On Saturday night, Phoenix Rising hosted San Antonio FC at 38th St./Washington.
Rising returned home from a two-week road trip after getting roughed up 4-0 at Sacramento Republic FC but coming back to beat Monterey Bay 2-0 on July 29.
Phoenix started the game off holding majority of the possession but San Antonio’s defensive line came prepared and held their own.
The momentum of the game swung abruptly when Rising forward Manuel Arteaga was ejected from the game after receiving a red card just 12 minutes in. Phoenix fans felt like the San Antonio player went down too easily and became angrier and louder, even launching water bottles towards the San Antonio goal, but Arteaga left the field peacefully.
During the postgame press conference, head coach Juan Guerra talked about the impact on everyone involved when a star player like Arteaga gets ejected so early in a game.
“There’s a lot of people invested, there’s a lot of people sacrificing a lot of things. There’s fans that come in and spend a lot of money to try to come in and enjoy something that should be run properly,” Guerra said.
During a brief water break, Rising fans made sure the head referee understood their position regarding Arteaga’s ejection when they loudly booed him as he came to the sidelines for hydration.
Rising goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo has been making a name for himself after stopping a penalty kick in last week’s game in what would earn him an honorable mention as goalkeeper on Team of the Week; and tonight he would make a huge stop on a San Antonio corner kick attempt in the 18th minute.
After Arteaga’s ejection, Rising forward Danny Trejo would rally to score the first goal of the match in dramatic fashion.
San Antonio left back Victor Pagliari Giro, also known as PC was shown a yellow card after tripping Rising midfielder Carlos Harvey. Although, it seemed Harvey’s attempt on goal prior to being tripped was more likely to score than his failed free kick attempt.
Seconds before halftime, Novo would make another incredible line drive save to ensure his team held the 1-0 lead going into the half.
In another shocking moment, Guerra received a yellow card of his own after standing up for his team and arguing a call from the sidelines.
Following the game, Guerra commented about the officiating.
“I think we all have a responsibility…myself as a coach, the players as players, organization, owners, and referees, and above that the league—enough is enough. The thing is that it’s not gonna change, so whatever I can say tonight is just gonna get flushed and it’ll be the next one. And tonight it was Phoenix, next week it could be San Diego, then the other week could be Colorado and it’s the same thing,” Guerra said.
During the final 20 minutes of anxiety ridden soccer, San Antonio got a shot to fall, tying the game 1-1 in the 85th minute.
It appeared Phoenix had given up their offensive game, becoming desperate to keep the ball from going in their net for majority of the second half.
The stats speak to that as San Antonio would finish the match outshooting Phoenix by an absurd margin of 28-9.
In extra minutes, Rocco would get caught well out of the goal, allowing San Antonio a long shot that found the twine for the game winner.
The game seemed to be tension driven, and that tension continued after the game, when bad blood boiled over and players had to be held back during some heated words between the teams.
Guerra speculated on how his team will bounce back after tonight’s tough loss.
“Put one foot in front of the other we—I go in there and give them a hug, they know they put a hell of an effort, I was disappointed we didn’t get anything out of the game—put one foot in front of the other, like I said — tonight doesn’t hurt us — tonight doesn’t make us weak — tonight gets us a lot stronger and I’m already thinking about the next game,” Guerra said.
Rising will be back at 38th st/Washington on Aug. 12 to play El Paso Locomotive FC at 8pm.
