PHOENIX RISING FC

Phoenix Rising to host LA Galaxy II with proverbial elephant on the pitch

Oct 2, 2020, 6:21 PM | Updated: Oct 3, 2020, 2:22 pm

Phoenix Rising FC stadium Casino Arizona Field. (Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)...

Phoenix Rising FC stadium Casino Arizona Field. (Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)

(Arizona Sports/Ashley Orellana)

Phoenix Rising FC’s regular-season finale at Casino Arizona Field on Saturday night against LA Galaxy II will be played with a proverbial elephant on the pitch.

For this first time since rebranding from Arizona United to Phoenix Rising, manager Rick Schantz will not be on the sideline during a game.

USL Championship Golden Boot leader and 2020 MVP candidate Junior Flemmings won’t be playing either.

That’s because of PRFC’s announcement on Thursday night that both Schantz and Flemmings were being put on administrative leave following Rising FC’s match away to San Diego Loyal SC on Wednesday, which is being investigated by the league.

Flemmings will be on administrative leave in order to cooperate with USL’s investigation of his alleged use of a Jamaican homophobic slur toward openly-gay Loyal SC player Collin Martin.

However, the club said Schantz’s administrative leave is “unrelated” to the investigation, which is expected to be concluded early next week, Phoenix Rising general manager Bobby Dulle told 98.7 FM’s Arizona Sports Saturday.

Dulle also announced that assistant coach Blair Gavin will be the club’s interim manager.

“At this time as a group and sticking with our traditions as a supporters group and our values, we cannot in good conscience stand in our section at games until there is a final resolution in regards to what happened [Wednesday] night,” Rising FC supporters’ group Los Bandidos said in a statement on Thursday.

On Friday, PRFC’s other supporters’ group Red Fury made a statement it will continue to “stand with members of the LBGTQI+ community” and that the group will “anxiously wait for the results of Phoenix Rising’s full and fair investigation.”

The other elephant in the room is the fact that within the last 10 days, both Rising FC and Los Dos are the two teams that had a homophobic and racial incident with Loyal SC, respectively.

Last week, Omar Ontiveros — who has since been released by LA Galaxy II — called San Diego midfielder Elijah Martin a racial slur in the second half of a 1-1 draw.

Phoenix and Los Dos are also the two teams that have qualified for USLC’s postseason out of Group B after Loyal SC was eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday night.

As it stands going into the final matchday, PRFC sits as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference on 32 points, with hopes of jumping Reno 1868 FC (33 points) and San Antonio FC (33 points) for the top spot in the conference and Tampa Bay Rowdies (33 points) for home-field advantage, including the USL Championship Final.

In order for Rising FC to do so, all three of the aforementioned teams will have to drop points and Phoenix will have to not lose. The easiest way would be to beat Los Dos and Reno, San Antonio and Tampa Bay all draw or lose.

However, due to the fact that PRFC will have the tiebreaker over those teams should they all finish level on points, there’s a chance that Phoenix Rising could draw LA Galaxy II and still get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The only way that is possible is if all three of the teams currently ahead of Rising FC lose in their respective regular-season finale.

But perhaps even more important than playing at Casino Arizona Field throughout the postseason is not having to travel to Reno for a potential Western Conference semifinal matchup after Phoenix lost 2-1 on the road to 1868 FC on Sept. 2.

Phoenix will host Group A runner-up Sacramento Republic FC in the Western Conference quarterfinals next weekend, with the victor getting a date with the winner of Reno-Los Dos in the conference semifinals.

Comments

Comment guidelines: No name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, or insults. Please keep the conversation civil and help us moderate comments by reporting abuse.
comments powered by Disqus

Phoenix Rising FC

The all-new 2024 Phoenix Rising "Todos Rojos" home kit. (Image via Phoenix Rising FC)...

David Veenstra

Phoenix Rising FC reveals new kits for 2024 USL Championship season

Phoenix Rising Football Club revealed new uniforms for the upcoming season on Thursday at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.

28 days ago

Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort chats pregame...

Arizona Sports

Full Arizona Sports’ 2024 Newsmakers Week schedule

Leaders from the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona State Sun Devils and more join Bickley & Marotta.

1 month ago

Phoenix Rising FC's press conference announcing the move to Gila River's Wild Horse Pass. (Arizona ...

Arizona Sports

Phoenix Rising FC no longer pursuing women’s team in USL Super League

Phoenix Rising have backed out of creating a team in the USL Super League despite approval of Division I status by U.S. Soccer for the league.

2 months ago

An exterior view of SoFi Stadium prior to a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams a...

Associated Press

US men to play 3 West Coast games in 2026 World Cup group play

The USMNT will play three games along the West Coast in its group stage for the 2026 World Cup; two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

2 months ago

Danny Stone, Phoenix Rising FC...

Vincent DeAngelis

Phoenix Rising FC hires new head coach Danny Stone

A new era for Phoenix Rising FC has begun as Danny Stone was named the new head coach on Thursday.

2 months ago

Juan Guerra...

Damon Allred

Phoenix Rising FC head coach Juan Guerra departs for MLS assistant coach job

Phoenix Rising head coach Juan Guerra will leave the club for an assistant coaching job in Major League Soccer, the club announced Monday.

3 months ago

Phoenix Rising to host LA Galaxy II with proverbial elephant on the pitch