Rising holds on to capture another huge win on the road

Rising took the early lead in the first half, with Hope Avayevu connecting with a goal in the 12th minute. Darius Johnson connected for Phoenix’s second goal of the night in the 62nd minute.

The club prevented New Mexico from gaining any momentum and only allowed one late match goal, scored by New Mexico’s McKinze Gaines in the 84th minute. Rising head coach Pa-Modou Kah credited the club’s game control as the key to the win.

“I’m so proud of my boys,” he said. “Yes, we could have been better, but these are the steps you need to take to get to where you need to be.”

Avayevu believed a win was necessary last night, especially with the team’s efforts to keep getting better.

“After the midweek game, everybody was down, but that was something in our minds,” Avayevu said. “We’ve learned from a lot of stuff over the past couple of weeks and we came back with that in mind today”

Phoenix’s next challenge will be a rematch against Monterey Bay FC on Saturday, May 17.