PHOENIX RISING FC

Rising FC captain Solomon Asante named USL Player of the Week

Aug 26, 2020, 12:56 PM | Updated: 4:31 pm

Phoenix Rising FC captain and forward Solomon Asante. (Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)...

Phoenix Rising FC captain and forward Solomon Asante. (Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)

(Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)

Phoenix Rising FC captain and forward Solomon Asante was named the USL Championship Week 9 Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday.

This marks the second time in which the Ghanaian has been named the Player of the Week this season.

The 2019 MVP was able to score two goals and notch three assists over the course of Phoenix Rising’s two matches within the week.

“For a player to play as many minutes as he did in eight days and to be as effective as he was, it’s great,” manager Rick Schantz said on a Zoom call with media on Tuesday. “He’s setting up Junior (Flemmings), he’s setting up Rufat (Dadashov), scoring his own goals.

“We know what he’s capable of, we get to see it every day in training. It’s good for him to get the recognition from the league. I know it means a lot to him to continue to do well and he has big aspirations for his career.

Asante’s goal-scoring tally is now up to six (tied for third in USL), while he sits atop the league’s assists and chances created leaderboards with eight and 31, respectively.

The single-season assist record holder now has 41 goals and 34 assists in both his Phoenix Rising and USL Championship career.

Those metrics are only the second of its kind in league history, as Asante became just the second player to score 40 goals and notch 30 assists in a career.

Remarkably, the captain has been able to accomplish that feat in just over two seasons (73 games).

PRFC forward and Jamaican international Junior Flemmings was also named to the Team of the Week as an honorable mention (bench).

Flemmings managed to score two goals over the course of the week. The forward has scored in every game that Phoenix Rising has (eight of nine).

The Jamaican’s 10 goals on the 2020 campaign see him alone atop the scoring charts for the league’s Golden Boot.

Phoenix Rising has now had four Players of the Week and 13 total appearances on the Team of the Week in just nine matches played this season.

The club currently sits in first place atop Group B in the USL Championship standings with just seven games remaining.

Phoenix Rising FC returns to action on Saturday away to Reno 1868 FC, a potential playoff opponent.

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

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