Rising FC throttles LA Galaxy II in 4th consecutive win to stay atop Group B

If you think you’re experiencing deja vu, you’re not.

Phoenix Rising FC throttled LA Galaxy II 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles.

The match mirrored the 4-0 win PRFC picked up at Casino Arizona Field the last time these two sides played each other back on July 11.

The victory also marks Phoenix’s fourth consecutive victory and first road win of the 2020 campaign, albeit this was only the club’s third road contest of the year.

“Still things to work on, but (three points) on the road in tough conditions is always good,” manager Rick Schantz tweeted after the game. “Glad to be headed back to the ‘dry heat.’ Rest, recover, and fight again.”

Phoenix Rising extends its lead atop the Group B standings and continues to put pressure on second-placed Orange County SC, who could jump PRFC should OCSC win all three games that it has in hand on Rising.

#USL Championship Group B standings (W-D-L):

1️⃣PHX: 19 points (6-1-1)

2️⃣OC: 11 points (3-2-0) +4 GD

3️⃣SD: 11 points (3-2-3) -2 GD

4️⃣LA: 9 points (3-0-2)

5️⃣LV: 1 point (0-1-3)

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

A few of the normal starters were absent from Schantz’s starting XI, but that was to be expected as Phoenix will have played three matches in eight days from Aug. 15-22.

The likes of Rufat Dadashov, Jon Bakero, Sam Stanton and A.J. Cochran all began the day on the bench, as Santi Moar, Jordan Schweitzer, Jack Barmby and Joey Farrell got the starting nod.

Another reason for the quadruple-change from Saturday’s 2-0 win over San Diego Loyal SC is due to age — or lack thereof — within Los Dos’ squad. LA Galaxy II played eight of its nine players that were between the ages of 16 and 19. The only teenager to not make an appearance on Wednesday was the backup keeper.

That’s because starting Los Dos goalkeeper Abraham Romero proved his worth despite what the scoreline says. As any keeper will tell you — regardless of how well they are playing — a goalkeeper is only as good as his defense.

Take these two saves in the opening 20 minutes for example:

A look at Flemmo’s 1-on-1 attempt and the long ball opportunity I was talking about.

0-0 | #LAvPHX pic.twitter.com/FJKCVI8lbD

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

A loot at Barmby’s shot from inside the box that was saved by Los Dos’ Abraham Romero. The keeper has made two big saves in the opening 20 minutes.

0-0 | #LAvPHX pic.twitter.com/N6cfcVk0Og

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

But eventually Phoenix Rising would break the deadlock in a similar fashion as Romero’s first save on Flemmings in the opening quarter of an hour.

In the 23rd minute, midfielder Kevon Lambert found his fellow countryman Flemmings in acres of space and sent a ball over the top for him to run onto. This time Flemmings would cut in on his left and then cooly put the ball through Romero’s legs to give PRFC a 1-0 lead.

The goal marks the ninth of the 2020 campaign for the Jamaican international, which puts him atop the USL Championship scoring charts for the Golden Boot.

A look at Flemmo’s goal.

Told you that long ball was there (not that we haven’t seen him score like that before).

0-1 | #LAvPHXpic.twitter.com/JCwKY3CQVd

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

With Moar starting in place of Dadashov, that resulted in Flemmings playing in the middle as Phoenix’s No. 9 and Moar playing on the left wing.

It’s been an unlucky first season with Phoenix Rising for Moar. After picking up a knock in training prior to Matchday 1 on March 7, the Spaniard had to wait until the restart to make his PRFC debut.

In the matches that he has been able to play, Moar has notched two assists but has also struck the woodwork twice as well, including a save from Romero on Wednesday that the goalkeeper was just able to get enough on to push it off the post.

But the Spaniard would eventually get his first goal in a Rising kit in the 36th minute, as Moar was able to finish a darting run with a chip over the sliding keeper on a through ball from captain Solomon Asante.

I’ve said that Santi Moar has been unlucky this year. He wasn’t able to make his first appearance until after the restart due to injury and has hit post at least twice by my count (today and at OC).

But here is his first goal of the year.

0-2 | #LAvPHX pic.twitter.com/S6ejdOiLNZ

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

Moar wasn’t the only one picking up his first PRFC goal in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Schweitzer also added his name to that list in the 63rd minute, as Asante was able to pick out the midfielder’s run from the side of the box for the easy tap-in finish to make it 3-0 in Rising’s favor.

Schweitzer’s first for #PRFC.

Solo’s 7th assist of the year ties him for the league lead (leads Western Conference).

0-3 | #LAvPHX pic.twitter.com/T4KiuPM8XJ

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

The assist also brings Asante’s tally up to seven on the 2020 season.

The 2019 MVP and single-season assist record holder (17) now leads the Western Conference in assists and is tied for the league lead.

Los Dos would manage to get a consolation thanks to Augustine Williams’ 70th-minute goal to bring LA Galaxy within two at 3-1.

A look at Los Dos’ goal.

1-3 | #LAvPHX pic.twitter.com/hsQk4B7KLx

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

Asante also got in on the scoring festivities in the 96th minute thanks to an assist from Lagos Kunga.

The goal not only brings the Ghanaian tied for second in the West (third in the league) with teammate Dadashov, but it also puts the captain into a very exclusive club.

Asante becomes only the second player in USL Championship history to score 40 goals and notch 30 assists in a career, which he has managed to do in just over two seasons.

A look at Solo Asante’s 5th goal of the year which puts him tied for 3rd in the league and tied for 2nd in the West (his teammate Junior Flemmings leads #USL with 9).

1-4 | #LAvPHXpic.twitter.com/d8lg60k1Bf

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) August 19, 2020

STOPPAGE TIME

• Joey Calistri started once again over Owusu-Ansah Kontoh, causing Darnell King to start at left back.
• Phoenix now begins its Nevada trip, as PRFC plays away to Las Vegas twice — with away to Reno 1868 FC in between — before returning to the Valley to host Lights FC on Sept. 11.

UP NEXT

Phoenix Rising has another quick turnaround, as the club returns to action in just three days’ time away to Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be audio broadcasted live on ArizonaSports.com and on the new Arizona Sports app.

Follow @jwa1994