2020 Phoenix Rising FC season

Phoenix Rising FC
2020 season
Owners	List Berke Bakay; Brett M. Johnson; Alex Zheng; Tim Riester; Mark Detmer; Didier Drogba; Brandon McCarthy; Diplo; Pete Wentz; David Rappaport; Dave Stearns; Rick Hauser; William Kraus; Kevin Kusatsu; Mark Leber; Jim Scussel; Christopher Yeung;
Manager	Rick Schantz (11-3-2); Blair Gavin (Interim)(3-0-0)
Stadium	Casino Arizona Field
USL playoffs	Finalist
Top goalscorer	Junior Flemmings (14)
Highest home attendance	6,585; (March 7 v. Portland Timbers 2)
Average home league attendance	Regular season: 6,585
Biggest win	PHX 6–1 POR (March 7)
Biggest defeat	OC 1–0 PHX (July 25); RNO 2–1 PHX (August 29); PHX 2–3 SD (September 19)
	← 2019 2021 →

The 2020 Phoenix Rising FC season was the club's seventh season in the USL Championship and their fourth as Rising FC. They were the defending USL Championship regular season champions.

Competitions edit

Friendlies edit

All times from this point on Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07:00)

January 25, 2020 Scrimmage	Phoenix Rising FC	0–4	Sporting Kansas City	Tucson, Arizona
11:00 AM MST		Report	Sallói 23' Busio 43', 50' Harris 70'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium

January 29, 2020 Friendly	Phoenix Rising FC	0–3	FC Cincinnati	Tucson, Arizona
3:00 PM MST		Report	McCabe 22' Gutman 42' Gyau 53'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium

February 8, 2020 Friendly	Grand Canyon University	2–6	Phoenix Rising FC	Phoenix, Arizona
7:00 PM MST	Rasmussen 49' (pen.) Vannier 68'	Report	Flemmings 51', 58', 86' Barmby 63' Trialist 64' Asante 73'	Stadium: GCU Stadium

February 12, 2020 Scrimmage	Phoenix Rising FC	2–1	New York Red Bulls	Oro Valley, Arizona
	Kunga 43' Farrell 50'	Report	Barlow 0'	Stadium: Naranja Park Attendance: Closed to the public

February 15, 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup	Phoenix Rising FC	0–1	Columbus Crew SC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:00 PM MST		Report Report	Zardes 73'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field

February 19, 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup	Phoenix Rising FC	2–1	Sporting Kansas City	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:00 PM MST	Moar 66' Calistri 78'	Report Report	Russell 56'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field

February 22, 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup	Phoenix Rising FC	3–2	Real Salt Lake	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:00 PM MST	Farrell 19' Asante 39' Bakero 57'	Report Report	Kreilach 11' Meram 89'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field

February 26, 2020 Scrimmage	Phoenix Rising FC	0–1	New Mexico United	Tucson, Arizona
11:30 AM MST		Report	Wehan 37'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium Attendance: Closed to the public

February 29, 2020 Scrimmage	Phoenix Rising FC	3–3	El Paso Locomotive FC	Tucson, Arizona
12:00 PM MST	Bakero 51' (pen.) Flemmings 68' Asante 80'	Report Report	Mares 34', 43' Gómez 55'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium Attendance: Closed to the public

^[2]^[3]

USL Championship edit


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
16	11	2	3	46	17	+29	35	8	0	1	32	9	+23	3	2	2	14	8	+6

Source: Match reports

Results by round edit

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Stadium	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H
Result	W	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	L	W	W	L	W	W	W
Position	1	2	1	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on October 3, 2020. Source: Match reports
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches edit

March 7, 2020 1	Phoenix Rising FC	6–1	Portland Timbers 2	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Dadashov 13', 24', 65' Flemmings 31' Lambert 75' Whelan 85' Kunga 90' Asante 90+3'	Report Report	Conechny 45+2' Bonilla 79'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 6,585 Referee: Jonathan Bilinski

July 11, 2020 2	Phoenix Rising FC	4–0	LA Galaxy II	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:00 PM MST	Flemmings 9' Bakero 40' (pen.) Asante 45+2', 81' King 54'	Report Report	Bawa 39' Ontiveros 55'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Isaiah Vlad

July 16, 2020 3	Orange County SC	1–1	Phoenix Rising FC	Irvine, California
6:00 PM MST	Forrester 28' Smith 45+3' Coleman 74'	Report Report	Asante 15' Flemmings 64' Kontoh 90+3'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Brandon Stevis

July 25, 2020 4	Orange County SC	1–0	Phoenix Rising FC	Irvine, California
7:00 PM MST	Okoli 20' Crisostomo 45' Orozco 90+1'	Report Report	Moar 9' 45' Barmby 71'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Michael Radchuk

August 1, 2020 5	Phoenix Rising FC	3–1	El Paso Locomotive FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MDT	Dadashov 19' (pen.) Asante 36' Flemmings 45+6' Lambert 67' Dick 90+6'	Report Report	Gómez 15' Yuma 21' Beckie 40'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Alan Martinez

August 8, 2020 6	Phoenix Rising FC	5–2	New Mexico United	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Flemmings 17', 73', 86' Dadashov 22' Cochran 52' Lambert 57' Calistri 80'	Report Report	Parkes 5' Guzmán 45+1' Tinari 59' Moreno 87'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Lukasz Szpala

August 15, 2020 7	Phoenix Rising FC	2–0	San Diego Loyal SC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Flemmings 26' King 59'	Report Report	Martin 44' Klimenta 56' Nazira 82'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Isaiah Vlad

August 19, 2020 8	LA Galaxy II	1–4	Phoenix Rising FC	Carson, California
2:00 PM MST	Vázquez 6' Williams 70'	Report Report	Flemmings 23' Moar 36' Schweitzer 63' Asante 90+6'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Brandon Stevis

August 22, 2020 9	Las Vegas Lights FC	3–3	Phoenix Rising FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
7:30 PM MST	Chester 80' Moses 84' Cochran 90+6' (o.g.) del Campo 90+9'	Report Report	Dadashov 4' King 22' Kontoh 59' Flemmings 68' Stanton 74' Asante 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Malik Badawi

August 29, 2020 10	Reno 1868 FC	2–1	Phoenix Rising FC	Reno, Nevada
7:00 PM MST	Janjigian 41' Langsdorf 62' Hertzog 79', 90+6'	Report Report	Dadashov 76', 90+6' Calistri 81' Lambert 87'	Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: Elijio Arreguin

September 5, 2020 11	Las Vegas Lights FC	0–2	Phoenix Rising FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
7:30 PM MST	Fehr 45+1' Sandoval 50' de la Fuente 52' Amarikwa 90'	Report Report	King 14' Flemmings 53' (pen.) Cochran 73' Bakero 74' Dadashov 90+4'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 0^{[note 1]} Referee: William Hoffman

September 11, 2020 12	Phoenix Rising FC	5–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Dadashov 27', 44' Flemmings 55' Stanton 57' Bakero 72' (pen.) Farrell 90+2'	Report Report	Moses 41' Fenwick 70' de la Fuente 82'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Isaiah Vlad

September 19, 2020 13	Phoenix Rising FC	2–3	San Diego Loyal SC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Flemmings 41', 89' Barmby 90+2'	Report Report	Rubin 3', 12', 45+4' Stoneman 32' 90+7' Klimenta 54' Moshobane 63' Metcalf 72' Martin 87'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Farhad Dadkho

September 26, 2020 14	Phoenix Rising FC	1–0	Orange County SC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Dadashov 37', 84' Lambert 45+2' Flemmings 60'	Report Report	Alston 83' Quinn 89'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Isaiah Vlad

September 30, 2020 15	San Diego Loyal SC	0–3 (Forfeit)	Phoenix Rising FC	San Diego, California
7:00 PM MST	Berry 2' Rubín 20', 45+7' Stoneman 31' C. Martin 45+8'	Report	Stanton 27', 45' Calistri 28' Moar 45+5' Farrell 45+6'	Stadium: Torero Stadium Referee: Joseph Salinas
Note: Match abandoned at start of second half due to Loyal walking off the pitch in protest of an alleged homophobic slur.^[4] According to the FIFA disciplinary code, the match is forfeit to Phoenix and scored as a 3:0 victory for them.^[5]

October 3, 2020 16	Phoenix Rising FC	4–1	LA Galaxy II	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Moar 10' King 12' Stanton 27', 57' Cochran 51'	Report	Williams 6' Cuevas 28' Bawa 40' Ferkranus 74'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Ricardo Fierro

Group table edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Phoenix Rising FC	16	11	2	3	46	17	+29	35	2.19	Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
2	LA Galaxy II	16	8	2	6	29	32	−3	26	1.63	Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
3	Orange County SC	16	7	3	6	18	18	0	24	1.50
4	San Diego Loyal SC	16	6	5	5	17	18	−1	23	1.44
5	Las Vegas Lights FC	16	2	5	9	24	34	−10	11	0.69

Source: USL

Conference table edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Reno 1868 FC	16	11	2	3	43	21	+22	36	2.25	Conference Quarterfinals
2	Phoenix Rising FC	16	11	3	2	46	17	+29	35	2.19
3	San Antonio FC	16	10	3	3	30	14	+16	33	2.06
4	El Paso Locomotive FC	16	9	2	5	24	14	+10	32	2.00
5	Sacramento Republic	16	8	2	6	27	17	+10	30	1.88
6	New Mexico United	15	8	4	3	23	17	+6	27	1.80
7	FC Tulsa	15	6	2	7	21	16	+5	25	1.67
8	LA Galaxy II	16	8	6	2	29	32	−3	26	1.63
9	Orange County SC	16	7	6	3	18	18	0	24	1.50
10	San Diego Loyal SC	16	6	5	5	17	18	−1	23	1.44
11	Austin Bold FC	16	5	4	7	30	26	+4	22	1.38
12	Tacoma Defiance	16	4	10	2	25	32	−7	14	0.88
13	Colorado Springs Switchbacks	16	2	7	7	19	28	−9	13	0.81
14	Real Monarchs	16	3	11	2	14	25	−11	11	0.69
15	Las Vegas Lights FC	16	2	9	5	24	34	−10	11	0.69
16	Rio Grande Valley Toros	14	2	9	3	17	28	−11	9	0.64
17	OKC Energy FC	16	1	8	7	12	29	−17	10	0.63
18	Portland Timbers 2	16	3	13	0	20	50	−30	9	0.56

Source: USL Championship
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) points; 3) total wins; 4) total goal differential; 5) total goals scored; 6) disciplinary points; 7) coin toss or drawing of lots.

USL Championship Playoffs edit

Conference Playoffs edit

October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) Quarterfinals	Phoenix Rising FC	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Sacramento Republic FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 pm MST	Dadashov 44' Lambert 109' Asante 114'	Report Report	Formella 12' López 45' Hilliard-Arce 74' McCrary 87' Keinan 90+1'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

October 17, 2020 Semifinals	Reno 1868 FC	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)	Phoenix Rising FC	Reno, Nevada
6:00 PM PDT	Hertzog 6' Janjigian 31' Partida 40' Bone 57' Langsdorf 79' Ycaza 90+4' Boudadi 119'	Report Report	King 23' Lambert 45+2', 51' Lowe 65' Asante 71' Moar 94'	Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 700 Referee: Kevin Broadley
	Penalties
	Hertzog Alfaro Richards Gleadle Apodaca		Farrell Whelan Calistri King Dadashov

October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24) Final	Phoenix Rising FC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	El Paso Locomotive FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Schweitzer 18' Farrell 95' Asante 109' Lowe 113'	Report Report	Yuma 4' King 54' Rebellón 59', 94' Herrera 105+2' Diaz 106' Ryan 108' Carrijó 111'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Elton García
	Penalties
	Bakero Whelan Farrell Moar		Carrijó Ross Ryan Gómez

USL Championship Final edit

The Final was cancelled the day before because several Tampa Bay players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. No league champion was chosen.^[1]

November 1, 2020 (2020-11-01) USL Final	Tampa Bay Rowdies	cancelled	Phoenix Rising FC	St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST				Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Note: Phoenix relinquished the right to host the final as a gesture of respect to the LGBTQ community for the incident between Phoenix Rising and San Diego Loyal on September 30.^[6]

U.S. Open Cup edit

The U.S. Open Cup was cancelled.

	Phoenix Rising FC	cancelled	FC Golden State Force or FC Arizona	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST				Stadium: Casino Arizona Field
Note: Cancelled on August 17 due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Roster edit

No.	Name	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Signed in	Previous club
Goalkeepers
18	Eric Dick	GK	(1994-10-03) October 3, 1994 (age 29)	2020	Sporting Kansas City (loan)
22	Landon Carter	GK	(2003-10-23) October 23, 2003 (age 20)	2020	Phoenix Rising Academy ^[A]
28	Zac Lubin	GK	(1989-08-15) August 15, 1989 (age 34)	2020	Ljungskile SK
Defenders
2	Darnell King	DF	(1990-09-23) September 23, 1990 (age 33)	2020	Nashville SC
3	A. J. Cochran	DF	(1993-02-09) February 9, 1993 (age 31)	2020	Atlanta United 2
4	Corey Whelan	DF	(1997-12-12) December 12, 1997 (age 26)	2020	Crewe Alexandra
13	Kyle Bjornethun	DF	(1995-03-15) March 15, 1995 (age 29)	2020	FC Tucson
15	Joe Farrell	DF	(1994-02-13) February 13, 1994 (age 30)	2020	Rochester Rhinos
16	Austin Ledbetter	DF	(1995-07-15) July 15, 1995 (age 28)	2020	FC Tucson
23	Owusu-Ansah Kontoh	DF	(1993-08-24) August 24, 1993 (age 30)	2020	Orange County SC
31	Damion Lowe	DF	(1993-05-05) May 5, 1993 (age 30)	2020	IK Start
Midfielders
6	Jordan Schweitzer	MF	(1994-04-19) April 19, 1994 (age 30)	2020	Colorado Springs Switchbacks
8	Jack Barmby	MF	(1994-11-14) November 14, 1994 (age 29)	2020	San Antonio FC
10	Jon Bakero	MF	(1996-11-05) November 5, 1996 (age 27)	2020	Toronto FC
12	Sam Stanton	MF	(1994-04-19) April 19, 1994 (age 30)	2020	Dundee United
17	Santi Moar	MF	(1993-09-05) September 5, 1993 (age 30)	2020	New Mexico United
19	José Aguinaga	MF	(1995-05-11) May 11, 1995 (age 28)	2020	New York Red Bulls II
27	Kevon Lambert	MF	(1997-03-22) March 22, 1997 (age 27)	2020	Montego Bay United
Forwards
7	Junior Flemmings	FW	(1996-01-16) January 16, 1996 (age 28)	2020	Tampa Bay Rowdies
9	Rufat Dadashov	FW	(1991-09-29) September 29, 1991 (age 32)	2020	SC Preußen Münster
14	Ansuh Kanneh	FW	(2005-12-02) December 2, 2005 (age 18)	2020	Phoenix Rising Academy ^[A]
20	Solomon Asante	FW	(1990-03-06) March 6, 1990 (age 34)	2020	TP Mazembe
21	Joey Calistri	FW	(1993-11-20) November 20, 1993 (age 30)	2020	Saint Louis FC
24	Denis Conteh	FW	(2001-09-18) September 18, 2001 (age 22)	2020	Phoenix Rising Academy ^[A]
70	Lagos Kunga	FW	(1998-10-20) October 20, 1998 (age 25)	2020	Atlanta United FC (loan)
87	Alex Krzykos	FW	(2002-10-06) October 6, 2002 (age 21)	2020	Phoenix Rising Academy ^[A]

^

Phoenix Rising Academy contract.

^[7]

Transfers edit

Loan in edit

Start date	End date	Position	No.	Player	From club
January 21, 2020	End of Season	Forward	70	Lagos Kunga	Atlanta United FC^[8]
February 4, 2020	End of Season	Goalkeeper	18	Eric Dick	Sporting Kansas City^[9]

Loan out edit

Start date	End date	Position	No.	Player	To club

Statistics edit

^[10]

#	Pos.	Name	GP	GS	Min.	Goals	Assists
7	FW	Junior Flemmings	14	14	1192	14	2	1	0
9	FW	Rufat Dadashov	18	16	1465	11	4	3	0
20	FW	Solomon Asante	17	16	1537	8	9	2	0
12	MF	Sam Stanton	17	14	1220	3	1	1	0
10	MF	Jon Bakero	18	16	1208	2	4	1	0
3	DF	A. J. Cochran	14	13	1157	2	0	1	0
17	MF	Santi Moar	15	9	897	2	8	1	1
6	MF	Jordan Schweitzer	16	4	502	2	1	0	0
2	DF	Darnell King	18	18	1697	1	1	5	0
27	MF	Kevon Lambert	17	17	1603	1	3	7	0
70	FW	Lagos Kunga	9	0	73	1	1	0	0
4	DF	Corey Whelan	18	18	1709	0	0	1	0
15	DF	Joe Farrell	15	11	1066	0	1	2	0
23	DF	Owusu-Ansah Kontoh	8	6	526	0	0	1	1
21	FW	Joey Calistri	15	3	404	0	0	2	0
31	DF	Damion Lowe	5	2	291	0	0	2	0
19	MF	Jose Aguinaga	10	1	276	0	0	0	0
8	MF	Jack Barmby	9	1	165	0	0	2	0
13	DF	Kyle Bjornethun	1	1	58	0	0	0	0
16	DF	Austin Ledbetter	1	0	5	0	0	0	0
25	FW	Ansuh Kanneh	1	0	3	0	0	0	0

Goalkeepers edit

#	Name	GP	GS	Min.	SV	GA	GAA	SO
28	Zac Lubin	16	16	1530	46	16	0.941	5	0	0
18	Eric Dick	2	2	180	6	4	2.000	0	1	0

Notes edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j The remainder of the competition, is played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America.

References edit

^ ^a ^b "USL Championship Final Cancelled, Season Concludes with Tampa Bay, Phoenix as Conference Title-Winners". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
^ "2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup Schedule Announced". Phoenix Rising Communications. January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
^ "Full Phoenix Rising Preseason Schedule Released". Phoenix Rising Communications. January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
^ "USL Championship Statement – San Diego Loyal SC vs. Phoenix Rising FC". USLChampionship.com. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
^ "FIFA Disciplinary Code" (PDF). FIFA.com. 2019. p. 20. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
^ "Phoenix Rising FC Relinquishes 2020 Championship Final Hosting Rights". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
^ "Phoenix Rising Roster". PHXRisingFC.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "Phoenix Rising Transfers Adam Jahn to Atlanta United". Phoenix Rising Football Club. January 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
^ "Phoenix Rising Acquires Goalkeeper Eric Dick On Loan From Sporting KC". Phoenix Rising Football Club. February 4, 2020.
^ "2020 Player Stats". Retrieved October 26, 2020.

[cnote_A_grp_1] 
Phoenix Rising Academy contract.

[Behind_closed_doors-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j The remainder of the competition, is played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America.

[cupFinal-1] "USL Championship Final Cancelled, Season Concludes with Tampa Bay, Phoenix as Conference Title-Winners". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.

[suncup-2] "2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup Schedule Announced". Phoenix Rising Communications. January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.

[preseason-3] "Full Phoenix Rising Preseason Schedule Released". Phoenix Rising Communications. January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.

[5] "USL Championship Statement – San Diego Loyal SC vs. Phoenix Rising FC". USLChampionship.com. September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[6] "FIFA Disciplinary Code" (PDF). FIFA.com. 2019. p. 20. Retrieved October 7, 2020.

[7] "Phoenix Rising FC Relinquishes 2020 Championship Final Hosting Rights". USLChampionship.com Staff. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.

[PRFCroster-8] "Phoenix Rising Roster". PHXRisingFC.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

[9] "Phoenix Rising Transfers Adam Jahn to Atlanta United". Phoenix Rising Football Club. January 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.

[10] "Phoenix Rising Acquires Goalkeeper Eric Dick On Loan From Sporting KC". Phoenix Rising Football Club. February 4, 2020.

[11] "2020 Player Stats". Retrieved October 26, 2020.

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