Match Info
Live Stats (USL Championship)
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Local Broadcast (COZI-TV)
PHOENIX (Aug. 23, 2024) — North Carolina FC is headed to the desert for Week 25 of the USL Championship regular season to take on the reigning league champions, Phoenix Rising FC, at Phoenix Rising Stadium on Saturday, August 24 at 11 p.m. ET. The match will stream live on ESPN+ and be broadcasted locally on COZI-TV.
The reigning USL League One and USL Championship winners met earlier this season in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park, with Phoenix picking up a 1-2 win in extra time.
North Carolina FC enters the weekend in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 7-8-8 record and 29 points. The team’s loss at San Antonio FC in Week 24, coupled with Rhode Island FC, Loudoun United FC and Detroit City FC all picking up points, means NCFC enters Week 25 four points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
NCFC had a season-high 63.08% possession in the road loss, but a late goal gave the hosts all three points.
Oalex Anderson continues to chase North Carolina FC history, tying Tiyi Shipalane as the team’s all-time leading scorer in league play with his brace against Colorado Springs Switichbacks FC in Week 23. While his next goal will break Shipalane’s league-play record, the forward is also chasing the team’s all-competitions scoring record, which is currently held by Brian Shriver at 35 goals.
Scouting Phoenix Rising
Rising proved in 2023 that lower seeds can get it done in the postseason, going from the sixth seed in the Western Conference and making the playoffs by just five points, to winning it all, however this season Phoenix are on the outside looking in heading into the home stretch of the season. The reigning champs are currently 10th in the Western Conference but are just one point back of the final playoff spot.
Phoenix has had a bit of a coaching carousel this calendar year with championship-winning Head Coach Juan Guerra departing to become an assistant with the MLS’s Houston Dynamo in January. Danny Stone, an assistant coach on Guerra’s staff, was promoted to the position, but Rising parted ways with Stone in June and Diego Gómez, who started the year as an assistant, is currently serving as the interim head coach. Under Gómez, Phoenix has gone 1-2-2 picking up five points from a possible 15.
Phoenix has conceded the sixth fewest goals in the league with 25, one fewer than NCFC’s own goals against tally, proving to be solid on the defensive end of the field. However, the reigning champs have struggled in front of net with the team’s 21 goals ranking as second-lowest tally in the league.
Colorado Rapids loanee Rémi Cabral is Phoenix’s main threat in front of goal with six strikes on the season.
Next Up
North Carolina FC will be back at home for the first time in three weeks, hosting Eastern Conference leaders Louisville City FC on Saturday, August 31, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Single-match tickets are available here and the game will be the final NCFC game of the Kids Come Free summer promotion.
