Phoenix Rising grabs 1st place in Group B after draw to Orange County

Phoenix Rising FC’s two-game win streak came to an end on Thursday night.

PRFC drew with Group B opponent Orange County SC 1-1 at Championship Soccer Stadium, the same pitch where Phoenix won the 2018 Western Conference Final.

And while the hopes of Rising repeating its illustrious 20-game win streak this season are over, the club now finds itself atop the group thanks to its astounding +9 goal differential.

#USL Championship Group B:

1️⃣PHX: 7 points (2-1-0) +9 GD

2️⃣SD: 7 points (2-1-0) +2 GD

3️⃣LA: 3 points (1-0-1)

4️⃣OC: 2 points (0-2-0)

5️⃣LV: 1 point (0-1-0)

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) July 17, 2020

Manager Rick Schantz made two changes from his starting XI in Saturday’s 4-0 win over LA Galaxy II.

The 2019 Manager of the Year opted to go with midfielder Sam Stanton and center back A.J. Cochran over midfielder Jordan Schweitzer and center back Joey Farrell, respectively. Stanton and Cochran both started in the first match of the season — a 6-1 thrashing over Portland Timbers 2 on March 7.

Coming into the match, Schantz had a very clear message for his side during Monday’s film session.

“That performance [against Los Dos] is not going to win at Orange County and we have to improve.”

And he was right.

To be fair, this OC side is a much more talented squad than Los Dos (who will be shorthanded while LA Galaxy play in the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando).

“We played a difficult match against a very good team,” Schantz tweeted Friday morning. “Under difficult circumstances, we must have more fortitude. Our desire showed at times and the quality was good. However, we need to build towards 90-plus minutes of our best.”

However, it was a pretty lackluster performance from both sides in the first half. Other than a corner that led to a Cochran header off the crossbar, neither team really created dangerous chances.

That may have had something to do with the 33 fouls and four cards on the night, with 20 fouls and three yellow cards coming in the first half.

Both Phoenix and Orange County were able to minimize the time and space they allowed each other to have on the ball, especially in the center of OC’s attack third, as Phoenix Rising was barely able to get a touch in those central areas. PRFC had an abundance of success through those channels against Los Dos.

But while the first half may have left little to be desired, the second half began with a fury.

Orange County was on the front foot for the opening 10 minutes, but still couldn’t manage to really test Phoenix Rising goalkeeper Zac Lubin.

PRFC was able to settle in shortly thereafter, and capped it off with the game’s opening goal in the 64th minute. Rising forward Junior Flemmings picked up his third goal of the year by heading home a Solomon Asante corner that was flicked on by Rufat Dadashov.

Who needs the ground to score?

0-1 | #OCvPHX

WATCH: ESPN2
AUDIO STREAM: https://t.co/Adf0WfRMLG#USLonESPN pic.twitter.com/VOvbpjPB0G

— Phoenix Rising FC | Rising Together But Separate (@PHXRisingFC) July 17, 2020

But just 10 minutes later, Orange County hit Phoenix back with a long ball over the top that led to Kevin Coleman’s equalizer in the 74th minute to bring the game to its final scoreline of 1-1.

A look at Orange County’s equalizer (that apparently went through the net).#OCvPHX | 1-1pic.twitter.com/W2Y9CeDrKg

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) July 17, 2020

Rising would get a few more opportunities late thanks to the fancy footwork of Flemmings, but the 2019 USL Championship regular-season title winners weren’t able to capitalize on the Jamaica international’s playmaking ability.

On Friday morning, both Asante and Schantz took to Twitter to express their displeasure with the pitch conditions.

“We came with a mission to pick up three points, but the pitch wasn’t playable,” Asante wrote. “Difficult for Phoenix Rising FC to exhibit our sweet, swift and beautiful play. We live to fight for another day.”

Follow @jwa1994