Phoenix Rising fought their way red card in defeating Orange County in the first half

CHANDLER, Ariz .– Phoenix Rising FC (16W-5D-3L) remained at the top of the league table with their 10th win at Wild Horse Pass on Saturday night after beating Orange County SC 2-1 despite having played the second half defeated a man behind.

“I told them before the game and they will laugh, I said that they have superpowers and should think about what superpowers they will use tonight,” said PRFC manager Rick Schantz after the game.

“Resilience, determination… to play 45 minutes with 10 (men), give up a goal two minutes after the second half and play like they did. It’s about 90 degrees with a lot of humidity. I’ve never been more proud of a group of players. That was incredible.”

Santi Moar gave Rising a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute after a corner kick from the counter flag. Solomon Asante picked up the loose ball after jumping through the box and tapped Moar, who found a gap in the box. Without hesitation, Moar tied a ball hard towards the back post and passed the ball in a very narrow window between Orange County goalkeeper Patrick Rakousky and the Woodworks to make it 1-0.

That’s FIVE STRAIGHT games with one goal for @santimoar #RisingAsOne | @Carvana pic.twitter.com/6bOzVMocCl

– Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) September 19, 2021

Rising had denied a second Moar goal in the 18th minute after referee Elton García ruled that Quinn blocked the goalkeeper’s view from an offside position.

Shortly before half-time whistle, Tate Schmitt was shown his second warning card of the game for a tactical foul, reducing Phoenix to 10 for the remainder of the game.

“I’ve never been so proud of a group of players,” said Schantz. “They were calmer [at halftime] as I was.

“I might have punched a hole in the wall and had a few things to scream and scream. Thank goodness the staff leave me a little alone but I go into the locker room and they were silent. They were calm. They knew.”

Orange County leveled two minutes into the second half when Brian Iloski brought in a cross from the left that was expertly diverted by Ronaldo Damus. The header clicked down on the crossbar and landed in the back of the net to make it 1: 1 in the 47th minute.

pic.twitter.com/Op3JSZ8NuZ

– Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) September 19, 2021

Mattocks put away the winning goal for Phoenix in the 86th minute when Quinn brought the ball past the left end line before crossing an easy pass into the center of the six yard area. Unmarked, Mattocks simply tapped the ball over the end line to score his first goal at Wild Horse Pass.

10> 11

That’s @DarrenMattocks math. # RisingAsOne | @Carvana pic.twitter.com/fQyfMpa8sB

– Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) September 19, 2021

“I can’t take the credit – the team,” said Mattocks. “We played with 10 men for 45 minutes. This team is a really good team. Be patient, be compact, we’ll get one. We are going to get an opportunity and we have to take it. Fortunately, we had three or four chances.

“But praise to the boys – Andre [Rawls], all the defenders, the midfielders. Very hard-working performance today. For me it was the icing on the cake, but praise to the nine guys behind me. “

NEXT

Phoenix Rising embarks on a three-game road trip to Tacoma Defiance next Saturday.

The kick-off is at 7:00 p.m. Get the action on ArizonaSports.com and the Arizona Sports app.

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