Three goal contributions from forward Dariusz Formella helped Phoenix Rising beat Orange County 3-1.

The victory served as Rising’s fourth consecutive in USL Championship play, while extending their overall unbeaten run to five.

Winning ways continue for Phoenix Rising

Heading into Saturday’s fixture against Orange County, Phoenix Rising had three consecutive wins in league play, with a penalty shoot-out win in the Jägermeister Cup mixed in as well. After struggling out of the gates, it felt like everything had finally started to click for this Rising side.

However, Saturday presented a new challenge. Forwards Jearl Margaritha, Damian Rivera, and Darius Johnson had all been selected to play for their respective nations, leaving Rising with a hole in the attack. Experienced forwards Ihsan Sacko and Dariusz Formella were called upon, with 16-year-old Cyrus Kowall earning his first start to fill out the front line.

The new front three showed chemistry early and combined to produce Formella’s 21st-minute opener, breaking down a stubborn Orange County defense. Rising tried to keep their foot on the gas pedal, but slipped up, as the visitors leveled the match in the 58th minute.

“We challenged the boys to go out in the second half and get the second goal, but I think we were just a little bit back-footed, not sharp enough,” Rising head coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “The response from the boys was fantastic, and last home game for a month to go and get the win, that showed the character of the team.”

Rising’s response started with continuing their recent set-piece prowess. In the 67th minute, Ascel Essengue wrote his name onto the scoresheet for the first time in red and black. The third came just five minutes later, off a well-worked counter attack, leading to an easy finish for returning Charlie Dennis.

Kowall gets first start

With four forwards out of the squad due to either international duty or injury, Kah called upon 16-year-old Cyrus Kowall to enter the attack. Kowall, at 16 years, two months and two days old, became the youngest-ever player to start a competitive match for Phoenix Rising, beating out Niall Dunn’s lone start by nine months.

This isn’t Kowall’s first appearance for Rising, as he played at the very end of Rising’s away loss in Monterey Bay and their extra time defeat in the U.S. Open Cup to Houston Dynamo. Kowall grew into the match, creating a chance and ending up inches away from winning a header to become Rising’s youngest goalscorer.

“This is who we are as a club,” Kah said. “We give opportunities to players when they deserve to play, but you got to earn that right to play.”

Kowall became Rising’s third academy product to start a game this season, joining midfielder Jamison Ping and defender Braxton Montgomery, both of which have become regulars in the squad. That trio combines to set a record for most Rising youngsters to start a match since 2022, with three also playing in Rising’s 7-0 loss to New Mexico.

“Today you saw Cyrus, another day could be Pierce Rizzo. Another day could be Zach Da Silva,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “We have a bunch of academy players that we believe in and that we are working with every day.”

Formella and Dennis get off the mark

With the lack of attacking depth, Phoenix Rising needed its available pieces to step up. They got exactly that.

Dariusz Formella, who hadn’t scored in USL Championship play in his last 14 appearances, provided both a goal and two assists. Saturday’s three goal contribution were also Formella’s first game with multiple since his brace on June 9th of last year, at home to this same Orange County side.

Formella had scored from the penalty spot against Houston in the Open Cup, but had struggled to return to form shown at times during the 2024 season and the tail end of 2023. His penalty miss against New Mexico in the Jägermeister Cup has shown early signs of being a turning point in Formella’s 2025 campaign.

“When I had the PK and I chipped it, and I missed it, I had to talk with one of the coaches, because I saw I’m not going in a good direction and I’m not myself,” Formella said. “I had a very good week of training, was trying to focus only on all simple things and it worked.”

Whatever was said a week ago paid immediate dividends. Formella looked much more lively in the attack, scoring from an excellent one-touch effort in the first half, before being credited with a pair of assists in the second.

As for Charlie Dennis, the Englishman had missed 11 of Rising’s 13 opening matches in all competitions. In the two games that Dennis did play, he only notched 11 total minutes. Dennis found his first goal of the year on a quick counter-attack, as he easily put one past goalkeeper Colin Shutler.

It’s been teased that Dennis would be shifting into a role on the right wing, rather than one in midfield, like what we saw from him last season. Saturday was no different, as Dennis only received a handful of touches, but still offered a sense of danger to Orange County’s defense.

“Moving out to the wing, you get more chances at goal, whereas being in the midfield, I’d do a little bit more defensive work, which I don’t mind doing,” Dennis said. “But also I’m a creative player and I can make things happen in the final third.”

All in all, Rising needed the next man up in the attack to make something happen, and got just that.

Rees’ Take

Phoenix Rising continues to find different ways to win games, which is exactly what winning teams do.

This doesn’t look like what we’ve seen from Rising over the past four seasons. This team is different.

It’s obviously too early to make any playoff predictions, but the way Rising is clicking right now, alongside the constant fight we see from this team, it’s certain a formula for playoff success. Saturday’s win keeps Rising at 5th in the Western Conference, but the gap to first-place New Mexico is only three points.

Granted, New Mexico does have a match in hand, but it still shows the strides this team has taken over the recent months. In the last two months, Rising have only lost three games across all competitions, with only one coming in the league: that late collapse to Detroit, which saw Rising fall 3-2.

Rising look to build something special in 2025, and with midfielder Xian Emmers being added to the blueprint, it remains to be seen how high this year’s squad could reach. Then again, this is the USL Championship, and Rising still have over half the season to be played, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds.