Before they met at Wild Horse Pass on Saturday night, Phoenix Rising FC had won 10 straight games against LA Galaxy II.
Do it 11.
This time the breakthrough for the promoted team (8-2-1) lasted only 19 minutes and set the course for a later 3-0 victory. After a lackluster start, midfielder Kevon Lambert pushed Solomon Asante into goal. But just as the Ghanaian winger got up to shoot, a clever slide tackle seemed to thwart Phoenix’s first serious goal threat.
Instead, it just delayed the inevitable.
At the corner buck that followed, midfielder Aodhan Quinn whipped a cross that dodged every LA challenger (3-7-3) until it fell at Tate Schmitt’s feet. The left-back, who could hardly believe his luck, cleverly placed an underdog of the football boots past Galaxy keeper Justin Vom Steeg.
If the 19 minutes before Phoenix goal were disappointing, the rest of the half-time was anything but. Rising FC overwhelmed an inexperienced Galaxy side in midfield and were unlucky enough not to go into halftime with more headroom as Asante and striker David Egbo both failed on close range opportunities.
Just three minutes into the second half, when a violent windstorm appeased, Asante made sure Phoenix wouldn’t pay for his waste.
Asante scored for the fourth time in four games and received a cross from Schmitt just outside the six-yard area. After a quiet cut to the right, away from the Galaxy defense, he pushed the ball past Vom Steeg into the short post to make it 2-0.
From then on the evening was academic. Fighting for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, the Galaxy were unable to retract two goals against league leaders Rising FC. Instead, the last forty minutes was a practice to see how far Phoenix could extend its lead.
The answer wasn’t as explosive as it could have been, thanks to a handful of high quality parades from Vom Steeg. But winger Santi Moar extended the lead to three in the 66th minute and failed after a counterattack from Steeg. The goal broke a three-game drought for Moar, who had scored in six consecutive games to open the season.
For manager Rick Schantz, however, the goal gap will be secondary after the three points as Phoenix won their second straight win and extended their lead over the Pacific Division.
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