It wasn’t that Phoenix Rising FC had gone winless in its first four games to start the new USL Championship season that had been the most concerning element of March.

It was that the side hadn’t for a second led a contest, constantly having to fight its way back into games after allowing a league-high three goals in the opening 15 minutes of games to gain the two points it had in the standings.

Coming into Toyota Field to face a San Antonio FC side that had won each of its first four games of the campaign – and where Rising had won only once in eight prior visits – this was a test the visitors needed to pass.

Thanks to Jearl Margaritha’s stunning second-half strike, Rising accomplished not only that, but provided the vision for where this side could go in the weeks and months ahead.

• YOUNG AT HEART: Make no mistake, this is a young and growing group. The makeshift backline had an average age of 22.3 years old on Sunday evening, and that was with 28-year-old veteran Emil Cuello pulling up the average. Despite that, the visitors held their own, limiting SAFC’s major looks at goal. Notable among them was 18-year-old USL Academy signing Braxton Montgomery, who made a key goal line block, recorded three clearances overall and completed a team-high 24 of 31 passes.

• NEED FOR SPEED: The youth was evident in the speed possesses moving through the gears at the other end, too. Damian Rivera set up Rising’s opening goal of the game – and its first lead of the season – with a dynamic dribble and cutback to Remi Cabral, who converted from the spot after his initial effort was handled on its way to goal. Rivera was key again on the winner, his first touch taking an approaching defender out of the play and opening up space, from where the side quickly moved possession through Ihsan Sacko to Margaritha for a blistering finish into the roof of the net. 

• SEEING IT OUT: While Phoenix was put under pressure in the final 20 minutes – and an agonizing nine minutes of stoppage time – it didn’t give up a decisive opportunity to its hosts. That was the theme of the game for San Antonio as outside of Jorge Hernandez’s penalty kick shortly after Cabral had put Rising ahead, SAFC wasn’t able to create clear cut opportunities, averaging only 0.06xG across its other 13 shots.

In short, it was exactly the sort of performance the visitors and new Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah needed and achieved.

“Today we could also see what we could become, and this is what they needed,” Kah told Marion Crowder postgame on CBS. “In all four games, I don’t think we got outplayed in any ways, but again, the football sometimes is not going to be pretty. You got to do whatever it takes, and today they showed that character, which we’re very proud of.”

Phoenix Rising has been one of the USL Championship’s best-regarded clubs since its halcyon days when the likes of Solomon Asante, Didier Drogba and Adam Jahn were leading the side to Players’ Shields and Western Conference titles. More recently, players including Danny Trejo, Carlos Harvey and Manuel Arteaga delivered the club’s first league title two years ago before moving on to new pastures.

That’s a big history to live up to for the new crop of talent Kah has at his disposal, especially as Rising has pivoted like many clubs in the Championship to becoming a place for younger talent to take center stage while still aiming high on the field.

On Sunday evening, this group took a big step forward toward that aim, showing the tenacity and temperament needed to earn a result in one of the hardest places to visit in the league.

“The biggest thing is to continue to improve as human beings and as players,” said Kah. “We all know in sports that everybody wants to win, right? But at the end of the day, not everybody will be able to do so, but the progress lies within the people and the performance. There’s a lot of people who focus on wins. We focus on performance. Performance day-in and day-out, as a human being and as a player, and this group can achieve what they want.”

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