PRFC Looks To Kick Off Biggest Homestand Of 2019 In Style vs. El Paso Locomotive

After an exciting 3-2 comeback victory to earn their USL record 12th straight win last week at LA Galaxy 2, Phoenix Rising Football Club returns to the friendly confines of Casino Arizona Field – where they haven’t lost a match all year – to face off against conference rivals El Paso Locomotive FC. The Rising earned their very first win of 2019 against El Paso after 4 consecutive draws to start the year with a 2-0 victory in El Paso behind goals from Junior Flemmings and Ben Spencer.

The Story So Far

El Paso comes into the match with a 7-8-6 record, good for 29 points and a fairly mediocre 10th Place in the West, which gives them a spot in one of the two “play-in” games, where they would face the 7th ranked team for a shot at either the 1st or 2nd seeds in the real playoff first round. El Paso hasn’t been in the dumps all year though – before their current run of 7 games without a win (while only scoring 2 goals over those 7 games) the Locomotive seemed to be a strong contender in the West, rising into the top 4 behind the play of Jerome Kieswetter, who took turns leading the USL in goals, but due to injury, is stuck at 10, good for 5th in the USL. Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer was strong between the pipes, and these two along with a solid possession game seemed to put the Locomotive on a sure path to the USL playoffs in the first year of existence. Unfortunately, both are injured, and El Paso offense has taken the biggest hit. Kieswetter was responsible for 44% of the Loco’s goals, and the rest of the front-line is not inspiring. Former Mexico & US U-23 Omar Salgado is the big name there, but like most places he’s been in his career, he’s dramatically under-performed after being a very hyped signing.

Meanwhile, the story is the same as it has been for PRFC – 12 straight wins after another incredible victory last week in LA. Down 2-0 with 32 minutes to goal, Solomon Asante scored his league-leading 15th goal, followed by Junior Flemmings scoring his first goal since his return from Gold Cup duty, and then super-sub Joey Calisitri tallying his 3rd goal of the year on a sublime play and paired with quite a few incredible saves by Golden Glove leader Zac Lubin, the Rising had their 3rd comeback victory of the year, a 3-2 win. It was their 6th straight road win, a new USL record, and the pure style of the wins in this winning streak – blowouts, comebacks, defensive shutdowns, goals, saves – the Rising have proven that they are a team that can adjust and dominate in almost any situation they are in, against any USL opponent in any game.

The X-Factor & The Prediction

While on face, this game would look to be a dominant PRFC win for sure, there’s one “x-factor” that we need to discuss: this will be the Loco’s first game on the field since the tragic domestic terror attack at an El Paso Walmart where a Christian/White Nationalist terrorist killed 20 people and injured dozens more. El Paso were scheduled to play that evening at home, but for obvious reasons, postponed the match. There’s a strong chance the Locos may come out fired up, as teams in these situations very often do – the Vegas Golden Knights used that inspiration to take them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their expansion year. So we will most likely see a spirited display from the Locos tomorrow night at Casino Arizona Field – maybe enough to earn a draw. If this were a full strength side, then I could very well see a win for El Paso – but this is a bare bones unit that has scored 2 goals in 7 games and hasn’t won a single won a single one, versus a team that has outscored opponents at home 22-2 in the last 5 games and pitched 6 home clean sheets in their last 8 home games, winning every single one. They have the best offense and defense in the USL, and have found ways to win in every situation imaginable, including behind more than one goal on the road (vs. Real Monarchs). Expect the Rising to see some first half pressure, but they’ll grab a couple early second half goals and win this one 4-0, behind goals from Adam Jahn, a brace from Junior Flemmings, and a surprise goal from Mustapha Dumbuya, who’s speed will finally earn him a finish in a performance that will be similar to Amadou Dia’s against T2. Good luck & see you at Casino AZ Field! Kick off is at 7:30 PM.

Expected Lineup (4-3-3)