Though fans were treated to an exciting match between Phoenix Rising and Sporting Kansas City at the Phoenix Soccer Complex, a storyline for Rising fans was the return of Amadou Dia to the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex.

Dia was a fixture at leftback for Phoenix Rising since his debut in June 2017. He made 91 appearances with the club and logged 7,872 minutes in all competitions, with the vast majority coming as a starter. No field player has made more appearances or logged more minutes in Arizona United / Phoenix Rising club history. Dia made his debut on June 10, 2017, the same day Drogba joined Phoenix.

Despite this, the crowd reaction was not especially emphatic for Dia. Christian Bajc said “I definitely remember the game where he scored two goals at the end there. And the Western Conference final in 2018 was pretty great. But there’s not too much to say. He went up.” Joseph Lowery said “Dia was just a fun-loving dude, and a rock. I don’t have any stories in particular.” A couple fans were heard shouting “Dia, we miss you Dia” from the center stripe. But for the most part, the fans were content to congratulate him and move on.

After the match, fans were able to see Dia interact with former teammates. Most touchingly, Dia chatted with Rick Schantz for almost 5 minutes after the match. Dia then made himself available for the media. He called Phoenix “his second home”, thanked Rick and the fans for an excellent time, claimed he won the 1v1 matchup with Solomon Asante, and then discussed his transition to MLS. Full audio of the interview can be heard on next week’s Rising as One podcast.

Match Notes

The match itself was a fun battle between two sides playing mostly reserves. In the first half, Phoenix controlled Lagos Kunga and Junor Flemmings were a force to be reckoned with up top, with Flemmings being denied several times by SKC keeper Richard Sanchez. Solomon Asante is still in preseason form, as evidenced by a close-range miss.

SKC upped its intensity in the second half, and Johnny Russell opened the scoring in the 56th minute on a cross that slipped past two Rising defenders. Santi Moar nearly tied it moments later, but his 8 yard effort rolled inches wide. SKC brought on most of its starters near the 60-minute mark, meaning Amadou Dia was subbed out. Against the run of play, Phoenix leveled the score in the 66th minute. Jordan Schweitzer won a ball at midfield and played it quickly to Santi Moar, who touched it and banged it in off the crossbar from 18 yards out.

In the 78th minute, Phoenix scored another lighting quick goal. Joey Calistri stole a pass in the back from Tim Melia, and make the SKC starting keeper pay with a cool finish. Phoenix saw out the end, and emerged with the 2-1 victory.