The Phoenix Rising lost tonight to Monterey Bay FC two to one.

Rising were coming off a last minute defeat versus Vegas, and looked to rebound. 

Rising sat seventh, only two points clear of the last playoff spot, while Monterey Bay sat in 11th, but only six points shy of the playoffs. 

These last five fixtures would be must win games for both sides for playoff contention. 

Heading into this fixture, Monterey hadn’t won a game since July, and were in a dry spell, but they were looking to turn that around. 

For both teams, it was a must win game. A draw wasn’t acceptable. 

Rising player Remi Cabral, who led the team in goals, had unfortunately lost his father recently this week, and surprisingly played. 

Diego Gomez explained why Cabral started. 

“He’s in the right place to start,” Gomez said. “He has been through a very tough moment…it’s a difficult situation for him but he wanted to play, he wanted to play for his dad, so, he did.” 

Almost immediately, both teams got to work, making multiple chances. 

Phoenix quickly made it into a possession game, but in the 15th minute, Monterey midfielder Mobi Fehr scored a rocket from outside the box, and Phoenix were 1-0 down. 

Following the goal, Rising started to press, trying to make chances, but Monterey kept them at bay, and used this to counter. 

Rising was chasing the game, and chances kept on flying in, as shots went wide or crosses were deflected. 

The priority now was scoring, but that left the door open for Monterey to capitalize. 

In the 24th minute, Monterey nearly scored again, as the ball just curved away from the goal. 

Monterey mounded pressure on Phoenix, on all three fronts, but Rising was still making attempts. 

However, in the 44th minute, a routine corner turned into disaster, as Rising goalkeeper Roccos Rios Novo misjudged the ball, and it went in, and now Monterey was up by two. 

Heading into the half, things looked bleak, and they needed to turn things around quickly. 

While Rising had produced more shots, Monterey had converted, but there was still 45 minutes of football to be played. 

Rising shot out of a rocket, but three straight decisions may have changed the game. 

Within the span of five minutes, there were seemingly two handballs in the box and a foul in the box, all against Monterey. 

None of them were given, denying Phoenix a penalty three separate times. 

Fans booed louder after every incident, and players rushed the referee in protest, seemingly more frustrated. 

“We cannot control the referee,” said Gomez. “We have to put ourselves in a better position in the first half because we can’t control what we can’t control.” 

Within that span, Tomas Angel struck a beauty, but Monterey goalkeeper Carlos Herrera, flung himself at the ball, keeping it 2-0. 

Things looked bleak, but in the 84th minute, Rising crossed the ball into the box and after a series of touches, forward Dariusz Formella found the back of the net. 

Goal for Rising, and the game was on. 

Herrera quickly grabbed the ball to waste time, which led to him and Rising players to exchange words. 

Rising was bringing the momentum, doing their best to salvage a point. 

With the final kick of the game, Phoenix’s Juan Azocar took a shot with the chance to make it 2-2, but it went wide. 

Shortly after, the final whistle blew. 

Monterey broke their winless streak, and Rising now needs wins more than ever, alongside some luck to make the postseason. 

Rising will play New Mexico United at Isotopes Park on Wednesday.