away. It was his second postseason goal with the club.
Rising FC held onto that lead into and out of the half. Johnson doubled the lead in the in the 62nd minute. Following a long-range ball from Chris Cortez, Johnson corralled the ball in the box, turned, and fired a shot inside the near left post for the goal and 2-0 lead.
Asante put a cap on the evening in stoppage time. After a loose ball came to his feet at the top of the box, he maneuvered around his defender and flicked a quick shot inside the right post to make it 3-0.
Phoenix Rising FC will now play in the Western Conference semifinals next week. If the team travels to Sacramento, the match will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. If Swope Park wins, Rising FC will host its next match on Friday at 7:30 p.m. If the club gets another home match, ticket information will be made available on Sunday.
QUOTES
Coach Rick Schantz
On the feeling after winning:
“It’s fantastic. The crowd was unbelievable. The fans have supported us all week long. The least we can do, and I told the players, is just to die on the field tonight and I thought that everybody gave 100 percent. We committed to the cause and we had guys out there that weren’t really 100 percent fit but it’s playoffs.”
On the team’s counter-attacking strategy:
“Last week Portland did a really good job of getting in a block behind the ball and we got frustrated and we were trying to get really difficult scoring opportunities. So, the plan tonight was for us to sit back a little bit and try and open space behind them. We weren’t really playing that great but Didier’s free kick knd of rescued us in the first half. I told the coaches at half-time, “if we get through 15 minutes, it’s going to open up”, and the guys did the job.”
On whether the team will continue this strategy:
“It depends. I know that they were very organized. He’s a very good coach. At this point right now, you have to defend first and get your chances when you can. We were much more clinical tonight and probably still left a few opportunities on the table.”
On whether the starting XI will be kept the same next week:
“We’ll see. We’ll see how everybody feels tomorrow. We don’t know who we’re playing yet.”
On his preferred opponent in the next round:
“I would like to see Swope because we get to play in front of these fans again and that would be pretty awesome. I heard that there was well over 7,000 tonight and the crowd was unbelievable.”
On the chances that were left on the table:
“Well, if we get three next game, I’m going to start to say that our chances are okay, but the guys are coming around. Again, it’s playoff soccer. You get a little tense. I think that in the first half we just weren’t as sharp, but they knew what the game plan was, to stay focussed on defending and not give up any easy chances.”
On the benefits of Drogba’s experience:
“It’s been incredible. Didier really set the table for us this week. He said he would be ready to carry us to a victory and he stepped up. Like I said, we weren’t playing very well in the first half and for him to hit that free kick the way that he did, he kind of put the team on his back and he got us that victory. I brought him out at the end, hoping to save his legs a little bit, and I told him that the young boys would seal the deal for him. Credit to Didier and all the players tonight.”
On what Drogba has meant for Rising:
“To me, learning to be a professional coach, he’s been immense. It’s been unbelievable. It’s a whole different level up here and with players like Didier…he’s pushed me a lot and he challenges me all the time, but it’s coming from a good place and I know that. We talk about it all the time. He wants the Rising club to be the best in the world and that starts with him and it goes through everybody in the club.”
Jason Johnson
On the 3-0 win over Portland Timbers 2:
“I like to know we can come to practice tomorrow, get ready for another week. Great improvement from last week, obviously didn’t finish on some of our chances, well all of our chances, last week. To come here and finish three this week, it shows how well and focused we were this week in training and how forward we were looking for this game.”
On the team taking a more defensive approach to the first-round playoff match:
“The team is so dynamic, we can play and we can switch up in the games so much. Other teams can’t really keep up with us. So, it wasn’t really a big change. We just stuck to the plan and got a great result.”
On a preferred opponent in the next round:
“Doesn’t matter. A home game would be nice, but we can’t really look at that. All we can do is control what we can control, and whatever happens on the other side happens.”
