Rising, Monarchs Battle To Draw

By Edwin Rodriguez

Omar Bravo scored his first goal for Phoenix to help Rising FC secure a 1-1 draw with Real Monarchs SLC halting their nine-match winning streak Saturday night at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex in Scottsdale.

Phoenix Rising found themselves down almost the entire first half when fan favorite Bravo scored in the 45th minute after Matt Watson connected on a low cross from right to left that allowed Bravo to thrust the ball into the net for the equalizer.

“I think its always important to score,” Bravo said. “We leave with a so-so feeling because I think the team (Phoenix) had various options to win, but we are striving to get better and win by three points.”

Real Monarchs took an early lead to stun the Rising crowd into silence in the 12th minute of the first half when Demar Phillips drove a diagonal pass to Daniel Haber who got shot the ball past Phoenix Goalkeeper Josh Cohen.

Phoenix remains unbeaten under new head coach Patrice Carteron. With this result, Rising has five points after one win and two draws in the last three games since Carteron took over the team.

“Step by step, we are progressing,” Phoenix Rising head coach Patrice Carteron said following the match Saturday night. “It was a big challenge for us to compete against this very nice team (Real Monarchs). We deserve this point, congratulations for the record but I’m happy that we stopped the record tonight.”

Phoenix Rising FC will go on a two-game road trip starting with a match against Reno 1868 FC at the Greater Nevada Field in Reno, Nevada. They will next head to Irvine, California to face Orange County Soccer Club before returning home to the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex July 15th, against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Watson shot blocked

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