With just a few minutes left in the game, Phoenix Rising forward Joey Calistri scored the game-tying goal against the San Diego Loyal and impressed the record-breaking crowd at Phoenix Rising Stadium on Saturday night.
The new stadium at Wild Horse Pass was flooded with fans cheering for the 2-2 tie against the Loyal. It was the first game that allowed full capacity and 8,058 fans showed up, setting a new club record.
After 19 minutes of play, San Diego was the first to score and the Rising went into halftime trailing, 1-0. The Loyal scored again in the second half extending their lead., 2-0. However, Rising’s Santi Moar was on a mission to break records and his goal at the 91-minute mark helped him get one step closer.
Moar has now scored in all six games this season and is just one game and one goal short of having the record for most consecutive goals in the Phoenix Rising franchise. Currently, the record is held by Solomon Asante, who scored in seven consecutive games in the 2019 season. Moar is on track to break that record but already holds the title this season as the only player who has scored in every game.
Eight minutes of additional play was exactly what the Rising needed to make a comeback in front of a huge crowd of Phoenix soccer fans. Joey Calistri scored the game-tying goal and improved the Rising’s record to 4-1-1.
Phoenix Rising is on the road next week to play the Tacoma Defiance on Saturday, June 12 at 7:30 pm.
Claudia Collins
