As Rising travels to face a San Diego Loyal side that can pack its stands full for the first time March 2020, there’s one man not worried about the impact a hostile crowd will have on the visitors: Phoenix head coach Rick Schantz.
“When you go on the road and you play against a team and there’s 500 people in the stands, it’s not like it gives the visiting team an advantage,” Schantz said in his weekly press conference. “It actually kind of kills the energy at times. I think when we go somewhere and there’s a big group and they’re chanting, there are certain players that thrive with the negativity from the opposing fans. For us, we constantly talk about having a target on our back and everybody wants to beat Phoenix.”
There’ll be no shortage of home fans present at Torero Stadium on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be friendly faces in there too. Rising’s supporters groups have been allocated a section in the East Bleachers, with other Phoenix fans – including midfielder Aodhan Quinn’s family – expected to be dotted around the ground.
“It means so much to have travelling support,” Schantz said. “I think that’s something we’re very proud of. Other than New Mexico, I think San Diego had a few, but in general our fans travel really well when available and that means the world to our guys. I told them make sure we find out where they’re at and when we score, we celebrate with our fans.”
This marks the third time that Rising has faced San Diego since the end of April, with Phoenix winning one and drawing the other. That familiarity, Schantz said, means that “there’s nothing they don’t know about us, and there’s nothing we don’t know about them.”
“I noticed that Landon had made a comment that they’re the only team that knows how to beat us,” he added. “They haven’t beaten us, but I think they’ve got a good gameplan and they’ve got some good ideas.
“[…] I think we’ll be prepared. The team is in a really, really good state of mind knowing that we’ve got four of our next five on the road, and it’s not about how pretty you play, it’s about getting points.”
Meanwhile, Rising could be set to make several changes to its starting lineup. Both Noah Billingsley and Aodhan Quinn are expected to be available for selection on the weekend having missed time due to injury. Schantz also hopes striker David Egbo will be at his disposal, after visa delays sidelined him for the previous two matches. Adding to the change, Rising midfielder Kevon Lambert has now returned from duty with the Jamaican national team in Tokyo.
“Kevon Lambert landed on Sunday at 5 p.m., and he was at training at 8 a.m. on Monday,” Schantz said. “We had to convince him to take it easy on Monday. Kev’s the kind of guy that if he flies from Japan and gets off the plane, he would play 90 minutes for you and probably do really well.
“I know he’s a little tired today. He was telling me this is the first time he’s experienced that kind of jetlag, so he’s on a heavy, heavy dose of water and he’ll be sleeping a lot this afternoon.”
Rising travels to face San Diego Loyal at Torero Stadium on Saturday.
Want to hear more? Preview Saturday’s game with Rising Matchday – streaming at 9 a.m. Saturday morning on YouTube and Facebook, and available on demand shortly after.