As Phoenix Rising’s players retreated to the showers on Saturday night, the sounds of celebration from the opposition locker room were audible to all.
That’s something the team has come to expect, Rising coach Rick Schantz told the press on Tuesday.
“We’re so used to it,” Schantz said. “Every time we tie or lose a game the other team has won, it’s a cup final for them. The problem is we have to stop saying that. We have to stop saying ‘oh, it’s a big game for them.’ We better start waking up and realizing that every game is a cup final for them, it should be a cup final for us. If we play with that same intensity and desire, we’re good enough to beat anyone in this league.”
Two goals from Jack Blake – both of which were put down to errors which gave the Loyal midfielder too much space outside of the penalty area – created too large a hill for Phoenix to climb.
“We’ve got to stay focused for as much as we can for the whole game,” Rising midfielder Kevon Lambert said, adding that his teammates may have gotten complacent in their game plan.
“We were doing the same things over and over, ball going over to the sides, keeping our shape. So I guess we probably got tired of doing the same thing, and we lost focus.”
Arturo Rodriguez provided the lone goal for the visitors, with another appearance off the bench. Now, Schantz is left with a dilemma over when is the right time to hand the 22-year-old his first Rising start.
“Even when I do start him, I think that we all need to be aware that he’s a young player and playing at this level, to maintain that level of intensity for 90 minutes is not the same as 20 minutes,” Schantz said. “I hope that he goes out there with the same mentality, and we can get him through 45, 55 or even 60 minutes, and then [Jon] Bakero, or [Joey] Calistri, or Jeremy Kelly would do the same thing that Arturo has done.”
Injury concerns could force a change up top, with Rufat Dadashov – who has started every Rising match this season – having missed training time.
“Rufat’s got a bad knock on the top of his foot,” Schantz said. “He’s got a bone bruise. I think he took it early in the game, so we’ve held him out of the last two training sessions. I think Rufat will probably be questionable this week. Seyi Adekoya’s back from injury, so it’s all three guys up for selection and it’s going to be a heck of a competition for this week.”
Meanwhile, Zac Lubin’s path back to play is continuing to progress, although the goalkeeper still remains several months shy of entering the field.
“Hopefully, [I’ll be] just getting back into training August sometime,” Lubin said. “You know, we have Ben [Lundt], we have [Andre] Rawls. They’re incredible. It’s going to be tough to come back in and compete with them, but that’s the goal and I’m excited for the challenge.
“But first things first, making sure we’re fit, healthy. It’s a surgery that, if you do it right, 90 percent of athletes come back pain free, no further injuries for the rest of their life. It’s something that it’s tough, you’ve really got to manage it and just take care of it and do it right the first time.”
Now, Rising is looking ahead to a second clash of the season against Sacramento Republic, but Phoenix’s coach said that match is about more than just picking up three points.”
“I never want to lose two in a row, and we very rarely do it here.” Schantz said. “Yeah, I’ll put the pressure on the players, but they know what the expectations are. It’s not just going up there and winning: it’s improving. We played really well in San Diego, but we gave up on two mistakes. If you don’t make those mistakes and you win that game 1-0, 2-0, I think everybody’s talking about how fantastic the game was.”
Rising faces Sacramento at 8 p.m. on Saturday June 26 at Heart Health Park.
Want to hear more? Preview Saturday’s game with Rising Matchday – streaming at 8 a.m. Saturday morning on YouTube and Facebook, and available on demand shortly after.