MATCH DETAILS

Phoenix Rising FC (19-8-6, 63 pts., 2nd in West) vs. Portland Timbers 2 (16-13-4, 52 pts., 6th in West)

7:30 PM (MST), Wednesday, Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex, Phoenix, AZ

TV: Cox 4 (SD) and 1004 (HD) in Phoenix, Cox 7 (SD) and 1007 (HD) in Tucson

Live Stream: ESPN+ (subscription required)

Radio: El Patron 97.3 FM (Spanish)

MatchCenter: PHXvPOR

Phoenix Rising Last Match: So about Wednesday night,

via GIPHY

Phoenix Rising Twitter was not a fun place to be Wednesday night and with good reason after the 5-2 defeat to the Las Vegas Lights FC. Phoenix, looking to close the gap on Orange County for the #1 seed, got out to an early lead thanks to Colin Fernandez. Las Vegas tied the match thanks to a Victor Vasquez foul in the box before Devin Vega gave Rising the lead right before the half with a penalty of his own. Phoenix had multiple chances to increase their goal advantage but Las Vegas took advantage when they couldn’t, scoring 4 goals in 12 minutes.

The good news is that Rick Schantz put an obvious second team out on the field Wednesday night and their performance confirmed that the pecking order for most guys that played. Mike Da Fonte, Chris Cortez, and Devin Vega were the only starters that I expect will see any time, barring injury, the rest of the season.

Onward and upward.

Playoff Watch: With the defeat Wednesday night, Phoenix blew a chance to tighten or when take a lead for the #1 seed in the Western Conference. As it stands heading into the match tonight, Phoenix is three points back of Orange County and OC has a +6 GD advantage. This is to say that Phoenix does have an ever so slight chance of still winning the West. Orange County needs to lose to Reno Saturday night, a result Phoenix will know of pretty early on in their match as the OC match starts 1.5 hours earlier. Phoenix needs to defeat Timbers 2 and the combined Phoenix GD win and OC goal deficit loss will need to be at least a total of seven. Otherwise, a win from Phoenix clinches 2nd place while a draw or loss will mean looking at a Sacramento result to determine the final seed, as a draw or loss will also allow Phoenix to clinch. 

As for possible opponents in the first round, playoffs spots 6-8 will be determined this weekend. Of the teams Phoenix could host, only this week’s visitors, T2, have cliched. Saint Louis FC, Swope Park Rangers, and San Antonio FC will be left to fight for the remaining two spots. All three teams play at home to opponents that will not be in the playoffs. Saint Louis only needs a tie Saturday night to clinch a spot while, San Antonio FC, playing at the same time, needs to win to have a chance. Swope Park will know what needs to be done when their match starts Sunday afternoon.

Team News: Chris Cortez left Wednesday’s match early with an injury and is doubtful for tonight’s match, with hopes that he’ll be ready to go next Friday. There has been no news on James Musa, who left last Saturday’s match with an injury.  Firebird Soccer labels Musa as doubtful.

Portland Timbers 2 Report: Timbers 2 have clinched a playoff spot for the first time in the team’s history. The MLS2 side has been the most improved side from last year and Marvin Loria is a huge reason why. The loanee from Deportivo Saprissa has racked up 6 goals and 7 assists on the season, along with 54 chances created. The team has also been elevated with the performance of Foster Langsdorf. The Timbers Homegrown has shown well in his first professional season, finding the back of the net 14 times, twice as many times as his next teammate. Veterans Jack Barmby (a Premier League Champion), Andre Lewis, and Nathan Smith provide leadership to this relatively young side. As mentioned above, T2 have clinched a playoff spot, but their final position is still unknown. A draw or loss would further complicate the final playoff match-ups, while a win would cement their spot in 6th.

Weather Report: The rain today will play a large role in the game tonight, for both players and spectators.  Phoenicians are not used to being outside in the rain, and the steady rainfall may make it difficult for some fans to travel to the match due to regionalized flooding.  Accuweather.com reports that the rain will have a momentary lapse this afternoon, but will start again around gametime.  Fans should expect a temperature of about seventy degrees at gametime.

Though the pitch at Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex is top notch, expect to see a slower game, with soggy grass and standing water.  This does not play well into the normally fast wing play for Rising FC.  Coach Rick Schantz will have to come up with alternative tactics focused on the crown of the field.  Luckily, this type of play suits King Didier well.

Last Meeting:

PREVIOUS FORM (Last five league matches played):

Phoenix Rising FC: W-W-W-D-L

Portland Timbers 2 : W-W-D-L-L

POSSIBLE STARTING XI

The great news coming out of Wednesday’s loss is that we can expect massive changes to the starting lineup and see the more standard first team rollout. Expect to see Drogba start up top in the last regular season match of his career, along with Solomon Asante. Kevon Lambert will slot back in the midfield and the backline of Dia, Farrell, Da Fonte, and Abdul-Salaam should return.  Billy Forbes traveled to Trinidad and Tobago yesterday and will not be in the 18 tonight.