On Saturday night, Phoenix Rising returned from a 3-game road trip and beat Orange County SC. The teams had not yet played each other this season yet, but last season Rising beat them 2-1 and also tied them 1-1 in another matchup.
Right as the game kicked off, Rising looked to be aggressive and succeeded when in the 5th minute, Rising forward Dariusz Formella would take a cross in the goal box from midfielder Gabi Torres and send it into the back corner of the net to take the early lead 1-0.
After the early goal it would be a long first half that ended with Phoenix holding possession for 57% of the half, and Orange County 43%. Also to note, there was only a single corner kick in the first half but both teams combined for a total of 13 fouls.
During the second half frustration began to mount when Rising forward Erickson Gallardo would cross a ball in the box and it would hit an Orange County player in the forearm, however the referee didn’t call it.
To add to the frustration, one of the stadium lights flashed off during an Orange County corner kick, leading them to be allowed to retake the corner. On that second opportunity, Orange County scored and the game was tied at one a piece.
Head Coach Danny Stone told reporters after the game, “Well of course it benefited them, they were able to retake the corner kick—it is what it is.”
With a tie game and time running out, things began to heat up in the game and when Rising defender, Edgardo Rito was tripped up and no penalty was called, he lost it and earned a yellow card and then was tossed a moment later after he was then awarded a red card.
Bad calls or lack of calls was an issue Rising dealt with consistently last year, and Head coach Danny Stone wasn’t pleased with tonight’s no-call.
“My opinion—the referee caused a lot of frustration in the game tonight and probably some decisions that added to the nature of the game in the last 15 to 20 minutes,” said Stone.
This ended up boosting Phoenix’s momentum and with another crossing pass, Dariusz Formella would score his second goal in which would lead the team to a 2-1 victory.
Dariusz Formella returned to Phoenix after being away in Poland for several weeks to join his wife in welcoming their child into the world. As if that wasn’t already a huge moment in his life, Formella would seal the defeat with both of Rising’s goal in their match at home.
Head coach Danny Stone spoke to reporters about Formella’s first home game back.
“I said to Dariusz after the final whistle that I was proud of him—I’m proud of the whole team—but very proud of him individually tonight. He’s been away from the team for a great reason with his family for a few weeks and since he’s come back in, he’s trained exceptionally well and he’s looked after himself while he’s been away, and the performance that he was able to put in tonight—he should take massive credit for that, and of course to score two goals in a game, is always an amazing thing,” said Stone.
Rising will be back home again to face the team they beat in last year’s championship, Charleston Battery on Saturday, June 22 at 7:30pm.
