PRFC eliminated from 2019 USL Cup Playoffs in 2-1 loss to visiting #4 seed Real Monarchs

Despite the multitude of records set by Phoenix Rising Football Club in the 2019 season, red flags appeared near the end of the season for a team that was coming off of a 20 game winning streak. Red flags that included sloppy backline play, poor play from GK Zac Lubin, and three straight penalty kick misses from the USL’s goals and assists leader, Solomon Asante – and a general feeling that the team looked exhausted. Looking back on 2019, a season where the Rising clinched the best regular season record in USL Championship history on points and wins, the question has to be asked – did the players go too hard in pursuit of history in the regular season and find themselves worn out at the end of the year? After Friday night’s 2-1 loss to #4 Real Monarchs at Casino Arizona Field, that may be a question that the Rising coaching staff will have to address moving into the 2020 season, as they assess how they will make the adjustments required to convert a dominant regular season into a first ever USL Cup for the franchise. The loss was certainly an emotional one for both fans and players, who went all-in on this team’s incredible, record-setting performance throughout the regular season – but now are left disappointed after a 2nd consecutive loss at home to the red hot Monarchs, who are now winners of 9 of their last 10 and will host the Western Conference Finals with and are the favorites to emerge from the West to face the eventual Eastern Conference Champion in the USL Cup finals.

How It Went Down

Rising Head Coach Rick Schantz started forward Joey Calistri in place of midfielder Jose Aguinaga, with the idea that getting on the board first and forcing the Monarchs to open up on offense would assure the Rising of a victory. His plan seemed to be working just fine – as the Rising’s Junior Flemmings popped in a goal to give PRFC a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute, and with the Rising holding a 21-0-0 record scoring first at this point in 2019, things were looking good. Unfortunately, the Rising defense seemed to pass out after Flemmings goal, conceding a 33rd minute goal to Jack Blake and a 43rd minute goal to Maikel Chang and giving the Monarchs a 2-1 advantage that they would hold onto for the rest of the game, despite Phoenix holding a dominant 24-10 advantage in shots and 59 percent of possession. The 2nd half was a series of impressive Phoenix pushes that seemed to lack the ability to find that final finishing move, including late in the 70th minute, when Joey Farrell had an open net and the ball directly in front of Real’s net and skied his shot over the top of the net.

With that being said, the Monarchs played an effective game, and are playing the best soccer of any team in the USL, and recognized that the Rising strategy might be focused on a team that would bunch a team in the box, hoping that playing 5 defenders back and scoring one fluke goal would win the game. Instead, the Monarchs played Phoenix’s own game against them – leading to a pretty wide open, entertaining match, but a match that Phoenix’s exhaustion showed, especially on Lubin’s effort to stop Chang’s eventual game winner. The last few weeks were not very impressive for either of Rising’s goalkeepers, and questions may be asked of management if it is time to find new solutions – especially with the age of backup keeper Carl Woszczynski, who is probably considering retirement and looked mediocre at best in his limited appearances initially as the #1 keeper for Phoenix and later in the season in relief for Lubin. All in all, the 2-1 loss was the perfect storm: PRFC ran into a team that had a few MLS players sent down recently due to the end of Real Salt Lake’s season, was red hot, confident, and able to take advantage of a team that was so laser focused on regular season records that they forgot to same some energy in the tank for the playoffs.

Where Do the Rising Go From Here?

CSR will go into depth with this issue later on in the off-season, but this team is obviously excellent as current constructed. But a few tweaks need to be made to make a run at a USL Cup in 2020, especially given the way that teams seemed to adjust to so well to the Rising playing style late in the season. Here’s a few recommendations:

Adam Jahn was solid this year, but the style of Cortez/Jahn concrete feet target strikers might be something that Rick Schantz should adjust going into 2019. A more mobile front man in the mold of Jason Johnson would be able to exploit defenses by creating their own shots directly in front of goal; something that Jahn struggled with this year.

Adding more vocal leaders to take the pressure of leadership off of Solomon Asante if he chooses to stay in Rising red next year. There was no doubt that on top of the death of his father this season, Asante was exhausted by the end of the year, with 1 goal in his last 10 games.

Focus on keeping Corey Whelan, Amadou Dia, and Dumbuya. These three consistently turned in impressive performances throughout the season. Mala is probably the 4th I would keep as he seemed to be extremely impressive but under utilized by Schantz near the end of the year.

JJ’s reliability in terms of injuries and his lack of confidence after his return really speak to me that he probably should not be returning to the side next year. It’s a shame, but I think this year’s injury may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s a damn shame as he was on track to have a fantastic season.

LASTLY: Despite this loss, this team had an incredible year. In 95% of domestic soccer leagues in the world, there are no playoff seasons, and overall, if you look at the entire USL season, it’s obvious that the Rising were by far the best team in the league. We set incredible records, this team created incredible memories, and maybe if this season played out just a little differently, the USL Cup would be ours. Single elimination games are difficult in that regard – flukes can happen and the best teams can lose. This team had an incredible season – and as constructed, probably would have won the USL Cup if there was not so much fous on a 20 game winning streak. Phoenix Rising FC went from Arizona United SC – playing in front of 1,500 fans in a baseball stadium in Peoria 4 years ago – to a team that draws 7,000+ fans, has contended for the USL Cup three consecutive years and is considered a premier minor league soccer organization in the entire country. If we don’t win a USL Cup soon, it will only be because we are playing in MLS. Keep the faith and stay proud of this season. Thank you to our incredible players, staff, coaches and fans. Let’s get them in 2020.