Phoenix Rising FC

In just 178 days after the franchise was awarded by the USL Pro, Arizona United hired a front office staff and coach, put together a roster, secured a stadium, played 28 regular season games, reached the fourth round of the US Open Cup and was in contention for a playoff spot until the next-to-last week of the season.[6][7]

University of Maryland Assistant Coach Michael Dellorusso was named head coach on March 28, 2014.[8][9] United lost their first game to Oklahoma City Energy FC 4–0 on April 12, 2014.[10][11] They defeated Sacramento Republic FC 2–1 for their first win on April 19, 2014. Brandon Swartzendruber scored the team's first ever goal in the 37th minute. FC Dallas loanee Jonathan Top scored the game winner in the 85th minute.[12][13][14][15]

United won four of their last five games to move up from 13th place to 9th, but fell four points short of qualifying for the playoffs. Jonathan Top and ex-Orlando City standout Long Tan led the team in scoring with five goals each. Tan was also selected for the All-League Second Team.[16] Goalkeeper Evan Newton was second in the league in saves. United finished with a 10–13–5 record.[6]

In their first US Open Cup appearance, Arizona United lasted until the fourth round, the longest Open Cup run of any Arizona club. Entering the tournament in the second round, United defeated Portland Timbers U23s of the PDL 3–2 in Portland on May 13. They were losing 2–1 late in the game when London Woodberry tied the game in the 88th minute and Daniel Antúnez scored the winning goal with seconds left in stoppage time.[17][18][19] In the third round, United defeated Oklahoma City Energy FC of USL Pro 2–1 in extra time May 28 at the Peoria Sports Complex. The game winner was scored by Bradlee Baladez in the 112th Minute and Evan Newton saved a last minute penalty kick awarded to the Energy.[20][21][22] Their Open Cup run ended with a 2–1 loss to the eventual MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy at home on June 18. Gyasi Zardes scored two goals in the second half two minutes apart after Matt Kassel gave United a 1–0 lead at halftime.[23][24][25]

Arizona United signed a one-year agreement to play their home games at Scottsdale Stadium on December 16, 2014.[26] United signed a one-year affiliation agreement with FC Dallas on February 9, 2015.[27][28][29] United finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 10–16–2 record. Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski set a USL record with 130 saves. Long Tan again led the team with 14 goals, which was tied for 4th in the league with Luke Vercollone. Tan was also selected for the USL All-League First Team.[30] On September 25, the club declined to extend the contract of head coach Michael Dellorusso.[31]

Brett M. Johnson, founder and CEO of Benevolent Capital and managing director of Zealot Networks, purchased a minority share of the team. He was named co-chairman and president of Arizona United on December 9, 2015.[32][33] Frank Yallop, who coached the San Jose Earthquakes to MLS Cup championships in 2001 & 2003, was signed to a three-year contract as head coach and president of soccer operations on December 23, 2015.[34][35][36] An investment group of music artists and executives led by Grammy Award winning DJ, record producer and rapper/songwriter Diplo purchased a minority stake in Arizona United on January 27, 2016.[37][38] Scottsdale Stadium did not renew their lease with United and the team signed a three-year lease with their original stadium, Peoria Sports Complex, on January 26, 2016.[39] Pete Wentz, bassist for the rock group Fall Out Boy, purchased a minority share on April 11, 2016.[40]

On August 31, 2016, team founder Kyle Eng sold his majority share to an investment group led by Berke Bakay, president and CEO of Kona Grill.[41][42] On November 28, 2016, the team was rebranded Phoenix Rising FC by the new ownership.[43][44][45]

On March 25, 2017, A record crowd of 6,890 attended Rising FC's first game of 2017 at their new Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex, a soccer-specific stadium and training facility built on the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Tempe. They lost to Toronto FC II 1–0.[46][47][48] They defeated LA Galaxy II 2–1 for their first win at the complex and as Rising FC on April 8.[49][50]

The 2017 season started with three major signings. Guadalajara's all-time leading scorer Omar Bravo was signed on February 9.[51][52] Shaun Wright-Phillips, who played for Manchester City, Chelsea, New York Red Bulls and the English national team, was signed on February 24.[53][54][55] Former Chelsea player and Ivory Coast leading goalscorer Didier Drogba was signed on April 12. He also purchased an ownership stake in the club.[56][57][58][59]

Another record crowd of 7,126 welcomed Drogba to the "Valley of the Sun," as Greater Phoenix is sometimes known, and Phoenix Rising FC defeated the Swope Park Rangers 4–3 on April 23.[60] Frank Yallop resigned as director of soccer operations and head coach on April 24, 2017, for family reasons. Assistant coach Rick Schantz was named interim head coach.[61][62] Former Ligue 1 and Mali national team coach Patrice Carteron was named Rising FC Head Coach on May 22, 2017.[63][64]

In the second half of the season, the Rising won 11 games, tied 3 and lost only one. This included 11 straight games without a loss with a five-game winning streak, both team records. Jason Johnson lead the team with 13 goals. Didier Drogba scored 9 goals, even though he was out for a few weeks with a groin injury. During the unbeaten streak, goalkeeper Josh Cohen earned 6 shutouts in 8 games, which gave him the USL Player of the Month award for September.

The Rising clinched their first ever playoff berth by defeating the Portland Timbers 2 on September 27 by a 2–0 score. Their record was 17 wins, 8 losses and 7 ties, earning them 5th place in the Western Conference. A penalty kick shootout won by Swope Park Rangers eliminated Phoenix after playing to a 1–1 tie. The game was interrupted by lightning and heavy rains after the first half, so the second half was played the following day.[65]

Phoenix Rising FC purchased FC Tucson of the Premier Development League, now known as USL League Two, on October 11, 2017. FC Tucson serves as Rising FC's USL 2 affiliate.[66][67][68]

Advantage Sports Union Ltd., led by Alex Zheng, purchased a share of Phoenix Rising on February 10, 2018, to bolster its MLS bid.[69][70][71]

Phoenix Rising FC concluded an international cooperation agreement with Galatasaray SK of Turkey on April 5, 2019. The partnership includes cooperation on soccer operations, commercial projects, discovery and training of youth soccer players, international exhibition matches, tournaments and training programs for coaches and players.[72][73][74]

From May 5 to September 14, 2019, Phoenix Rising FC won 20 consecutive matches—setting a league and North American record for the longest winning streak.[75][76] The streak ran parallel with another streak of home wins during the club's "Dollar Beer Night" promotion, which dates back to 2017.[77] The streak came to an end on September 21 with a 2–1 loss to Fresno FC. Rising FC earned the USL Championship Regular Season Title on September 28 after playing New Mexico United to a 2–2 draw.[78][79][80]

During a game with San Diego Loyal on September 30, midfielder Junior Flemmings was accused of using a Jamaican homophobic slur against the openly gay Loyal midfielder Collin Martin.[81][82] The Loyals, who had been leading 3–1 up to that point, walked off the field in protest and forfeited the match.[81][82]

Video capturing an exchange between Rising coach Rick Schantz and Loyal coach Landon Donovan over the incident led to claims of Schantz telling Donovan that the incident was "part of the game,"[83] that the players were "competing,"[84] as well as accusations that Schantz tried to downplay the incident.[85] The team's co-owner, Brandon McCarthy, was accused of questioning the veracity of accusations made against Flemmings, suggesting in a direct message with another Twitter user that the Loyal, who forfeited a match against the LA Galaxy II in the days prior over the alleged use of a racial slur against a Black Loyal player,[86] wanted to forfeit the match to begin with to continue making a statement on social justice.[87]

Schantz denied accusations of downplaying the incident, saying his words were "misconstrued."[88] In later statements, McCarthy said he was "emotional" in his initial reaction to the incident.[87] Flemmings also denied using the slur in a Twitter statement following the match, saying he stands "in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ movement."[89]

The incident led to an investigation by USL Championship,[90] and on October 6, it was announced that Flemmings was suspended for six games and issued an undisclosed fine by the USL Championship for use of foul and abusive language.[91] In addition, team officials placed Flemmings on administrative leave for the remainder of his contract term, which concludes on November 30, 2020.[92] Schantz was also placed on administrative leave, which team officials say was unrelated to the USL Championship investigation. Assistant coach Blair Gavin was named inteim head coach. [88][93] Schantz was reinstated as head coach on October 21 after Collin Martin accepted an apology by Schantz for his remarks.[94]

Prior to the incident, the Rising, along with McCarthy, were noted for their support of the LGBTQ+ community.[95][96]

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of January 21, 2021.[101]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
2	Defender	Darnell King	United States
6	Midfielder	Jordan Schweitzer	Canada
9	Forward	Rufat Dadashov	Azerbaijan
10	Forward	Jon Bakero	Spain
13	Defender	Kyle Bjornethun	United States
15	Defender	Joe Farrell	United States
16	Defender	Austin Ledbetter	United States
17	Forward	Santi Moar	Spain
20	Midfielder	Solomon Asante	Ghana
21	Forward	Joey Calistri	United States
22	Goalkeeper	Landon Carter ([A])	United States
23	Defender	Owusu-Ansah Kontoh	Ghana
24	Forward	Denis Conteh ([A])	United States
25	Forward	Ansuh Kanneh ([A])	United States
27	Midfielder	Kevon Lambert	Jamaica
28	Goalkeeper	Zac Lubin	United States
87	Forward	Alex Krzykos ([A])	United States
—	Defender	Tobi Adewole	United States
—	Midfielder	Iván Gutiérrez	Mexico
—	Midfielder	Aodhan Quinn	United States
—	Midfielder	Arturo Rodríguez	Mexico
—	Defender	Deklan Wynne	New Zealand

[102][103][104]

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Rising. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Phoenix Rising FC seasons.

Season	Record											Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental		Average attendance	Top goalscorer(s)
	Div	League	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Conf.	Overall						Name	Goals
2016	3	USL	30	9	14	7	40	46	–6	34	1.13	13th	21st	DNQ	R3	DNQ		1,470	Long Tan	12
2017	2	USL	32	17	8	7	50	37	+13	58	1.81	5th	6th	R1	R3			6,127	Jason Johnson	13
2018		USL	34	19	9	6	63	38	+25	63	1.85	3rd	5th	RU	R2			6,380	Chris Cortez	20
2019		USLC	34	24	4	6	89	36	+53	78	2.30	1st	1st	SF	R2			6,752	Solomon Asante	22
2020		USLC	16	11	3	2	46	17	+29	35	2.19	2nd	2nd	F	NH			6,585	Junior Flemmings	14

^ 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

• Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.

Coach	Nationality	Start	End	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Michael Dellorusso	United States	March 28, 2014	September 25, 2015	60	22	31	7	036.67
Frank Yallop	Canada	December 23, 2015	April 24, 2017	36	12	17	7	033.33
Rick Schantz (interim)	United States	April 24, 2017	May 21, 2017	7	3	4	0	042.86
Patrice Carteron	France	May 22, 2017	June 12, 2018	39	20	8	11	051.28
Rick Schantz (interim)	United States	June 12, 2018	November 13, 2018	24	15	7	2	062.50
Rick Schantz[94]	United States	November 14, 2018	present	53	36	9	8	067.92
Blair Gavin (interim)[93]	United States	October 3, 2020	October 21, 2020	3	3	0	0	100.00

538 Global Club Soccer Rankings

Rank	+/-	Club	League	SPI
318	5	CD Nacional	Primeira Liga	39.6
319	3	HNK Rijeka	Croatian First Football League	39.6
320	3	Phoenix Rising FC	USL Championship	39.5
321	3	FC Dallas	Major League Soccer	39.5
322	6	PEC Zwolle	Eredivisie	39.4

Last updated: February 3, 2021

Most consecutive wins by a North American professional soccer club: (20 games / May 10, 2019 – September 14, 2019)

USL Championship:
Most Points – 78 (2019)
Most Wins – 24 (2019)
Most Goals – 89 (2019)
Goals Per Game – 2.62 (2019)
Assists (season) – Solomon Asante 17 (2019)
Saves (season) – Carl Woszczynski 130 (2015)