PHOENIX, Arizona (September 5, 2018)– The Rio Grande Valley FC (4-10-12) failed to earn three points on the road versus Phoenix Rising FC (16-6-5) in a 0-1 loss. Forward Carlos Small led the Toros with five shots on target.
The Toros stayed alive in the first half by keeping a 0-0 score. In the 9th minute, forward Jesus “Chuy” Enriquez took a shot from outside the box but Phoenix’s Goalkeeper saved the shot in the bottom right corner. Three minutes later, Defender Kai Greene commited a foul that led to his 5th yellow card of the season making him ineligible for the next match versus Real Monarchs SLC. After a Phoenix Rising corner kick, Goalkeeper Tyler Deric was blasted by Forward Kevaughn Frater as he attempted to save the ball, and there was no whistle on the play. Frater had another shot but again, Deric made the save. In stoppage time, Small sent a dangerous missile but Rising Goalkeeper Carl Woszcynski punched it out to the back.
RGVFC started the second half with three straight attempts from Small and forward Jordan Jones. The shots began with Small but Rising stopped. Immediately after, Jones shot from the center of the box but was blocked as well. Then, after a pass from Small to Jones back to Small led to a shot from Carlos but Phoenix’s backline made the stop. In the 61st minute, Rising Forward Solomon Asante took advantage of a miss ball from Defender Sheldon Sullivan and sent it to the top right back corner scoring the first goal of the match and his 13th goal of the season. Phoenix fell asleep towards the end of the match by allowing the Toros to become active. In the 64th minute, Enriquez had an attempt when he shot from outside the box but sent it too high. Deric had three attempts sent at him when the Rising offense shot from outside the box but failed to take advantage. Small had one last dangerous attempt when he received a through ball from midfielder Nicolas Perea where he then sneaked up between the defense and shot, unfortunately, Woszcynski blocked the shot preventing the Toros to equalize the match.
H-E-B Park will host a double header on Saturday 8 starting with Tigres UANL vs Atlas at 5 p.m. (CDT) and following right after Rio Grande Valley FC will face top team in the conference, Real Monarchs SLC at 8 p.m. (CDT).
Attendance: 5,307
Scoring Summary: PHX – Solomon Asante 61’ (Assist by Kevaughn Frater and Billy Forbes)
Misconduct Summary: RGVFC – Kai Greene 12’ (Yellow Card)
PHX – Carl Woszczynski, Tristan Blackmon, Amadou Dia, Mike da Fonte, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Evan Waldrep (Collin Fernandez 87’), James Musa, Devin Vega, Kevaughn Frater(Chris Cortez 61’), Solomon Asante(Joshua Perez 61’), Billy Forbes.
Subs Not Used: Joseph Farrell, Zac Lubin, Kody Wakasa, Gladson Awako.
Stats: Shots: 13, Shots on Goal: 2, Saves: 5, Fouls: 6, Corner Kicks: 7, Offsides: 4.
RGV Toros FC – Tyler Deric, Kyle Adams, Sheldon Sullivan, Conor Donovan, Kai Greene(Manny Padilla 31’), Nicolas Perea, Jesus Enriquez, Todd Wharton, Luis Gil(Romilio Hernandez 80’), Jordan Jones(Monday Etim 69’), Carlos Small.
Subs Not Used: Nico Corti, Omar Ontiveros, Brandon Morales, Jorginho James.
Stats: Shots: 10, Shots on Goal: 6, Saves: 1, Fouls: 10, Corner Kicks: 3, Offsides: 1.
# SOMOS TOROS #
