PRFC Head To The 505 Looking For 1st Win In 3 Attempts vs. Four Corners Rival

Phoenix Rising Football Club (22W-5D-3L, 71 PTS, 1st Place – USL West) hit the road for a trip to Isotopes Park in Albuquerque to face rival New Mexico United (10W-10D-9L, 40 PTS, 8th Place, USL West), looking for their first win in franchise history against the expansion rival side after a 3-3 draw at Casino Arizona Field to open the home side of the 2019 schedule and a 2-2 (3-4 AET) loss in penalties in the US Open Cup at Casino Arizona Field. The win launched NMU towards an eventual quarterfinal run in the showcase domestic single elimination tournament.

Phoenix Rising Football Club is coming off their first loss in 20 matches in a 2-1 defeat away to Fresno F.C. at Chukcancsi Park. PRFC captain Solomon Asante missed two penalties in the 2nd half, causing Rising to drop points for the first time in 20 matches, an all-time record in American professional soccer history.

New Mexico United started off the 2019 season strong, riding a wave of early season form to 1st Place in the USL’s Western Conference before an extended US Open Cup run and a long stretch of away games knocked them as low as 11th in the West before a recent rebound in form has them in the playoff places in the West, but still in a play-in round position in the West’s #8 slot. If the season ended today, NMU would host a home play-in game against #9 LA Galaxy II. Here are the Western Conference standings up-to-date:

What To Expect

Saturday’s match will, without a doubt, be one that Phoenix Rising has extra incentive to get up for – both matches with New Mexico United have been heated affairs, indicating a budding rivalry – and NMU are the only team in the USL West outside of Fresno FC that the Rising have faced multiple times this season and emerged without a win (0-1-1). On top of that, for the first time in three months, PRFC will be coming off of a loss – and two in a row, while not an actual cause for major concern, might cause some disquiet around the side after the tail end of last year’s regular season ended poorly for Schantz and his Rising side. Expect to see play maker Jon Bakero return to action on Saturday after a precautionary absence of a few games – meaning that perhaps for the first time this season, PRFC will present the side that will be most likely to take the field come the USL playoffs. This may be seen as a “playoff test-drive” of sorts by Schantz and the staff, and Solomon Asante will be looking to rebound from his two misses on penalties at Fresno with an MVP caliber performance against United.

Kevaughn Frater in action last season for Phoenix Rising FC. He is the leading scorer for NMU this season with 14 goals through 25 matches. (Photo by Joe Hicks/Getty Images)

NMU is lead in scoring by former PRFC striker Kevaughn Frater, who has scored 14 goals in 25 matches after a relatively quiet season with PRFC in 2018, scoring 3 goals in 21 matches. Their #2 scorer is Santiago “Santi” Moar, with 11 goals on the year – but he will sit out Saturday’s match due to yellow card accumulation. Rounding out the scoring is former University of New Mexico forward Devon Sandoval with 9 goals and former San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Chris Wehan with 8 goals.

A key player to New Mexico’s fortunes has been GK Cody Mizell, a former United States U-20 backstopper who has been key to holding together a shady defense and a shaky season for United. His play was instrumental in keeping NMU in both matches against PRFC.

NMU has struggled at home this season despite leading the USL attendance in an impressive first campaign at Albuquerque’s Isotopes Park, averaging 10,518 per game with a great atmosphere. They are 5-3-5 are are 1-1-0 on a four game homestand, coming off of a 3-1 loss to Reno 1868 FC.

How They’ll Line Up/Prediction

The Rising should come out at full strength for Saturday night’s matchup. Here’s our predicted lineup:

It should be a highly entertaining and fun game to watch. This budding rivalry should be fun for many years to come. This year’s games have featured quite a few offensive chances, but NMU is a much different team than they were at the beginning of 2019, lacking the swagger they came to Casino Arizona Field with. Final Score: Phoenix Rising FC 3-1 New Mexico United.

Good luck and Go Rising!