Reno 1868 (6 wins, 2 losses) currently sits on top of Group A. The team is ahead of Sacramento Republic, who also has 18 points, based on games won. However, both of Reno’s losses came against Sacramento.

Reno and Phoenix last met in August 2019 at Casino Arizona Field. Junior Flemmings gave the hosts the lead in the first half, but that was cancelled out by a goal from Danny Musovski in the 53rd minute. However, Rising followed up with a Solomon Asante penalty just six minutes later, with the lead quickly doubled thanks to Mustapha Dumbuya. Corey Hertzog clawed one back with 16 minutes to play, but another penalty from Asante sealed the 4-2 victory for Rising.

Reno has won just one of the six encounters between the sides, with Rising winning three. The last time that 1868 actually won this matchup came in May 2017 – the first ever encounter between the sides.

The team is coached by Ian Russell, who has managed the side since its inception. Prior to that, he was the assistant coach at San Jose Earthquakes, a position he held since 2008. Russell was also a longtime Earthquakes player, featuring for the side between 2000 and 2005.

It’s never a quick start with Reno. The team has yet to score – or concede – in the first 15 minutes of any game in 2020.

Joint with three other teams, Reno has received the lowest number of yellow cards in the Championship this season.

LAST TIME OUT

Reno’s last match was against San Diego Loyal at Torero Stadium. Goals from Foster Langsdorf, Tucker Bone and Aidan Apodaca were enough to seal a 3-1 victory for the visitors. However, an early exit for Kevin Partida due to injury may cause some concern for the Nevada club tonight.

Here is what Rising coach Rick Schantz had to say about Reno 1868:

Ben Beaury played in goal for 1868 in San Diego. He joined Reno on loan from New Mexico after struggling to break ahead of Cody Mizell. In fact, Beaury played just one match for United before heading to Reno: last season’s 2-2 draw against Rising at Isotopes Park. He’s started the last three games for Reno, as well as the team’s opening game after the restart. In all five professional appearances to date, he’s still to record a clean sheet. The 24-year-old graduate of Le Moyne College started his career with Charlotte Independence in 2018, before following coach Troy Lesesne to Albuquerque.

2020 captain Brent Richards was at right back last time out. He hasn’t missed a minute since the restart of play. Richards moved to Nevada in 2017, after five years with the Portland Timbers organization as the club’s first homegrown player. He made six substitute appearances in MLS in 2012, but hasn’t featured in the top-flight since then. Richards is primarily a right-back, but has played on the wing in the past, and that attacking streak can be seen in his stats. In 2020, he’s scored once, plus picked up two assists despite being part of the back four for every match.

Youngster Jared Timmer has forced his way in the starting lineup during his debut professional season. He’s started the last three games at center-back, following three previous substitute appearances. Timmer was the captain at Butler University for three years, making the NCAA Regional Semi-Finals in 2017 alongside then-teammate Eric Dick. He isn’t the strongest in the tackle, winning just one-third, but seems to win fouls at the back without giving any away.

Thomas Janjigian is now in his fourth season with the club, and has played in every match in 2020. The 25-year-old center-back, whose hometown is 25 miles east of Oakland, has featured for San Jose Earthquakes in a friendly and in the Open Cup, but has never signed a contract with Reno’s MLS affiliate. The most notable part of Janjigian’s game is his aerial ability. He’s won the vast majority of aerial duels throughout his career (72.4% this season).

Once a winger, but now a left-back, Sam Gleadle could prove a handful for Rising. Last year, while playing further up the field, he recorded five goals and four assists. Gleadle was born in the southern English city of Chichester, but moved to Arizona at age 9 and attended Campo Verde High School. He also featured for the youth club Scottsdale Blackhawks, which has since rebranded to become Phoenix Rising Youth.

Kevin Partida has been bouncing between Reno and San Jose since 2018. He’s actually native to the Reno area, and was born in Sparks. The midfielder was first loaned to Earthquakes during his first professional season, and the team picked up his contract at the end of that year. He was loaned back to the Nevada club in 2019, making just one appearance for his parent club before being released at the end of the season. Now back at Reno permanently, Partida will be hoping to make the case for another spell in MLS. Expect him to be a physical presence in the midfield. He’s won 68.6% of tackles this season, and has done similarly throughout his career.

Alongside Partida in the midfield against Loyal was Sergio Rivas. Rivas is in his second season with Reno, after being drafted by San Jose in the second round of the 2019 draft. A feature from Bleacher Report speculated that he’d have been picked earlier if it wasn’t for his DACA status, which, per MLS roster rules, means he’d be treated as an international player. The Seattle University graduate, who grew up in Albuquerque, got off to a good start last year, scoring two goals early on. However, lower back issues and a hernia forced Rivas to miss much of the second half of 2019. So far in 2020, he’s already equalled last season’s goal tally.

Air Force Academy graduate Tucker Bone has moved further west after making his professional debut with Colorado Springs last season. He was selected in the first round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders, but never actually signed for the club. The winger comes into this game in good form, having scored in both of the team’s last two games, as well as picking up an assist against San Diego. That was enough to earn Bone a spot in USL’s most recent team of the week.

Another new signing for Reno is Christiano François. The Haitian scored eight goals and recorded six assists last year with Ottawa, and looks to have carried that form forward into 2020. So far, he’s got three goals and four assists, making him joint-top scorer on the team. The 27-year-old winger first moved to the US after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and made his professional debut in April 2014 while on loan with Richmond Kickers. After a spell in Portugal, he returned to the US in 2017, and has been playing in USL ever since. François was handed his first senior international caps in September 2019, appearing in a pair of Nations League matches against Curaçao.

While he may have been in more of an attacking midfielder role in their last match, Corey Hertzog has established himself as one of the best strikers in USL. Starting in 2016, he’s recorded less than 14 goals in a season just once. Last year, Hertzog found the net 18 times during regular season play, making him second to only Solomon Asante in the Western Conference. He’s already got three this year, with all of them, including his sole assist, coming in the last four matches. Rising need to be very careful around Hertzog in the penalty area. The majority of his goals throughout his career have come from inside the box with his right foot.

Starting up top against Loyal was Foster Langsdorf. He’s another addition to the Reno side, after spending the last two seasons with Portland Timbers 2. Over that spell, he scored a total of 21 goals, as well as ten assists. Langsdorf has scored three goals this season, including one in each of the last two matches. He was twice named Pac-12 Player of the Year while with Stanford, and made his debut at MLS level last year.

New signing Mouhamed Dabo came off the bench last time out. The Senegalese midfielder, who signed from Pittsburgh, spent three years in the Inter Milan youth setup. His first professional contact came in USL, though, with Harrisburg City Islanders in 2016. Dabo’s passing seems sharp this season (87.3% accuracy), but don’t expect much from him going forward. He’s scored just one goal in his professional career.

Aidan Apodaca also came off the bench in San Diego. Despite being a squad player last season for Reno, he scored five goals in 14 appearances. 2020 seems to be a similar tale for him. Apodaca has yet to feature for more than ten minutes in a match, and made just four appearances, yet got his first of the season against San Diego. The primarily right-footed forward started his professional career with Bethlehem Steel in 2018, after being drafted by the Philadelphia Union.

One late addition to the 1868 squad is midfielder Jesús “Chuy” Enríquez who signed from San Antonio on Thursday.  Enríquez holds dual nationality with the US and Mexico, and spent 2017 with Club Tijuana’s B team.  A former Rio Grande Valley midfielder, where he scored 10 goals in 61 appearances, Enríquez had clocked up three games for San Antonio in 2020. 

ONE TOP TALKING POINT

Rising’s draw against Las Vegas drew attention to the fact that the team has won just one game on the road this year. Here’s what Rising coach Rick Schantz had to say about the team’s away form:

From the Ashes Prediction: A tough game, and potential playoff preview, ends in a draw for Rising.