Phoenix Rising FC Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!
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Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league system.
Phoenix Rising FC Youth Development System
Phoenix Rising FC Professional Academy is a founding member of Major League Soccer’s elite player development platform
“All of us at Phoenix Rising FC are incredibly honored and excited to be announced, and compete, as a founding member of the MLS elite player development platform,” said Phoenix Rising FC’s Director of Soccer Development, Steve Cooke. “Our desire is to provide the very best practices in elite player development through the Phoenix Rising FC Professional Academy, and this platform will enable us to do so by competing at the highest level of youth soccer.”
The new platform, which will include more than 8,000 players throughout the U.S. and Canada, will consist of elite year-round competition, as well as player identification initiatives, coaching education opportunities, and additional programming to create the premier player development environment.
For Phoenix Rising FC, being named to the elite player development platform means the club can offer academy players in the Phoenix area access to the top level of competition in the U.S.
“It is tremendously important that professional clubs lead the education and development of elite young players,” said Cooke. “As a high performing professional club, Phoenix Rising FC is confident that we will provide the very best culture, learning environment and methodology in order to expedite the development of our young players and their teams.”
Added Cooke: “Our whole club commitment to elite player development will provide outstanding opportunities and experiences for the dedicated and ambitious soccer player. We will maximize their playing abilities, and in doing so, will give our young homegrown players the chance to compete at the professional level in the future, and hopefully with Phoenix Rising FC.”
ID Clinics – Recruitment
Players that are interested in playing for Phoenix Rising FC Professional Academy U13 – U19 should register their intent to play via the form by clicking here.
Inquiries about payer ID camps can be submitted to [email protected]. Additional information can be found on the Academy tab at both PHXRisingFC.com and PRFCYouthSoccer.com
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History
Kyle Eng, the owner of an advertising agency, officially created the Arizona United SC franchise on March 13th, 2014. In the USL Pro league, it replaced Phoenix FC, which had disbanded the day before.
2014 season
It took Arizona United just 178 days from the time they were awarded the franchise by the USL Pro to hire an executive team and head coach and build a team, acquire a stadium, play 28 regular season games, and make it as far as the fourth round of the US Open Cup before missing out on the playoffs. On March 28, 2014, Michael Dellorusso, an assistant coach at the University of Maryland, was named head coach.
On April 12, 2014, United’s debut game ended in a 4–0 loss to Oklahoma City Energy FC. On April 19, 2014, they beat Sacramento Republic FC 2–1 to get their first victory. A 37th-minute strike from Brandon Swartzendruber gave the club a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Top, an FC Dallas loanee, scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute of play. United improved their position from 13th to 9th in the standings by winning four of their last five games, although still came four points shy of making the playoffs.
Long Tan, a former Orlando City FC player, and Jonathan Top each had five goals to lead the squad in scoring. he was also named to the second team of the All-League. Evan Newton was the league’s second-place goalkeeper in saves. United’s final record was 10–13–5.
2014 US Open Cup
Arizona United made it all the way to the fourth round of the US Open Cup in their inaugural appearance, the longest Open Cup run by an Arizona team. Defeating Portland Timbers U23s of the PDL 3–2 on May 13 in Portland, United advanced farther in the competition. A late London Woodberry goal and a Daniel Antnez game-winner with seconds left in stoppage time turned a 2–1 deficit into a draw.
At the Peoria Sports Complex on May 28th, United defeated Oklahoma City Energy FC of the USL Pro 2–1 in extra time. During the 112th minute, Bradlee Baladez scored the game-winning goal, while Evan Newton saved a late penalty kick for the Energy. At home on June 18, they were beaten 2–1 by eventual MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy. First half goals from Matt Kassel and Gyasi Zardes gave the Red Devils an early 1-0 lead in the second period.
2015 season
December 16, 2014 saw the signing of a one-year contract for Arizona United to play their home games at Scottsdale Stadium. On February 9, 2015, United and FC Dallas struck a one-year affiliation agreement. On the season, the Redskins went 10-16-2 to finish 10th in the Western Conference. With 130 saves, Carl Woszczynski set a new USL record for a goaltender. Long Tan and Luke Vercollone tied for 4th place in the league with 14 goals each. Tan was also named to the All-League First Team in the United States League. Michael Dellorusso’s contract was not renewed by the club on September 25.
2016 season
Former Benevolent Capital founder Brett M. Johnson, who also serves as the managing director of Zealot Networks, acquired a small stake in the team. His appointment as Co-Chair and President of Arizona United was announced on December 9, 2015. San Jose Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop was signed to a three-year contract on December 23, 2015, as head coach and president of soccer operations.
On January 27, 2016, Grammy Award winning DJ, record producer, rapper/songwriter Diplo gathered a group of music artists and executives to purchase a minority ownership in Arizona United. Since the lease at Scottsdale Venue was not renewed, United signed a three-year deal with their old stadium, Peoria Sports Complex, on January 26th of this year. On April 11, 2016, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz purchased a minority stake in the company.
2017 season: rebranding and playoff run
An investing group headed by Kona Grill President and CEO Berke Bakay bought the team’s majority stock on August 31, 2016, according to the team’s founder Kyle Eng. The new ownership changed the team’s name to Phoenix Rising FC on November 28, 2016. The Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex, a soccer-specific stadium and training facility located on the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Tempe, hosted its first game of 2017 on March 25, 2017.
They were defeated 1-0 by Toronto FC II. Their first victory as Rising FC came on April 8 when they defeated LA Galaxy II by a score of 2–1. Starting in the new year, there were three notable signings. On February 9, Guadalajara signed all-time leading scorer Omar Bravo. On February 24, Manchester City signed Shaun Wright-Phillips, a former Chelsea, New York Red Bulls, and England international. Didier Drogba, the all-time greatest scorer for the Ivory Coast and a former Chelsea player, was signed on April 12th. In addition, he bought a share of the club. On April 23, Phoenix Rising FC defeated Swope Park Rangers 4–3 in front of a record crowd of 7,126 people in the “Valley of the Sun,” as Greater Phoenix is frequently dubbed. A family matter prompted Frank Yallop’s resignation as Director of Soccer Operations and head coach on 24 April 2017. Rick Schantz, an assistant coach, has been selected as the team’s interim leader. Patrice Carteron, a former head coach in Ligue 1 and with the Mali national team, was appointed head coach of Rising FC on May 22, 2017.
The Rising finished the second half of the season with a record of 11 wins, 3 ties, and 1 loss. This includes an 11-game winning streak and a 5-game winning streak for the team, both of which were team records. Jason Johnson had a goal-scoring lead of 13 for the club. Even though Didier Drogba was absent for a few weeks with a groin injury, he still managed to score 9 goals. It was goalie Josh Cohen who was named USL Player of the Month for September after keeping a clean sheet in six of his eight appearances. On September 27, the Rising defeated the Portland Timbers 2 by a score of 2–0 to secure their first-ever playoff berth. There were 17 victories and eight losses and seven tie-breakers in the Western Conference for a record of 5th place. After a 1–1 tie, Swope Park Rangers prevailed in a penalty kick shootout to eliminate Phoenix. The second half of the game had to be postponed because of lightning and severe rains after the first half. USL League Two’s newest team, FC Tucson, was purchased by Phoenix Rising FC on October 11, 2017. Rising FC’s USL 2 affiliate is FC Tucson.
2018 season
It was on February 10, 2018, that Alex Zheng’s Advantage Sports Union Ltd. purchased a share of Phoenix Rising as a way to strengthen its MLS candidacy.
2019 season
Galatasaray SK of Turkey and Phoenix Rising FC of the United States signed an international collaboration agreement on April 5, 2019. As part of the agreement, the two organizations will work together on soccer-related activities, commercial ventures, youth soccer player discovery and training, international exhibition matches, tournaments, and coach and player training programs.
During the span of May 5 to September 14, 2019, Phoenix Rising FC set a League and North American record for the longest winning streak in a regular season match. At one time, the club was running a campaign called “Dollar Beer Night,” during which it won home games every week from 2017 to 2018. On September 21, a 2–1 loss against Fresno FC ended the streak. On September 28, Rising FC drew 2–2 with New Mexico United to win the USL Championship Regular Season Title.
2020 Season
Phoenix Rising FC will compete in the USL Championship for the seventh time, and for the fourth time as Rising FC. They’ve won the regular season in the USL Championship the last two years in a row. Because several Tampa Bay athletes and personnel tested positive for the virus, the Finals were postponed the day before. There will be no crowned league champion. The U.S. Open Cup had to be canceled due to inclement weather.
Colors and Badge
Phoenix Rising FC’s official colors are red, black, white, gold and grey.
Stadium
During the 2014 and 2016 seasons, Phoenix Rising played their home games at the Peoria Sports Complex. During the 2015 season, they played at Scottsdale Stadium. In time for the 2017 season, the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex, a soccer-specific stadium, was built in 2017. Rising FC and Casino Arizona struck a sponsorship agreement on March 15th, 2019, which included stadium naming rights. Gambling Arizona Field became its new name.
