Propelled by a red card given to Colorado Springs, Phoenix Rising FC took advantage of two defensive miscues and goals from Chris Cortez and Kevaughn Frater to walk away with a 2nd straight 4-0 victory, this time over Switchbacks FC on Saturday night.
Unlike the last two matches, Phoenix started this match off on the slow foot, allowing Colorado Springs to hold a majority of possession and using that possession to attack the right side of the Rising defense through their captain Josh Suggs. Despite the numerous attempts, the Phoenix defense strong thanks to the combination of Abdul-Salaam and Farrell. Phoenix was forced to make another early substitution, this time Jason Johnson in the 14th minute after an apparent leg injury. With the depth of wide midfielders minimal due to injuries, Chris Cortez subbed in, moving Kevaughn Frater to the wing. Cortez had two excellent scoring opportunities in the early going of his appearance but both a shot in the 23rd and a header in the 25th were mis-hit.
The second half was much of the same until the 60th minute. A through-ball from Colorado Springs forced Zac Lubin to come off his line. As he dove for the ball, Josh Burt slid in trying to win the 50/50 ball and caught Lubin’s face instead. The medical staff was called out immediately as a deep cut on Lubin’s right cheek became apparent. Burt was shown the red card and Carl Woszczynski was forced to replace Lubin. Just three minutes later, Shaft Brewer Jr. sent a cross into the six-yard box and the spilled save ended up at the feet of Gladson Awako. The diminutive Ghanaian made no mistake from that close, scoring his first of the season, and just like that Phoenix had broken the deadlock. The one goal lead would not last for long as Joe Farrell double up just six minutes later thanks to more questionable defending on an Awako corner kick. The scoring onslaught continued against the 10-men Colorado Springs side in the 80th minute when Chris Cortez knocked in an Awako free kick for his 13th of the season and bringing him one goal away from the Rising/AZ United record for goals in a season. Kevaughn Frater got in on the action, scoring in the 94th minute against his former team. Colorado Springs proved to be little threat after red card but looked up to the task for the first 60 minutes and the replay of this match in the altitude of Colorado Springs will certainly be a test for the Rising.
Tonight’s result pushed Phoenix to 2nd place in the Western Conference on a goals scored tiebreaker with Orange County SC. Phoenix still has a game in hand over OCSC and is now only three-point back of first place Real Monarchs.
Scoring Summary
68’- Gladson Awako, PHX
74’- Joseph Farrell, PHX (Assist Chris Cortez)
80’- Chris Cortez, PHX (Assist Gladson Awako)
94’- Kevaughn Frater, PHX (Assist Gladson Awako)
Starting Lineups
Phoenix Rising FC: Lubin (Woszczynski 68), Abdul-Salaam, Farrell, Blackmon, Dia, Musa, Lambert (Fernandez 84), Awako, Johnson (Cortez 14), Frater, Brewer Jr.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Ceus, Jack, Suggs, Hunter, Tambe, Burt, Schweitzer (Hanlin 84), Hamilton, Robinson (Ajeakwa 84), Uzo (Vercollone 73), Malcom
Up Next: Rising have a 11 day break before facing Rio Grande Valley Toros FC on Wednesday, September 5th at 7:00pm in Phoenix.
