What Pa said 🫡

ROUND OF 32 DRAW 🏆

Phoenix Rising will host Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo in the Open Cup, just the second time the club has ever hosted MLS opposition in a competitive matchup.

If Rising wins, they are also guaranteed to host the Round of 16 clash against either Austin or El Paso.

Rees’ takes as he fills in for me for the week

After leg break, Alex Araneda on path back to pros Suffering a broken leg with the Galaxy in the 2024 preseason, Alex Araneda has found himself back under former coach Pa-Modou Kah in Phoenix.

Not everyone's path to Phoenix Rising is straightforward.

Alex Araneda's certainly wasn't.

After suffering a leg break in the 2024 preseason, he's now reunited with his former coach and looking to rebound.

gophnx.com/leg-break-al...

Phoenix Rising claims share of spoils in El Paso chaos In an early candidate for game of the season, Phoenix Rising came back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 on the road in Texas.

The morning after…

It’s important not to lose sight of the fact Rising conceded four goals in that match. But there were definite signs in the second half of what this team could be capable of, if all goes to plan.

Quotes and thoughts 👇

gophnx.com/phoenix-risi...

~30 minutes to go here in El Paso

As I took this picture, it started to hail.

Proper football day.

Braxton Montgomery's debut at 17 shows path to Rising After years in Phoenix Rising's youth setup, Braxton Montgomery made his debut for the club at the age of just 17 against FC Tulsa.

“I was excited, so it was just pure excitement… and nerves. A lot of nerves too.”

After making his way through the club’s academy, Braxton Montgomery made his Phoenix Rising debut last weekend.

gophnx.com/debut-braxto...

remember when landon told us all this guy was ok lmao

Pa-Modou Kah era set to begin in Phoenix - PHNX Sports Coming off the worst goalscoring season in Phoenix Rising FC's history, new head coach Pa-Modou Kah is ready to make a difference.

“We never have a defensive mindset.”

After Phoenix Rising’s worst ever goalscoring season, Pa-Modou Kah is looking to make a change.

gophnx.com/pa-modou-kah...

Kah on further acquisitions: “I think we’re where we need to be, but obviously we are always looking for quality to inject that can help the group.”

Kah on captaincy: “The staff and I together with the players have created a leadership group. The players know who they are, and the captaincy will be revealed in due time.”

Kah on the GK position:
“If you want to become a championship team, you need to have players that can push each other, and that’s what we have.”

Rakovsky, on GK positional battle:
-“Obviously I want to play. That’s my personal number one goal”
-“I think we’re both doing really good. It’s a fair, competitive fight and that’s what you want.”

On preseason so far;
-“We have a lot of energy. I think the new coaching staff is giving us a lot of energy, a lot of new information.” - Rakovsky

-“I’ve enjoyed to see how the boys performed in both games […] I’m seeing daily improvement in all the players” - Kah

First press conference of the year at Rising? ✅

Some updates after speaking with Pa-Modou Kah and Patrick Rakovsky…

Two new Women’s Premier Soccer League teams announced as set to launch in the Valley this year. One of them, based in Peoria (with fans voting on a final team name at the moment) has Brett Lashbrook listed as its contact.

The team is set to play at Peoria Sports Complex.

Rising gets in a big man midfielder, 6-foot-5 Noble Okello. Played in MLS, but dropped off to NEXT Pro in the past year. How will he look in Rising red?

Phoenix Rising Signs Right-Back Collin Smith Phoenix Rising FC has signed 21-year-old right-back Collin Smith to a contract, pending league and federation approval.

Collin Smith joins Rising. Right-back, played for Kah in North Texas. Some questions after his struggles in Rhode Island, where he got minutes off the bench.

www.phxrisingfc.com/news/phoenix...

Phoenix Rising Re-Signs Goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky - Phoenix Rising FC Two-time USL Championship-winning goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky returns for his third season with Phoenix Rising Phoenix Rising FC has re-signed German goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky, pending league and fe...

Rakovsky returns.

Wasn't initially expecting this, but it'll be interesting to see if he's expecting to feature this season with Rocco's departure confirmed.

bit.ly/Rakovsky

AND WE HAVE A FIXTURE LIST

Phoenix Rising will open 2025 with a home game against FC Tulsa on Saturday, March 8.

ok usl championship, do the thing

Phoenix Rising Signs Ghanaian Playmaker Hope Avayevu Phoenix Rising FC has signed 22-year-old attacking midfielder Hope Kodzo Avayevu, Avayevu, known for his vision and playmaking abilities.

Attacking midfielder, has been in MLS NEXT Pro for a few years now. Played under Kah in North Texas.

bit.ly/4gvMtLu

🤔

Phoenix Rising Signs Forward Remi Cabral Phoenix Rising FC has signed forward Remi Cabral to a contract, pending league and federation approval and receipt of his P-1 Visa.

Rémi Cabral returns to Phoenix after being let go by Colorado Rapids.

Cabral was with Rising on loan last year, scoring 7 goals in an injury-affected season.

www.phxrisingfc.com/news/phoenix...

Pod day.

Going to be talking Rising's latest signing plus taking a fun diversion by assembling some futsal teams out of Rising players past and present.

Join us ⬇️

2025 even, sleepy start here eh

Damian Rivera is Rising’s first new signing ahead of 2024.

Billed as a forward, with 6 in 34 last year at Tampa Bay. Costa Rican youth international as well.

Remember we have a Rising pod tonight in 40 minutes…

CYMRU HAVE DONE IT!

Rhian Wilkinson’s side are heading to the Euros! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿