After the wild and wacky world of the Jägermeister Cup group finale we return to more normal league play. It’s heating up though; the West is just 11 points top to bottom and the East, after the big separation between the top 2 and the rest of the conference, is spread over just 13 points. The Legion also finds itself in the position of having played 1 or 2 more games than anyone else except the Charleston Battery and they are idle this week. That means the Three Sparks will get a break or two as the season runs to its conclusion (additional Cup games notwithstanding) but cannot afford to drop points. It’s going to get interesting.
The most important part
Let’s start with the really good news: Phoenix Rising has allowed 30 goals in league play so far this season. That’s 5 more than the Legion (and in 1 less game) and 2 more than any other team. In the Jäger Cup the Rising allowed 10 goals, more than any other Championship team. That includes 4 goals given up to the only League One team they faced (Texoma FC). They have given up 3 or more goals in 7 games (not counting the 4 that Houston scored in the Open Cup). Amazingly, they only lost 4 of those games (they beat Texoma 5-4 with a 96th-minute goal and drew 3-3 with New Mexico United and 4-4 with El Paso Locomotive). Despite that they have managed to maintain a -3 goal differential in the league. Which means they are leaky but can also score.
Further, the most recent of those big losses was just this past Wednesday evening. They travelled to Orange County and got beaten up 1-4. Not a particularly long road trip; it’s about a 90-minute flight from Phoenix to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport1That’s about 4½ hours less than it will take me for a family trip next week, LOL. but it does mean they will be not only licking their wounds but will have short rest and limited prep time before tomorrow’s game with the Legion (9:30pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network).
Even more good news: they will be without centerback Pape Mar Boye—yet again. Boye is only 21 but is the club’s regular captain. He had missed a total of 11 games due to injury before playing 26 minutes in the final Jäger Cup game last week. 5 minutes after being subbed on against Orange County for his first league action since April he was red-carded for a ridiculous and blatant foul on OC keeper Colin Shutler and the ensuing tussle.
Since beating the same Orange County 3-1 in early June the Rising has won just 2 games; that late win over Texoma and a 2-1 win over the Oakland Roots (who have admittedly become competitive of late).
Still, the Rising has accumulated 23 points and sits in 6th place in the Western Conference. Which is to say, they cannot be taken lightly. As noted, they can score goals. Worse, they have multiple players who can score. Their top scorers are Hope Avayevu and Ihsan Sacko, both on just 4 goals in league play. They have 2 more on 3 goals, 3 on 2 goals. They spread the wealth.
They are also a fairly physical team. They are middle of the pack as far as yellow cards are concerned but are tied for 3rd in red cards. They are 7th in total fouls committed (Legion is 11th but the counts are simple totals, not on a per game basis). That hopefully will not rattle the Legion out of its game plan.
The Rising plays typically with a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1. Those are more or less interchangeable depending on how the 2 defensive pivots are used. As the Legion itself has seen over the years, that is not necessarily the optimal setup in this league. That is how head coach Pa-Modou Kah wants his team to play though; his experience as an assistant is largely in the MLS system, where that lineup is generally more effective. This is his first year coaching in the USL but he does have previous head coaching experience with Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League and with North Texas FC in MLSNP. In his second year Pacific FC won the CPL title. Like Mark Briggs, he is a fairly intense guy, typical of the newer generation of coaches.
As to Briggs, he noted that the Rising has weaknesses that the Legion will aim to exploit. He did not elaborate on what those weaknesses might be, however, keeping his cards close to his chest. An apparently leaky back line is probably one of them though. What he did say was “I think our players have to understand what they’re going into, what they’ll see, how they’ll defend, how they’ll press, how they’ll defend when they’re lower, areas of the field where we can get people on the ball.”
On the team’s ongoing injury issues, he added, “They’re on their way to recovery. So I don’t know whether this weekend will be probably a couple of days too soon for a couple of them. And to be honest, I’ve got to choose 18. So my job’s really hard, but they’re on their way back. So in the next couple of weeks, we’ll start to get Dawson back, Danny Trejo back, Phanny Kavita back. And then my job becomes really difficult, which is what you want. We haven’t had a full selection of players to choose from.” More than likely then they will not be in action tomorrow, but hopefully soon. On the downside, it’s possible that Moses Mensah may be out for the remainder of the season. Which makes the recent addition of Maliek Howell all the more necessary.
One player we did just see back from injury is of course Sebastian Saucedo. His emotional post-game interview last weekend revealed that on top of being out of active play for over a year he hurt his left hamstring in his only previous Legion appearance back in June against the Oakland Roots. Hamstrings are pretty easy to hurt when not in tiptop condition. He told me “I still don’t feel 100%.” That didn’t prevent him from planting that leg and firing off a rocket though. On how many minutes he can provide, he added, “I’d rather go slow than rather going fast and going to ground zero again and getting hurt again. But whatever minutes I get, I’m here for the team. I’m here to help the team in the best way possible. And if that’s getting 10, 15, 20 minutes, 35, 90, whatever it is, I will for sure promise that I’ll give my all so I can get the best result for the team.”
The short corner play that resulted in his goal looked to all the world like a designed play, and a sweet one. He didn’t confirm that directly, saying somewhat cryptically: “This is the first time we [he and Tyler Pasher] actually did it, to be fair.” It may not be the last: “I think that if we’re able to execute it the right way, we can definitely score some goals off it.” And there will be variations on the theme as well: “[We] try to find the best results possible for set pieces, and get new things every game.”
And, finally, as to the Magic City: “I love it. I think that it’s a really family-oriented city. Fits me perfect.”
Prediction: This is a tough one. Both teams very much need a win here. The Rising needs to right the boat after Wednesday’s debacle. In addition, Phoenix is in a 3-way tie in the middle of the Western Conference standings but could jump as high as 3rd with a win. The Legion is back out of the playoff spots and 3 points in a non-conference game will be key down the road. The question is: who is hungrier? I don’t think the Rising will give up silly numbers oif goals again but I do see them losing. The Three Sparks come home with the dub.
Best of the rest
In addition to the Phoenix game there have already been 2 other games this week: the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and The™ Miami FC played to a 1-1 draw and Hartford Athletic ran wild over New Mexico United of all teams, winning 4-0. Miami’s point pushed the Legion out of the playoff spots and Hartford are only 2 points behind the Three Sparks with 2 games in hand. It’s getting as tight in the East as it is in the West. The Legion kickoff is the latest on the schedule so most of the earlier games (there are only 5 of them Saturday) can be watched in their entirety. Here are the games to watch out for:
Indy Eleven v. Tampa Bay Rowdies (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
Indy are 2 points ahead of the Legion on 2 fewer games; Tampa is 4 points behind on 2 fewer games. The Rowdies won the opposite fixture 3-1 in late June and are finally beginning to look like a soccer team. Obviously a draw is the best resxult here but a Tampa win would not be too bad either.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds v. Rhode Island FC (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
The Riverhounds have played 4 straight draws, 3 in the league plus a 2-2 result last week against Portland Hearts of Pine. Rhode Island has 2 losses and 2 draws in its last 4 league games and lost last week on penalties to Hartford. Rhody is a point behind the Legion but a win for the visitors gives the Legion to make up the 5-point gap with Pittsburgh.
Louisville City v. North Carolina FC (Saturday, 7:00pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network)
This is #2 versus #4 in the East. If Lou City wins they are in a points tie with the Charleston Battery for the East lead, which they win on tiebreakers, having beaten the Battery away early in the season. That would set up a huge game next week in the return fixture. And a North Carolina loss would give everyone else a chance to catch up.
San Antonio FC v. Sacramento Republic (Saturday, 8:00pm, ESPN+)
The other conference’s #2 and #4 go at it in this one. This has all the makings of an excellent matchup although neither team is exactly known for high scoring. It will be quite the battle and a likely ultimate standoff.
