Phoenix Rising FC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 04/2017
Full name
Phoenix Rising Football Club
Founded
March 13, 2014;
Arizona United SC
Stadium
Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex
Tempe, Arizona
Capacity
6,200
Owners
• Berke Bakay
• Brett M. Johnson
• Tim Riester
• Diplo
• Pete Wentz
• Brandon McCarthy
• David Rappaport
• Didier Drogba
• and others
Head Coach
Frank Yallop
League
USL
2016
13th, Western Conference
Playoffs: DNQ
Phoenix Rising Football Club is a professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the United Soccer League, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
History
On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of Arrowhead Agency, launched the franchise and named it Arizona United SC.
It took the place of Phoenix FC, which folded the previous day, in the USL Pro league.
2014 Season
In just 178 days after the franchise was awarded by the USL Pro, Arizona United hired a front office staff and coach, put together a roster, secured a stadium, played 28 regular season games, reached the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup and was in contention for a playoff spot until the next-to-last week of the season.
University of Maryland Assistant Coach Michael Dellorusso was named Head Coach on March 28, 2014.
United lost their first game to Oklahoma City Energy FC 4:0 on April 12, 2014.
They defeated Sacramento Republic FC 2:1 for their first win on April 19, 2014. Brandon Swartzendruber scored the team's first ever goal in the 37th minute.
FC Dallas loanee Jonathan Top scored the game winner in the 85th minute.
United won 4 of their last 5 games to move up from 13th place to 9th, but fell 4 points short of qualifying for the playoffs.
Jonathan Top and ex-Orlando City standout Long Tan led the team in scoring with 5 goals each.
Tan was also selected for the All-League Second Team.
Goalkeeper Evan Newton was second in the league in saves.
United finished with a 10-13-5 record.
2014 US Open Cup
In their first US Open Cup appearance, Arizona United lasted until the Fourth Round, the longest Open Cup run of any Arizona club in history.
Entering the tournament in the Second Round, United defeated Portland Timbers U23s of the PDL 3:2 in Portland on May 13.
They were losing 2:1 late in the game when London Woodberry tied the game in the 88th Minute and Daniel Antúnez scored the winning goal with seconds left in stoppage time.
In the Third Round, United defeated Oklahoma City Energy FC of USL Pro 2:1 in extra time May 28 at the Peoria Sports Complex.
The game winner was scored by Bradlee Baladez in the 112th Minute and Evan Newton saved a last minute penalty kick awarded to the Energy.
Their Open Cup run ended with a 2:1 loss to the eventual MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy at home on June 18.
Gyasi Zardes scored two goals in the second half two minutes apart after Matt Kassel gave United a 1:0 lead at halftime.
2015 Season
The Arizona United SC team signed a one-year agreement to play their home games at Scottsdale Stadium on December 16, 2014.
United signed a one-year affiliation agreement with FC Dallas on February 9, 2015.
United finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 10-16-2 record.
Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski set a USL record with 130 saves.
Long Tan again led the team with 14 goals, which was tied for 4th in the league with Luke Vercollone.
Tan was also selected for the USL All-League First Team.
On September 25, the club declined to extend the contract of Head Coach Michael Dellorusso.
2016 Season
Brett M. Johnson, founder and CEO of Benevolent Capital and Managing Director of Zealot Networks, purchased a minority share of the team.
He was named Co-Chairman and President of Arizona United on December 9, 2015.
Frank Yallop, who coached the San Jose Earthquakes to MLS Cup championships in 2001 & 2003, was signed to a three-year contract as Head Coach and President of Soccer Operations on December 23, 2015.
An investment group of music artists and executives led by Grammy Award winning DJ, record producer and rapper/songwriter Diplo purchased a minority stake in Arizona United on January 27, 2016.
Scottsdale Stadium did not renew their lease with United and the team signed a three-year lease with their original stadium, Peoria Sports Complex, on January 26, 2016.
Pete Wentz, bassist for the rock group Fall Out Boy, purchased a minority share on April 11, 2016.
2017 Season: Rebranding
On August 31, 2016, team founder Kyle Eng sold his majority share to an investment group led by Berke Bakay, President and CEO of Kona Grill.
On November 28, 2016, the team was rebranded Phoenix Rising FC by the new ownership.
On March 25, 2017, A record crowd of 6,890 attended Rising FC's first game of 2017 at their new Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex, a soccer-specific stadium and training facility built on the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Tempe, Arizona.
They lost to Toronto FC II 1:0.
They defeated LA Galaxy II 2:1 for their first win at the complex and as Rising FC on April 8.
The 2017 season started with three major signings.
Guadalajara's all-time leading scorer Omar Bravo was signed on February 9.
Shaun Wright-Phillips, who played for Manchester City, Chelsea, and the English National Team, was signed on February 24.
Former Chelsea and Ivory Coast International Didier Drogba was signed on April 12, 2017.
He will play only for one season then will join the front office and was given part-ownership.