Phoenix Rising faced elimination in each of the final three matches of the regular season but were able to secure the final playoff spot in the Western Conference over the weekend.

Phoenix controlled its own destiny heading into the final week — a win against Lexington SC would have guaranteed a playoff stop. However, the Rising played to a 3-3 draw at home against Lexington on Saturday and needed some help. They needed both Orange County SC to lose and Oakland Roots SC to lose or draw; both teams lost.

The 8-seed Rising now head to Albuquerque to face off against 1-seed New Mexico United at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.

“It’s a new season now – it’s four new games,” stated Rising Head Coach Pa Modou-Kah in a news release. “You take one game at a time and we have the game against our rivals, we’re excited.”

Phoenix took a 2-0 and then 3-1 lead over Lexington before letting them back into the match on Saturday.

“I mean, for me, I never doubted that we would be in, but I don’t like leaving my destiny in other people’s hands,” Kah stated in quotes released by the team. “When we are 3-1 up, I think we have to kill the game better and make sure that it becomes a 4-1 or 5-1 game. But I’m very happy and super proud of the group, even though I’d rather control our own outcome.”

Rising Goalkeeper Chituru Odunze isn’t shying away from the matchup against top-seeded New Mexico, which had 52 points in the standings compared to 40 for Phoenix.

“Fantastic! Isn’t that what you want? You want to play big games, you want to play rivalry games,” Odunze stated. “Whenever you see them on the schedule, you want to go there and win. It’s going to be even better if we go there, win and keep advancing.”

The Rising split two matches against New Mexico this year, beating them 3-0 on April 11 and losing 2-1 on Oct. 4.