Rising bounce back from blowout with win over San Antonio

Rick Schantz walked toward the halfway line, his fists balled and his arms raised skyward, in a celebratory V-shape. For 26 minutes, his Phoenix Rising team had been comprehensively outplayed, saved only by goalkeeper Ben Lundt and poor finishing from San Antonio FC.

There was Lundt’s incredible double save off a giveway from midfielder Arturo Rodriguez. There was Lundt again coming to the rescue six minutes later, this time off an Aodhan Quinn mistake. There was San Antonio striker Justin Dhillon pulling a shot just wide on a golden one-on-one opportunity.

But, in the 26th minute, there was Schantz, celebrating an opener for Phoenix in a game it would eventually go on to win, 3-0, bouncing back from last week’s loss to LA Galaxy II by the same score.

Rising’s goal came in the least likely of circumstances, off a scuffed shot from winger Santi Moar. Sensing that Moar's hit was off target, striker Greg Hurst adjusted his body to head goalward, leaving goalkeeper Jordan Farr stuck in his tracks as Phoenix grabbed a stunning opener.

“The way Santi makes contact, it's coming right at me,” Hurst said. “And I know I'm close to the goal so the keeper's gonna have to come out and I think if I just change direction on the ball then it kinda catches him flat-footed and luckily enough, it ended up in the back of the net.”

It took less than a minute for San Antonio to work its way back onto the front foot, a tidy passing combination springing Dillon free for an even better chance than the one he missed three minutes earlier. From just outside the six-yard box, though, the San Antonio striker pulled another shot wide, preserving Phoenix’s inexplicable lead.

The sequence highlighted a lack of defensive organization that plagued Rising in the first half hour.

“They were finding that extra midfielder on the weak side, next to Aodhan (Quinn),” Schantz said. “And we just got too expanded when we were pressing. The first 20 minutes, we were very good at creating opportunities for ourselves, but we were not good in defensive transition and it was because we were struggling with the numbers on our back line.”

As the half progressed, the balance of play slowly shifted in Phoenix’s favor. And, in the 34th minute, Hurst was again the man to punish San Antonio’s early wastefulness.

On a chance that would have ranked outside the top five for San Antonio in the first half, he brought down a ball from Baboucarr Njie on his chest, his back to goal. Isolated in the penalty area, he took a chance, acrobatically scissor kicking over his left shoulder and past Farr into the top right corner, rivalling Luis Seijas’ winner against Miami FC as the early favorite for Phoenix’s goal of the season.

“I don't think I've ever tried that in training to be honest with you,” Hurst said afterward, still laughing at his own audacity.

The strike was all Rising needed to take full control of the game, reversing San Antonio’s dominance.

Their comfortable second half performance was only interrupted by a controversial 77th minute second yellow card for Baboucarr Njie. The left back was sent off after he won the ball on a hard tackle but was adjudged to have come in too strong, having left his feet in the challenge.

Njie will be available for Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup round of 32 tie against Sacramento Republic but is suspended for next weekend’s visit from the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

On Saturday night, though, Njie’s sending off was quickly forgotten, as forward Richmond Antwi made it three for Phoenix, rounding Farr in stoppage time to score his first goal for the club. With that, Rising secured its second win in five weeks over second-place San Antonio reaffirming its title aspirations even in an up-and-down season that has Phoenix sitting at 6-0-3 and in third place through two months.

“This may not be the prettiest team we've ever had,” Schantz said. “But these guys are grinders.”

Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and Phoenix Rising FC. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rising bounce back from blowout with win over San Antonio