Riggi helps 10-man Phoenix Rising salvage draw against Fresno FC
Playing a man down for 65 minutes, Phoenix Rising FC gave up an early second half goal only to have second-half substitute Alessandro Riggi score in the 90th minute to give Phoenix Rising a 1-1 draw with Fresno FC Saturday night in front of 5,829 at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex.
STARTING XI (SUBS): GK- Carl Woszczynski; D; Devonte Dubose, Doueuegi Mala, Mike da Fonte, Amadou Dia; DM- James Musa (Lucca Ricci 76); MF- Colin Fernandez, Gladson Awako (Alessandro Riggi 76), Billy Forbes (Chris Cortez 65), Solomon Asante; F- Jason Johnson.
SUBSTITUTES NOT USED: Zac Lubin, Victor Vasquez, Devin Vega, Kevaughn Frater.
MATCH RECAP: Phoenix Rising controlled the play for the better part of the first half. Its first opportunity came in the 13th minute, when Gladson Awako struck a low shot off a great cross from Solomon Asante, but Kyle Reynish was up to the task in making a big save early in the match. Fresno got a chance in the 15th minute when Danny Bererra got a shot on goal Phoenix Rising was forced to go a man down in the 26th minute when Amadou Dia tackled Noah Verhoeven and was shown a straight red card from head official Greg Dopka. Phoenix Rising held Fresno without a shot in the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time, and got one last chance in first half injury time when Devonte Dubose hit a cross and it just missed the outstretched legs of Jason Johnson and Billy Forbes.
Fresno opened the second half quickly just two minutes in when Alex Cooper slotted a ball into the middle for Jemal Johnson who stroked it past Woszczynski for a 1-0 lead. Phoenix Rising tried to weather the storm and continue attacking, and that attack finally payed off in the 90th minute when Asante found Riggi in the box, who poked it past Reynish to level the match at 1-1.
SCORING SUMMARY:
FRS- Jemal Johnson 47′ (Alex Cooper assist)
PHX- Alessandro Riggi 90′ (Solomon Asante assist)
CARDS ISSUED:
PHX- Amadou Dia, 26′ RED
FRS- Mickey Daly, 27′ YELLOW
FRS- Pedro Ribeiro- 45+’ YELLOW
PHX-Doueuegi Mala, 55′ YELLOW
FRS- Danny Berrera, 79′ YELLOW
PHX- Alessandro Riggi 82′ YELLOW
FRS- Noah Verhoeven 88′ YELLOW
UP NEXT: Phoenix Rising closes its three-match homestand against LA Galaxy II on Friday, May 4. The match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
