Before James Musa returned to Phoenix Rising this off-season, he flew from MLS to Phoenix after a year with Minnesota United to have lunch with manager Rick Schantz.
Over dinner, Schantz told Musa that he envisioned him as a center-back, particularly at the USL level where physical strikers who can overwhelm the undersized Musa are in short supply. In response, Musa Schantz revealed his goal for the season: Become the heart of Phoenix’s defense.
“You want someone solid, someone you can rely on, a rock in the back line,” said Musa. “Most of the top teams in the world have this guy.”
In his last stint with the Rising, Musa was a solid part of the defense, but he wasn’t the fulcrum. This season he has become that force and starts all 13 games as a center-back.
“(Musa is) a good left central defender who can play under pressure but is still good in the air, he’s still good at the challenge,” said Schantz. “He has to get a little stronger, just fend off great strikers, but when we play against teams that don’t have that big goals, number 9, he was fantastic. Most teams don’t have this guy in this league. So he was great. “
Whether he’s partnered with Joey Farrell or Oluwatobilba Adewole on his right, Musa has led a strong Phoenix backline. Since becoming a standing force in 2017, the Rising have been one of the USL’s strongest attacking teams, led by winger Solomon Asante. Their defense wasn’t a weakness, but they never kept their opponents under a goal in the game.
This season only 0.77 are allowed per game, the second best mark in the USL, supported by six goals against. Musa isn’t the only reason for this – Schantz emphasizes the importance of the synergy between offense and defense as critical to Phoenix’s success. But he is perhaps the most important contributor.
“It’s huge,” said Musa. “We want to have the best defensive record in the league. We want to have the most goals against, we want to score the most goals, we want the most points, we want to be at the top in every category. “
So far this season have been the climbers. On Saturday they delivered one of their strongest performances to date when they held San Diego Loyal, the Pacific Division’s third-placed team, despite 71% possession without a shot on target.
“Defensive from the last game would be damn hard to improve,” said Schantz, praising his team’s ability to close the dangerous gap between midfield and defense.
And when the uprising needed a goal, Musa was there to make sure of it, too. In the 9th minute he shot from a corner, shot home from close range and set the tone with his second goal in two games.
“A shock to me,” said Musa. “I don’t think I’ve scored two goals in two games in my entire career. I am happy with it. I’m now trying to get three in three games. “
If Musa continues his scoring stretch, it will be another tough test at home against the Rio Grande Valley Toros, who are second in the Mountain Division.
More realistically, he hopes to keep another clean sheet of paper. At some point this door run will dry out. Phoenix’s attack turns back to Asante, winger Santi Moar and striker Rufat Dadashov.
But the defensive responsibility will always be there, at the forefront of Musa’s job description. And if the uprising continues to dominate there, your place at the top of the Western Conference will be safe.
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