- Fresno FC (2W, 4D, 1L) currently sit in 9th place in the USL Western Conference on goal difference, five places but only one point behind Rising in 4th.
- Founded in 2017, this is the first time Rising have faced Los Zorros.
- There’s a familiar face working behind the scenes at Fresno, with former Rising Head Coach Frank Yallop serving as General Manager. He is joined by Alex Smith (Head Coach), who spent the previous three seasons as an Assistant Coach at Sacramento Republic, and Rob Earnshaw (Assistant Coach).
- One of Wales’ favorite sons, Zambia-born Rob Earnshaw is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the English Premier League, all three divisions of the English Football League, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and a full international. Known for his somersault goal celebrations, the diminutive ex-Whitecaps and Chicago Fire forward scored 105 goals in 205 first team games for Cardiff, and 16 goals in 59 matches for Wales, including this beauty against Germany’s Oliver Kahn subsequently used by FIFA to promote the 2002 World Cup:
- Fresno’s 30-man squad includes former Arizona United midfielder Jose Cuevas (3 goals in 20 appearances for United) and 2 Brazilians – Pedro Ribeiro and Rodolfo.
- Twenty-four year old Rodolfo is currently on loan from Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, São Paulo. He made 2 appearances for Palmeiras in 2014, before being sent out on loan to 4 Brazilian rivals – Rio Claro, Oeste, Ypiranga-RS, and Portuguesa.
- Pedro Ribeiro is a former Philadelphia Union and Orlando City attacking midfielder. He opened his goal tally for the season with a 35-yard screamer in a 2-2 home draw/tie with Tulsa Roughnecks on April 18.
- Midfielder Argueta, and forwards Caffa and Johnson have all netted twice for Los Zorros this season.
- Californian defensive midfielder Argueta was signed from Colorado Springs Switchbacks in December 2017. He has scored both Fresno goals as a late second half substitute.
- Argentinian left winger Caffa is a graduate of Club Atlético Boca Juniors youth system. He spent 2007-2010 in La Liga (Spain), scoring 12 goals in 103 appearances for Betis and Zaragoza. Last season he scored 9 goals in 29 appearances for Tulsa Roughnecks in the USL.
- Pacey forward Jemal Johnson spent 6 years in the English Football League at Blackburn Rovers, Wolves and MK Dons, plus loan spells at Preston and Leeds United, among others. He also played 14 games for Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Sofia. This is Johnson’s first season in the USL. He spent the previous 5 seasons in the NASL, at Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1 goal in 12 appearances), New York Cosmos (1 goal in 21 appearances), and Jacksonville Armada (7 goals in 77 appearances).
- Seven of the nine goals scored by Los Zorros have been scored in the second half, including 6 in the last 30 minutes of games.
- Four of their eight goals conceded this season have been scored in the first 15 minutes of either half.
- Fresno have utilized a 4-4-2 formation in 4 of their 7 USL games to date; and have collected three yellow cards in each of their last three games.
From The Ashes Prediction: 2-1 win for Rising