Rising can’t get shutout, but win season opener easily

CHANDLER — Phoenix Rising FC broke an opening-day record, drawing 8,409 fans into Wild Horse Pass for Saturday night’s 4-2 win against a first-year club, Monterey Bay FC.

Manuel Madrid, Greg Hurst, Arturo Rodriguez and Aodhan Quinn all scored for Rising, which travels to Las Vegas on Saturday for a 7 p.m. match.

Saturday, the Rising took a 1-0 lead in the second minute on a free kick from just outside the box. Quinn sent in the left-footed curler that struck defender Joey Farrell in the back.

The ball ended up on the foot of froward, Hurst, who cracked a shot on goal instantly. Monterey Bay FC, just two minutes into its franchise’s history, managed to block the initial shot but Rising defender, Madrid reacted first to the rebound and dove over the goal line to head the ball past goalkeeper Rafael Diaz.

Hurst made it 2-0 in the 27th minute after combining with several players in the middle of the pitch.
Rodriguez had won the ball back to initiate the chance. He played a central ball to a cutting captain Darnell King. The right back slipped a pass to Quinn who picked out Hurst in-behind the defense.

Hurst looked left but fired right, into the low corner of the net.

Rodriguez made it 3-0 in the 34th minute when Hurst intercepted a pass near the end line and played the ball backwards into the path of the Mexican midfielder. Rodriguez wasted no time cracking a shot on goal that blew by Diaz and into the top corner of the goal.

Quinn added a fourth just before the break when defender Joe Farrell launched a pass from his own half across the pitch and into the path of the midfielder. Quinn looked up and chipped Diaz with a shot that caught the inside of the far post to make it 4-0.

Monterey’s Seku Conneh scored the first goal in Monterey Bay FC history in the 78th minute to make it a 4-1 final.

Rising head coach Rick Schantz said his team was outstanding — for about 55 to 60 minutes.

"We still have some things to work on, but we were pretty sharp,” Schantz said. “We made a few changes and then we got lackadaisical. Monterey Bay were really aggressive trying to get back into the game in the second half.”

Schantz said he saw some good performances and some guys that didn’t have their best game.

“Once we really get cooking, it will be pretty special,” Schantz said. “On the left-hand side, we got stretched defensively. Santi and Baboucarr were a little too far apart.

Rising midfielder Aodhan Quinn said the Rising need to be able to keep momentum from Saturday’s kind of great first half performance.

“In the second, we gave away a few goals,” Quinn said. “We need to work on that but good win, good performance.”

Rising forward Greg Hurst said collectively, it was a good team performance.

“We scored four goals,” Hurst said. “We created a lot of chances. The crowd was unbelievable. The fans were beyond my expectation.”

The Rising returns home to face San Diego Loyal on Saturday, March 26 for a 7:30 p.m. match.

The Rising had the most points in the Western Conference last season — and the second-most points in the USL Championship — in 2021, but lost at home in the first round of the playoffs to Rio Grande Valley.