Coming off a loss to Las Vegas, Phoenix Rising\u2019s coach knows that a clash with rival San Diego Loyal presents an even tougher challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be our best selves,\u201d Rick Schantz said. \u201cIf we do anything less than our best performance, we\u2019ll pay for it. That\u2019s it. It\u2019s very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Diego comes into the match with six points out of nine to start the year. They made the playoffs last season before crashing out at the first hurdle like Rising.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re one of, if not the best team in the league,\u201d Schantz said. \u201cVery, very good. They\u2019ve added a lot of good players. Landon [Donovan] must have come into a big pot of money because they used to complain about not being able to buy players, but they\u2019ve got an amazing roster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those additions is Evan Conway, a forward who has featured predominantly on the left for San Diego so far. Conway joined from USL League One\u2019s Union Omaha where his 13 goals helped fire his side to a title alongside current Rising striker Greg Hurst.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal, for both of us, was to get a championship move,\u201d Hurst said of his time with Conway. \u201cFor having a strike partner that you were competing against but on the same team as, I couldn\u2019t ask for a better partner. We both said at the start of the year we were going to get double digits. We were going to help each other out, and we did that. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be good to see how he does this year. I want him to do really well. I\u2019m looking forward to playing against him and obviously when we play San Diego, I want to beat him but I want him to do well this year and I know he wants me to do well as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conway has yet to find the target this season, as has Kyle Vassell. The center-forward from Milton Keynes joined Loyal after scoring seven goals in 62 appearances in EFL League One over the past three seasons with Rotherham, Fleetwood and Cheltenham.<\/p>\n
Danger should be expected from some of their returners. Alejandro Guido is back with the squad, providing a threat from the midfield. Tumi Moshobane could cause Rising worries after scoring 10 goals last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think their tactics are unique,\u201d Rising defender Joe Farrell said. \u201cThey like to keep the ball a lot and they do open the field up with their spacing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players such as Elijah and Collin Martin could be expected to dictate the tempo, as well as Kyle Adams and Camden Riley.<\/p>\n
However, one piece of Loyal\u2019s possession-maintaining puzzle appears questionable for their match against Rising. Grant Stoneman was injured in his side\u2019s clash with Sacramento. He was substituted after eight minutes, and was left out of the match-day squad against Tulsa. <\/p>\n
Nikko Boxall won\u2019t play either because he is on international duty with New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way they play is very attractive,\u201d Schantz said. \u201cA lot of rotation. A lot of good ball movement. I think they\u2019re a little bit more practical in their approach to the game now so they can get you a couple of different ways. This is going to be an extremely difficult game. They\u2019re a very, very good team; very organized with really, really good players.\u201d<\/p>\n
After opening the 2021 season with a resounding 4-1 victory over Loyal, Rising failed to dominate any other of their other three encounters. Over those three matches, Rising picked up four points, with a home draw follow by a loss and win at Torero Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for us, learning from last year, it was kind of once we were able to limit them to the flanks, that helped us a lot,\u201d Farrell said. \u201cThe first game away, they were able to find that underneath pocket behind the midfield in front of our back four. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re going to focus on. That\u2019s always an area that you want to snuff out from any team, so being able to limit that and kind of push it to one flank or the other will really help us defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
FC Tulsa\u2019s performance on Wednesday showed elements of that. San Diego enjoyed little possession in central positions near the penalty area. Instead, many of Loyal\u2019s attacks seemed to come through the left wing.<\/p>\n
Coming in from the flanks, Loyal attempted 30 crosses but connected on less than a quarter of them. Despite dominating possession with 62.9 percent, they took just eight shots and fell 1-0 to the hosts.<\/p>\n
That result meant that both San Diego and Rising dropped points in their last match. This early in the season, that seems to carry more weight as a loss would see Rising with more defeats than victories for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, it just looks super, super important because there\u2019s only nine points available,\u201d Schantz said. \u201cEach game we play, the goal is to get three points, but I think at this point right now we have to play better. We have to be more competitive. We have to be better in the duels. We\u2019ve got to come with the right attitude every game, and I think if we do that, we\u2019ll be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean that his players aren\u2019t thinking about it. Left-back Baboucarr Njie said that he believes San Diego won\u2019t be ready for Rising because of the \u201crage we carry\u2026 inside of our heart because of the loss we took [last weekend].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was humbling for us,\u201d Njie said. \u201cBut we\u2019d rather go through it right now than have to face it sometime later. We\u2019re really, really prepared for San Diego. We see nothing but a win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how it comes. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s ugly. We\u2019re just going in to get results the best way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n