Phoenix Rising (10-2-5, 35pts, 1st in West) vs. Rio Grande Valley Toros FC (5-8-5, 20pts, 15th in West)
5:30pm, H-E-B Park, Edinburg, TX
TV: Your Phoenix CW (6 & 61.1)
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Phoenix 620 AM / AZSports.com
Matchcenter: #RGVvPHX

Last Matchup
These two teams last played just over two months ago in a 3-1 win for Phoenix. The win was Phoenix’s first of their current 8 game winning streak. The match featured highlights goals from Rising, including a panenka from the penalty spot from Adam Jahn and a long distance laser from James Musa, his first for Phoenix in the 1+ he has been in the Valley. 

Honors All Around
Phoenix Rising has racked up the honors since the last time the team took the field. For their performance in the 4-2 win over Timbers 2, Solomon Asante and Amadou Dia were named to the USL Team of the Week.

Following the individual and team performance in the month of June, USL announced that Solomon Asante (7 goals, 4 assists) was named USL Player of the Month despite only finishing third in the fan vote. Completing the award sweep, Rick Schnatz was named USL Coach of the Month thanks to the 5-0-0 record and 19 goals scored, 3 goals allowed. The award is the second straight June that Schantz has won. 

Team News
Following their Gold Cup run, Junior Flemmings and Kevon Lambert have returned from the Jamaican National Team and are available for tonight’s game. It will be a short return for Lambert though, as he has been called into the Jamaican U-23 team as they start CONCACAF Olympic qualifying. The team will play three games against St Kitts, Guyana and Dominica in a span of 5 days. Expect Lambert to get at least two starts as the Reggae Boyz attempt to qualify for their first Olympic games. 

Rio Grande Valley Toros FC
If there is any team that displays model consistently based on where they play, good or bad, it’s the Toros. For the past three years, RGV have been a consistently decent team at home in Edinburg and terrible away from it. The team affiliated with MLS’s Houston Dynamo brings a lethal counterattack on a good day and wasteful any other. Their attack has taken a hit since Michael Salazar was signed to an MLS contract but Carlos Small is still a threat, leading the current team with 7 goals in 14 appearances. Chances should come by Isidro Martinez, who has played in every game, and Jesus Enriquez, who lead the team with 41 and 30 chances created respectively. Kyle Adams is a mainstay on the backline, leading the team in most defensive categories. Nichloas Corti should be goal, though the Dynamo has sent down two different keepers throughout the season. With Houston having played Friday night, there is a chance that we could see some loanees travel down to the border for tonight’s matchup.

Tale of the Tape

Projected Lineup

What to Watch For
– Can Solomon Asante continue his insane run? The winger has scored in his last seven games and has jumped into the front of the Golden Boot Race
– Rising’s 45 goals this season is already third in team history and an outburst tonight could see them past 2017’s 50 goals scored in 32 games.
– Can Phoenix grab all 3 points in Edinburg? Phoenix has tied all three matches away to RGV in the series history.