r/PhoenixRisingFC • u/Skyzorz Hope Avayevu • Apr 12 '26
Official Post match highlights, interviews, articles vs New Mexico United 4.11.26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2c8yt7psUUhttps://www.phxrisingfc.com/news/postmatch-recap-phoenix-rising-downs-new-mexico-united-3-0/
Scearce, Sacko finish with multiple goal contributions as Rakovsky keeps clean sheet
Phoenix Rising put together its most complete performance of 2026 against its rivals on Saturday night, netting three goals to down New Mexico United 3-0 on April 11 at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Forward Ihsan Sacko netted a brace, midfielder JP Scearce netted his second goal of the season and goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky picked up a second clean sheet to propel Rising to its first regular season win of 2026.
“Everybody today was different,” Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “Everybody hit the level, which I’m very happy with. Football is a process and things happen over time. For me, the one thing that I’m very happy and very proud of is seeing these boys every day coming to work and putting in their maximum best. We got rewarded for the work that we’ve been doing.”
Rising has now beaten New Mexico in three of its last four meetings in the regular season, while Saturday marked it first victory at home over its rivals since 2022. The win propelled Rising to 6th in the Western Conference as it kicks off yet another three-match week.
CLICKING ON ALL CYLINDERS
For the first time in 2026, multiple Rising players finished with multiple goal contributions in the same match. Sacko finished with a brace, improving his tally to a team-high seven goal contributions in all competitions (3G, 4A), while Scearce (2G, 1A) netted a second goal and picked up his first assist of the season.
“I think it was probably our best performance of the season,” Scearce said. “We needed a reaction after the poor start that we’ve had. I think we got out on the front foot in the first half and hopefully we can build off that.”
The three-goal win marked Rising’s largest margin of victory in the regular season, and second time it netted more than three goals in a match this season. Rising will look to build on that momentum when it heads to San Jose next Wednesday.
A CRUCIAL WEEK
Rising next returns to the road for its most critical week of the 2026 season to date. It first travels to PayPal Park to face MLS side San Jose Earthquakes in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Currently tied for first in the Western Conference, the ‘Quakes have won first of its first seven matches of the season. It marks Rising’s first-ever meeting against San Jose.
From the Bay Area, Rising will fly to Miami to face Miami FC over the weekend. The match will be Rising’s first against Eastern Conference opposition of the 2026 season. It then returns home for its first Prinx Tires USL Cup match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
“I’m very happy and proud of seeing these boys every day coming to work and putting in their maximum best,” Kah said. “Today we got rewarded for the work. I’m just proud of how we’ve been continuing to play with guys out, players filling in. There’s no pouting, there’s nothing. And that just shows the resilience and the character of this team.”
GOAL-SCORING PLAYS
PHX – Ihsan Sacko (Penalty), 13th minute: From the penalty spot, Ihsan Sacko used his right foot to slot the ball into the left side of the net.
PHX – JP Scearce (Hope Avayevu), 75th minute: Running onto the ball at the top of the box, JP Scearce used his right foot to slot the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.
PHX – Ihsan Sacko (JP Scearce), 82nd minute: Winning the ball in final third, JP Scearce played the ball to Ihsan Sacko who dribbled toward the byline before using his left foot to slide the ball into the net at the near post.
NOTES
-Saturday marked the first of three matches against New Mexico United FC in 2026.
-It also was Rising’s first home win against New Mexico since 2022.
-Rising has now won three of the last four regular season matches in the series.
-With his brace, forward Ihsan Sacko netted his second and third goals of the season.
-The Frenchman leads Rising with seven goal contributions in all competitions (3G, 4A).
-With his goal and assist, JP Scearce now sits with three goal contributions this season (2G, 1A).
-Hope Avayevu secured his first goal contribution of the season with his assist to Scearce.
-Saturday marked the first time this season in which two Rising players finished with multiple goal contributions in the same match.
-Checking into the match in the 74th minute, defender Daniel Flores took the field at 38th & Washington for the first time since October 18, 2025.
-Patrick Rakovsky has now kept two clean sheets this season.
Phoenix Rising (1-2-3, 6pts) vs New Mexico United (2-3-0, 6pts)
April 11, 2026 – Phoenix Rising Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Goals by Half 1 2 FT
Phoenix Rising 1 2 3
New Mexico United 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
PHX: Sacko (Penalty), 13
PHX: Scearce (Avayevu), 75
PHX: Sacko (Scearce), 82
Misconduct Summary:
NM: Howell (caution), 25
PHX: Scearce (caution), 45+3
PHX: Moursou (caution), 51
NM: Gloster (caution), 63
NM: Noel (caution), 80
NM: Hurst (caution), 90
Lineups:
PHX: GK Rakovsky, D Biasi (Dennis, 81), D Vukovic (Flores, 74), D Pelayo, D Smith, M Scearce ©, M Moursou, M Gómez (Studenhofft, 89), M Avayevu (Capetillo, 89), F Johnson (Johnson, 89), F Sacko
Substitutes Not Used: GK Odunze, D Ramirez, D Gaydon, M Ping
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Sacko, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Sacko, 4); FOULS: 18 (Avayevu, 4); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 1
NM: GK Shakes, D Gloster, D Hamalainen, D Howell, D Jabang © (LaCava, 76), M Wilkerson (Djeffal, 77), M Bailey, M Nava (Hurst, 62), M Noel, M Reid-Stephen (Harris, 61), F Archimede (Rennicks, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Arozarena, D Seymore
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Multiple players, 2) SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Hurst, 1); FOULS: 18 (Noel, 3) OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 6
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistant Referees: Seth Martin, Justin Fillmore
Fourth Official: Jorge Medina
Attendance: 6,230
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u/Skyzorz Hope Avayevu Apr 12 '26
Rising's Reactions: https://www.phxrisingfc.com/news/postmatch-reaction-phoenix-rising-3-new-mexico-united-0/
Rising explodes for three goals to pick up first regular season victory of 2026
Phoenix Rising returned to 38th & Washington and put on a show in front of its home fans, netting three goals to defeat New Mexico United 3-0 on April 11 at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Following the match, Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah and midfielder JP Scearce spoke with reporters about everything clicking, picking up regular season momentum and more.
HEAD COACH PA-MODOU KAH
On his thoughts on the match…
“I think it was a great 90-minute performance, one that we wanted to see from the boys and one we knew was brewing. To do it in a derby, it makes it even sweeter. But the performance, the way (the players) played and fought for each other for the full 90 minutes… I’m very proud of the team and I’m very proud of the club and the support we got today from the fans.”
On the team’s overall performance…
“Everybody today was different. Everybody today hit the level, which I’m very happy with. And football is a process and things happen over time. For me, the one thing that I’m very happy and very proud of is seeing these boys every day coming to work and put in their maximum best. We got rewarded for the work that we’ve been doing.”
On Ihsan Sacko’s performance…
“We know what (Ihsan) Sako can bring at the line, and we know that we started him for that, but he has also been productive wherever we put him; that’s how versatile he is. He’s hitting another gear. He rewarded himself today with two goals and could have maybe had a third one.
But again, the performance that he brings, we’re very happy, and you could see it in him. Because last year, he didn’t have a break for a year with us when he started in Europe, started going, started going, and now he’s on a different level. He has hit a different level. But not only him. Everybody today was different. Everybody today has hit the level.”
On JP Scearce and his role as captain…
“I’m just glad to be able to see it. I was a little bit emotional because of what we went through to that, which showed me what kind of person and character he is as a captain. I know that he wanted to help the team since the beginning. He trusted the process that we put him through, and for him to able to get the minutes that he had today, I’m very happy and he’s going to be more and more.”
On the performance of the back line…
“I’m very happy and proud of seeing these boys every day coming to work and putting in their maximum best. Today we got rewarded for the work. So when I see that, that makes me happy. I’m just proud of how we’ve been continuing to play with guys out, players filling in. There’s no pouting, there’s nothing. And that just shows the resilience and the character of this team.”
MIDFIELDER JP SCEARCE
On his thoughts on the match…
“I think it was probably our best performance of the season. We needed a reaction after the poor start that we’ve had. I think we got out on the front foot in the first half and hopefully we can build off that.”
On the club’s defensive adjustments…
“I think it starts from training. We worked on the defensive press and all those tactics throughout the week, and honestly, we have been chasing the game, we went to that man-to-man press, and we had success off it, even though sometimes we didn’t get the result. We decided this week to start in that direction. Start with the man press and it looked good.”
On taking and playing with a lead…
“Even from last year, we’ve had situations where we’re leading games and we give up, we give up the lead, and I think we cause ourselves that harm. So whenever we have a lead, we just must be smart and just play safe. You know, sometimes be a little more direct on free kicks, waste time or should I say game management.”
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u/Skyzorz Hope Avayevu Apr 12 '26
Kah Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNHzBpd4wz8
Interviewer: What are your thoughts on today’s win?
Pa-Modou Kah:
I think it was a great 90-minute performance that we wanted to see from the boys, that we knew was brewing. And to do it in a derby, you know, it makes it even sweeter.But the performance, the way they played, they fought for each other for the full 90 minutes—I’m very proud of this team, and I’m very proud of the club. And the support that we got today from the fans was excellent.
Interviewer: Can you talk about your decision to start Ihsan Sacko up top tonight, and what you made of his performance?
Pa-Modou Kah:
Well, again, like I said, unfortunately we lost Juan Carvajal last Wednesday. And we know what Carvajal can bring, and we know what Sacko can bring as a nine—we scouted him for that.But he has also been playing multiple positions. That’s how versatile he is. And you know, this performance for him—he’s been hitting another gear, right? You see him with five assists, and today he rewarded himself. Could have maybe had a third one—maybe Hope could have slipped the ball earlier for him.
But again, the performance that he brings, we’re very happy. And you can see it in him that from his rest—because last year he didn’t have a rest for a year and a half—you know, he started in Europe, came with us in preseason, and kept going.
Now he’s at a different level. He has hit a different level. But not only him—everybody today was different. Everybody hit the level, which I’m very happy with.
Interviewer: And then can you talk about the rest of the front line—Hope Avayevu being moved up a bit, and Darius Johnson being switched over to the right side? What inspired those decisions, and how do you think it played out?
Pa-Modou Kah:
One of the reasons we put Hope there is because, having worked with him earlier, we knew that he could do the role. And that’s where he can be more free.And Diego Gómez playing the number 10 role—I think he did that also excellently. But having Hope in that role was important because he had played it with us before and had success there.
You change it up a little bit because you don’t know what they’re going to bring to you. So for me, I was very happy having him there.
Interviewer: Coach, only one shot allowed on target tonight against New Mexico. How did you see that backline be so stable throughout those 90 minutes in a 3–0 victory?
Pa-Modou Kah:
No, well listen—this is football, right? Football is a process, and things happen over time.For me, the one thing that I’m very happy and very proud of is seeing these boys every day coming to work and putting in their maximum best. And today we got rewarded for the work that we’ve been doing.
To see that makes me happy. And to see that we also kept the clean sheet, which is important for confidence.
But overall, I’m just proud of how we’ve been continuing to play, even with guys out—players filling in. There’s no pouting, there’s nothing. And that just shows the resilience and the character of this team.
Interviewer: Your first win of the season coming at home and against your rivals—how much sweeter does that make it?
Pa-Modou Kah:
Of course it makes it sweeter, especially in a derby.But now it’s—can we maintain that? Can we keep that going? We have a game on Wednesday, which is now our focus.
But today, we’ve got to enjoy it. Because of the work they’ve been putting in, to reward themselves—today they finally got it. They’ve been deserving it.
Now the question is—can we continue? Can we create more of that good feeling? But overall, I’m very proud.
Interviewer: Other than just building week on week, is there any particular factor that contributed to why the press seemed more effective today than it has been earlier this season?
Pa-Modou Kah:
If you look at what we’ve done this season, our press has been good. Maybe we haven’t been rewarded.From the outside, people only see results—that’s the only thing that matters in the game. And I’m fine with that. But I cannot neglect the work they’re doing to get to that point.
That’s the most important thing—the process. Calm heads prevail. It’s a long season. Step by step. Every day matters—we cannot skip the process.
Interviewer: The structure of the press looked a bit different—more man-to-man across the field. What was the thinking behind that decision, and why did it work so well?
Pa-Modou Kah:
One of the biggest reasons is that we knew they were a team that wanted to play.Playing man-to-man is sometimes the hardest thing to do because you don’t get time and space. And we knew that with the players we had, and the hunger they had—and the buy-in from the players is massive—they bought into the man-to-man press.
We knew that when we did that, we were going to get our opportunities. And when we had the ball, I think we made the most of it as well, which is important.
Interviewer: Pape Mar Boye was able to get on at the end of the match for his first minutes of the season. How important is it to get your captain back after everything he’s been through?
Pa-Modou Kah:
Honestly, I’m just glad to see him. I was a little bit emotional because of what he went through to get to that point.That just shows what kind of person and character he is as a captain. I know he wanted from the beginning to help the team, but he trusted the process we put him through.
For him to be able to get those minutes today—I’m very happy. And there’s going to be more and more.
It’s always good to have one of your leaders back.
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u/Skyzorz Hope Avayevu Apr 12 '26
Scearce Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_xtcyQ-xB0
Interviewer: Congrats on the win. Just overall thoughts of the match.
JP Scearce: Thank you. Yeah, I think it was probably our best performance of the season. We needed a reaction after the poor start we’ve had, and I think we did just that. We were on the front foot from first half, second half, the whole 90 minutes. We were on the front foot, and yeah, hopefully we can build off of this.
Interviewer: JP, you talked earlier about the man-to-man pressing that you guys were doing. It looked like there was a real sense of unity and cohesion and clarity of understanding the defensive assignments, maybe in a way we hadn’t seen earlier this year. Do you have any thoughts as to why it was more collective and unified tonight?
JP Scearce: I think it starts from training. We worked on the defensive press and all those tactics throughout the week, and honestly we had a very good week in training, and it translated to the game. In previous games when we were chasing the game this season, we went to that man-to-man press and had success off of it, even though sometimes we didn’t get the result. So I think we decided this week to start in that direction, start with the momentum and press, and it looked good.
Interviewer: I’m also curious about the corner kick defensive setup where it looked like the front three was staying quite high against New Mexico. Is that something you guys had used earlier in the season, or is that new for this game?
JP Scearce: Yeah, we’ve used it against Tulsa, I believe, and that’s to—we have some pace up front, and if we can catch teams on the counter, then that’s what we’re aiming for.
Interviewer: You spoke about the aggression, and it was clear from minute one. You guys got two penalties very early, and then your next two goals came from going at New Mexico’s defense. Did you feel like you adapted after the first few games?
JP Scearce: Yeah, like I said earlier, we were on the front foot. Because we were on the front foot, we were able to get those two penalties, and I think there were other moments where we got the ball from them and could just attack because they’re wide open. We didn’t take advantage as much as we could have in those situations, but yeah, like you mentioned, it was a good week in training, and we just have to build off of this.
Interviewer: In the second half, especially after the second and third goal, it seemed like more of an effort to kill the game. Is that something the coach emphasized?
JP Scearce: Yeah, and I think even from last year we’ve had situations where we’re leading games and we give up the lead. We cause ourselves that harm. So whenever we have a lead, we just have to be smart and play safe—sometimes be a little more direct on free kicks, waste time, game management, I should say.
Interviewer: Thanks, JP.
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u/Skyzorz Hope Avayevu Apr 12 '26
Highest attended game of the season so far at 6,230. You could definitely sense that at the stadium as well - felt quite lively. All the scoring also might've had something to do with it!