Rising, Battery draw in chippy 2023 USL final rematch
Phoenix Rising FC (5-6-5) and Charleston Battery (8-6-2) dueled to the final seconds in a scoreless, chippy rematch of the 2023 USL Championship on Saturday night at Phoenix Rising Stadium.
It had scuffles, a hydration and safety break due to excessive heat, and two scoreless clubs after 96 minutes.
"What we saw there was two good teams playing against each other," Rising head coach Danny Stone said. "I felt we, as a team, showed that we wanted to go and attack the game tonight and wanted to go and win the game. And even though the game ends nil, I thought it was a lot of excitement in the game."
A glimpse of the Rising's early frustrations came in the 26th minute when Rising forward Gabi Torres stumbled into Charleston Battery forward Nick Markanich and was handed a yellow card by the officials. In frustration, he spiked the ball into the ground.
Rising received three yellow cards in the first half, while Charleston had none.
In the 31st minute, Torres earned a free kick from the left flank that fell short. Rising forward Dariusz Formella, who scored two goals in the Rising's last home win against Orange County on June 8, threatened Charleston Battery's goal multiple times but came up empty after what looked like decent attempts.
Rising spent most of the second half on the attack but could not capitalize. Charleston Battery's goalkeeper, Adam Grinwis, stood firm.
Both Rising goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo and Grinwis finished the game with clean sheets.
"I felt in the first half, actually, the game was quite a controlled game," Stone said. "Less chances, but also less transition in the game. I felt the difference between first half and second half was that probably both teams limited the transition elements of the other team in the second half."
In terms of capitalizing on the missed opportunities the Rising had throughout the game, midfielder Renzo Zambrano is ready to move forward and look to build upon the success they did have.
"We had the opportunities that they had, too," Zambrano said. "I think that we played very good against a good team. Forget this game and go again next week."
Next up, Rising will travel to Autozone Park on June 28 to face Memphis 901 FC (6-4-6), which recently replaced them as fifth in the USL Western Conference standings.