Phoenix Rising wins likely consolation shootout in El Paso

On a questionable pitch in Texas, Phoenix Rising claimed two points out of three against El Paso Locomotive in a match that likely ends the team’s chances at progressing in the Jägermeister Cup.

An early own goal from Kofi Twumasi gave the visitors a lead, but Gabi Torres and Andy Cabrera flipped the script. Late on, Darius Johnson tapped home a rebound off a Charlie Dennis free kick to force a penalty shootout which Phoenix prevailed in, but the squad will now need something close to a miracle to progress as one of the best second-placed teams in the competition.

A youthful Phoenix Rising team

It was a young Phoenix team to take the field against El Paso Locomotive.

Braxton Montgomery has become a mainstay in this Rising squad and started at the back, while 18-year-old Pierce Rizzo was handed his first start for the club.

Most notably, 17-year-old Jamison Ping wore the captain’s armband.

“It’s a really special thing to wear the captain’s armband at Phoenix Rising,” Ping said. “I’ve seen so many people like Darnell King wear it, and obviously it means a lot to me as a person to wear the armband for a club I’ve played for my whole six years. It means a lot, yeah, it’s very special.”

Shortly before the shootout, 15-year-old Anthony Capetillo came off the bench as well. The youngster was the second-youngest player to ever feature for Phoenix Rising, after then-14-year-old Ansu Kanneh who appeared as a substitute against LA Galaxy II in 2020.

“It’s a dream come true,” Capetillo said. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I ever started playing soccer.”

Capetillo would take the sixth penalty in the shootout, successfully slotting the ball past Jahmali Waite.

“We took one in training,” Capetillo said. “I said I was confident. I wanted to take one. I wanted to bring it home.”

a faster start, a slower middle

Phoenix Rising took its earliest lead of the season, with Jearl Margaritha and Ihsan Sacko forcing an own goal within six minutes of kick-off.

Rising would continue to create chances, even as they conceded to a Gabi Torres strike. But by the 20th minute mark, those would mostly dry up until well into the second half.

“We started the game well, but we couldn’t figure out our rhythm in the middle,” Pa-Modou Kah said. “The first goal from Gabi is an excellent shot, but the second one, we don’t defend the back post.”

Rising ultimately found their way back into the match thanks to a Darius Johnson follow-up on a Charlie Dennis free-kick. After equalizing, Phoenix had chances to win the match, but would have to settle for just two points after succeeding from 12 yards out.

“Our response was good,” Kah said. “We could have won it at the death with Sacko, but it was an all or nothing game.”

Squad rotations

Forced in part by injury and in part by choices, Phoenix Rising didn’t seem to put out a first choice lineup on Saturday night.

Triston Henry filled in between the sticks for Patrick Rakovsky, while Rising sported a back line entirely comprised of players who predominantly have played out wide so far this season.

Early on, Gabi Torres’ strike found the back of the net, which while powerful, was relatively central. Later in the half, El Paso took the lead after Andy Cabrera was left in plenty of space to find himself on the end of a Torres cross.

Equally, Saturday saw Pape Mar Boye make his long-awaited return to the Rising squad after injury. The club captain featured as a second half substitute, before ultimately missing his penalty in the shootout.

Owain’s take

How much is there to really take from this Jägermeister Cup match?

Honestly, not a lot.

A depleted Phoenix Rising side played safety first in terms of injuries on a converted baseball field that coach Pa-Modou Kah correctly described as “horrendous.” The team pushed for a win in 90 minutes that would have kept their hopes of progressing alive, but couldn’t get over the line.

As we’ve seen all season long, there is fight in this team, but similar mistakes keep happening time and time again. A failure to track Andy Cabrera for El Paso’s second goal felt hauntingly comparable to previous goals conceded, and Kah admitted after the match that the team needs to do a better job of dealing with runners at the far post.

There are reasons to be excited about the continued work Rising is doing with its youth players, but until we see players like Pierce Rizzo and Anthony Capetillo more involved in league matchdays, it’s hard to tell if this will turn into a one-off or something more.

Real takeaways from this one? There’s aren’t many. This wasn’t a game I expect to be indicative of a whole lot going forward, but it does mean we’ll all have to half-heartedly watch the scores next Saturday to see if Rising can get the help needed to pull off a miracle.