PHOENIX – At this point, Phoenix Rising FC and El Paso Locomotive FC are so familiar with each other, it wouldn’t be surprising if they knew one another’s coffee orders and pregame music.
Following a fifth-place finish in the USL Championship Western Conference, Rising travel to Southwest University Park in El Paso for the Western Conference quarterfinals Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MST.
Rising enter Saturday eying an extended postseason run.
“We want to go far (in the playoffs),” said Rising defender Pape Mar Boye. “I don’t think there is anyone that can stop us. We are going to be confident and play our game.”
The playoff matchup marks the fourth time the two sides have faced off this season, with all three previous matches ending in a draw.
However, the draws have not been for a lack of scoring – or drama.
The first draw, a 4-4 stalemate in March in El Paso, saw Rising fight back from a 4-1 deficit in the 53rd minute to eventually draw level with a late 86th-minute equalizer from defender Mohamed Traore.
In their most mundane encounter this season, El Paso and Rising played to a 2-2 draw in July in the USL Jägermeister Cup group stages. As is customary for Jägermeister Cup group stages matches ending in a draw after 90 minutes, a penalty shootout ensued, which Rising won 7-6.
When the two sides last met in Phoenix in August, Rising conceded three times in the second half, with the gut-punch coming in the 98th minute, to again draw with El Paso, this time 3-3.
Given the tumultuous nature of all three previous matchups this season, there is not as much to glean from reviewing these performances as there usually would be when a team faces a familiar playoff opponent from the regular season.
“It is a different ballgame,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “It is playoff time, so you do not know what they are planning. We know what we are planning and what we want to achieve.”
Having kept three successive clean sheets in league play to end the season, Rising aim to carry that defensive form into the playoffs. However, it is unclear if their injured fullback duo, Collin Smith and Daniel Flores, will return Saturday.
Smith and Flores were substituted due to injury against San Antonio FC Oct. 18 and missed last weekend’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
On Wednesday, Kah described their status as “day-to-day” and stated that the club hoped they would be available for Thursday’s training, depending on how they respond to treatment.
Penalties could come into play Saturday against El Paso. Rising have plenty of experience in this department, having won three penalty shootouts in 2025, most recently the shootout victory over El Paso in July.
While there is a reason for confidence should the match be decided from the penalty spot, Rising do not want things to reach that point.
“Penalties are a lottery,” Kah said. “It is good to have experience in them, and we have that this year. We will look to play and try to win the game in 90 minutes. But, if it goes to (a penalty shootout), I am very confident in what we have in our penalty takers and our goalkeeper.”
The team carries a belief into the playoffs that has been present down the gut of this season, when a playoff berth was not guaranteed, and it would have been natural to feel increased pressure: these matches are an opportunity to be cherished, not a reason to stress.
“To be honest, we don’t really feel a pressure about (Saturday),” Boye said. “I know that we have to win this game because it is a decisive game. You have to win to go to the next step (of the playoffs), but it is just a normal game for us. We are going to go out there and play our game.”
That sentiment starts with Kah.
“The biggest thing is to stay in the moment,” Kah said. “You cannot look too far in the future and you cannot look too far behind.”
While the players are treating Saturday as just another game, the club and fans recognize its significance and are acting accordingly.
Rising have organized a bus for fans to take from Phoenix to El Paso Saturday morning, which has already been entirely filled by supporters eager to be present.
The fans’ efforts to be in attendance Saturday, coupled with their constant presence at away matches throughout the regular season, are not lost on the players.
“(Their support) means a lot,” Boye said. “Last game, Pittsburgh was far away, and after the game I saw them. It was cold, and they were supporting us. It means a lot, because it is not easy. We are going to play for them (on Saturday).”
This season has tested Rising in more ways than one, particularly on the injury front. Through it all, the squad has shown an ability to adapt and to come together, qualities the players can lean on as they head into the playoffs.
“What this group has done is something that should not get passed over,” Kah said. “Everything that has been thrown at them, everything that they have gone through. Their character, their will, their desire to fight for one another and stand up for one another is remarkable.
“It is such a fantastic group. Every day, there are things that we ask of them, and there is nothing that they will say no to. It is a wonderful group. It is great to work with them, every single one of them. You have seen what kind of players we had to lean on, what players had to play, like our youth. What our youth has done for us should be mentioned, too.”
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‘Our boys are ready’: Phoenix Rising set to face El Paso Saturday in Western Conference quarterfinals
Stephen Smith, Cronkite News
October 31, 2025
PHOENIX – At this point, Phoenix Rising FC and El Paso Locomotive FC are so familiar with each other, it wouldn’t be surprising if they knew one another’s coffee orders and pregame music.
Following a fifth-place finish in the USL Championship Western Conference, Rising travel to Southwest University Park in El Paso for the Western Conference quarterfinals Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MST.
Rising enter Saturday eying an extended postseason run.
“We want to go far (in the playoffs),” said Rising defender Pape Mar Boye. “I don’t think there is anyone that can stop us. We are going to be confident and play our game.”
The playoff matchup marks the fourth time the two sides have faced off this season, with all three previous matches ending in a draw.
However, the draws have not been for a lack of scoring – or drama.
The first draw, a 4-4 stalemate in March in El Paso, saw Rising fight back from a 4-1 deficit in the 53rd minute to eventually draw level with a late 86th-minute equalizer from defender Mohamed Traore.
In their most mundane encounter this season, El Paso and Rising played to a 2-2 draw in July in the USL Jägermeister Cup group stages. As is customary for Jägermeister Cup group stages matches ending in a draw after 90 minutes, a penalty shootout ensued, which Rising won 7-6.
When the two sides last met in Phoenix in August, Rising conceded three times in the second half, with the gut-punch coming in the 98th minute, to again draw with El Paso, this time 3-3.
Given the tumultuous nature of all three previous matchups this season, there is not as much to glean from reviewing these performances as there usually would be when a team faces a familiar playoff opponent from the regular season.
“It is a different ballgame,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “It is playoff time, so you do not know what they are planning. We know what we are planning and what we want to achieve.”
Having kept three successive clean sheets in league play to end the season, Rising aim to carry that defensive form into the playoffs. However, it is unclear if their injured fullback duo, Collin Smith and Daniel Flores, will return Saturday.
Smith and Flores were substituted due to injury against San Antonio FC Oct. 18 and missed last weekend’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
On Wednesday, Kah described their status as “day-to-day” and stated that the club hoped they would be available for Thursday’s training, depending on how they respond to treatment.
Penalties could come into play Saturday against El Paso. Rising have plenty of experience in this department, having won three penalty shootouts in 2025, most recently the shootout victory over El Paso in July.
While there is a reason for confidence should the match be decided from the penalty spot, Rising do not want things to reach that point.
“Penalties are a lottery,” Kah said. “It is good to have experience in them, and we have that this year. We will look to play and try to win the game in 90 minutes. But, if it goes to (a penalty shootout), I am very confident in what we have in our penalty takers and our goalkeeper.”
The team carries a belief into the playoffs that has been present down the gut of this season, when a playoff berth was not guaranteed, and it would have been natural to feel increased pressure: these matches are an opportunity to be cherished, not a reason to stress.
“To be honest, we don’t really feel a pressure about (Saturday),” Boye said. “I know that we have to win this game because it is a decisive game. You have to win to go to the next step (of the playoffs), but it is just a normal game for us. We are going to go out there and play our game.”
That sentiment starts with Kah.
“The biggest thing is to stay in the moment,” Kah said. “You cannot look too far in the future and you cannot look too far behind.”
While the players are treating Saturday as just another game, the club and fans recognize its significance and are acting accordingly.
Rising have organized a bus for fans to take from Phoenix to El Paso Saturday morning, which has already been entirely filled by supporters eager to be present.
The fans’ efforts to be in attendance Saturday, coupled with their constant presence at away matches throughout the regular season, are not lost on the players.
“(Their support) means a lot,” Boye said. “Last game, Pittsburgh was far away, and after the game I saw them. It was cold, and they were supporting us. It means a lot, because it is not easy. We are going to play for them (on Saturday).”
This season has tested Rising in more ways than one, particularly on the injury front. Through it all, the squad has shown an ability to adapt and to come together, qualities the players can lean on as they head into the playoffs.
“What this group has done is something that should not get passed over,” Kah said. “Everything that has been thrown at them, everything that they have gone through. Their character, their will, their desire to fight for one another and stand up for one another is remarkable.
“It is such a fantastic group. Every day, there are things that we ask of them, and there is nothing that they will say no to. It is a wonderful group. It is great to work with them, every single one of them. You have seen what kind of players we had to lean on, what players had to play, like our youth. What our youth has done for us should be mentioned, too.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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