It’s preseason time at Phoenix Rising, with the first warm-up match against Sporting Kansas City just over a week away.
That doesn’t mean the squad is fully assembled, though.
“Well, you will probably hear one, two, three… at least four more players [before the SKC friendly], and we have five or six trialists with us for a couple of weeks,” Rising head coach Rick Schantz told media on Thursday.
“This year we did something a little bit different. As we were signing the players that we really wanted to get, and as we were building the team, the idea was to be patient. Not knowing what was going to happen coming out of COVID, going into this new season, as well as financially, where were we going to be at financially with the new facility and with fans and all those things. So I don’t have all those answers yet; but I do know that we will end up with about 23 to 24 signed players when it’s over, and some will definitely also be under contract with other clubs.”
However, there remains no formal update from the club on the signing of James Musa. Last week, the transfer was described as being “very close” to completion, and Rising’s coach later hinted at the move in a tweet.
“If we do get him signed, I think he would be a great addition to our team, because he’s very good on the ball, he’s left-footed and he’s got some athletic ability,” Schantz said on Thursday.
That athletic ability has been a point of emphasis for Rising this season, as it seeks to rebuild a back line that will no longer feature A.J. Cochran, Corey Whelan or Damion Lowe.
“For us, historically, defending on the counter attack has been a challenge because we like to press a lot,” Schantz said. “We like when we have a lot of the game in front of us. So, you know, when an opponent has two forward it’s been a challenge, but those are areas that we’ve tried to address this offseason. I think with Tobi [Adewole] and Joey [Farrell], Darnell King and Deklan Wynne, we’ve got some pretty athletic defenders, and that should really help us out.”
Adewole and Wynne aren’t the only new faces on the block, and so far, their coach is happy with the decisions he’s made.
“All the players that we signed that are new have exceeded my expectations in the first week, just in voluntary training,” Schantz said.
“So they’ve been out training the last week or two, and watching Prince Saydee’s athletic ability and how quickly this guy’s adapting and how fast he can run is just amazing. Arturo Rodriguez and his first touch and, you know, we described him as silky smooth, and that’s an understatement. Ivan Gutierrez, he got a bit of a cold, not COVID related, and he’s back into the team and everyone is really excited about his talent and his first touch as well. It’s going to be a good team and very competitive.”
While trialists and new signings alike are battling to establish a spot in the team, so too are players from Rising’s youth setup. Don’t expect them to be given an easy ride, though.
“We’re going to try and reward these guys, but it’s not just because they’re doing well at the academy,” Schantz said. “They have to be able to play at our level. They have to be able to train at our level. We’re not going to bring them out just because we want to have academy players in training. They have to be good enough. So, when you see them training with us or playing preseason, not only have they earned it with their peformance at the academy level. They’ve done well in training as well.”
For first teamers, things will be a little bit different this season. There’s new kit, new training fields, a new stadium and even a brand-new apartment complex for players. In Schantz’s mind, all the upgrades should cover just about any concern that the players have.
“We’ve taken away all the excuses,” he said. “Now you have to perform. It’s your responsibility to just focus on being a professional footballer. You can’t worry about anything else. You can’t complain about the fields or the food or the treatment, the apartment or the city.”
Of course, Rising isn’t the only club tempting new players in from afar. In particular, Schantz was impressed by the efforts of one Pacific Division adversary.
“I think it took Landon a little while to get going last year, and it took San Diego near the end of the season to figure out a good formula,” he said. “But with Miguel Barry, and Rubio Rubin and Alejandro Guido, they started to find something. I think, with Niki Jackson and Corey Hertzog, and now putting Guido in there as a 10 along with some other midfielders that they’ve picked up, I think they’ve done a good job building a team.”
Rising will face San Diego, along with every other Pacific Division team, twice at home and twice away during the regular season.
“It’s going to be a challenge, and when you have to play anyone four times, it’s not easy,” Schantz said. “By the end of the season, there won’t be any secrets. We’ll all know each other extremely well, and hopefully we’ll be at the top.”
There will also be a limited amount of cross-conference play, drawing speculation that Phoenix could face Tampa Bay Rowdies – the playoff final matchup that was ultimately never played. Is that something Rising’s coach is looking forward to?
“I think it would be a good game for the fans to watch, much like Louisville, Indy, Charlotte, New York Red Bulls,” Schantz said. “I mean, wouldn’t it be awesome for us to get to play a couple of teams every year from the East Coast? People often describe the West Coast and East Coast as playing two different brands of soccer, so I think it would be fun to have that.”
Yet for now, the focus is solely on the preseason. Rising has 12 matches to play, and will seek to balance its squad’s playing time throughout.
“In order for them to be match ready, the first time we play, they may only play 30 minutes. The next game, each group will play 45, and we [will] slowly build it up rather than jumping right into Aodhan Quinn playing 90 minutes for 12 games in preseason. We would kill the kid, and I know that, we’re very aware of it.
“But like last year, when you get to play these MLS teams, and those guys are preparing for their season, it really raises the bar for us. It puts our guys in situations that maybe if they were going against a lower-level team or a local team or something that they might not have that same pride or desire to perform.”
Rising opens its preseason fixture list with a match against Sporting Kansas City at Wild Horse Pass on March 13th. That game will be played without fans or media present.