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RENO, Nev. — The soccer gods smiled on Phoenix Rising FC goalkeeper Zac Lubin on Saturday night.
After initially gifting Reno 1868 FC a goal six minutes into the Western Conference semifinal, Lubin got the ultimate redemption by making the key save that propelled Phoenix Rising to the West Finals with a 5-4 shootout victory over Reno in a grueling match tied 2-2 after more than 120 minutes of soccer at Greater Nevada Field.
“I knew I just needed to make one save,” Lubin said after the match. “Our guys would step up cool, calm and collected and put it away.”
Lubin was right. After more than two hours of physical play with nearly 60 shots attempted by both squads, the match was tied 2-2. The match came down to a five-round shootout and no one had missed after four rounds and eight attempts.
Reno’s Aidan Apodaca then stepped to the mark and Lubin stepped up his game. The Phoenix keeper chose correctly, making a diving stop to deny Apodaca and set the stage for victory.
“To make up for that mistake I made, it’s pretty awesome,” Lubin admitted.
Now needing just one successful strike to win the match, a physically drained Rufat Dadashov delivered his biggest goal in his first year with the club:
The huge comeback on the road from two goals down set off a wild celebration. Players mobbed each other while Phoenix’s Kevon Lambert was doing flips down the field. A crowd of about 700 socially-distanced fans was in shock.
“I’m grateful for these guys and this team,” Rising Interim Head Coach Blair Gavin said. “We are resilient — you saw that tonight.”
The win catapults Rising to the Western Conference Finals where they will host El Paso Locomotive at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Casino Arizona Field. El Paso defeated New Mexico United similarly in a shootout on Saturday. Phoenix (13-3-2) and El Paso (11-2-5) met once this season, a 3-1 Rising win on Aug. 1.
With the most points of any remaining team, Phoenix Rising would host the cup championship match if they can get past El Paso. Louisville City will host Tampa Bay in the East finals.
Saturday’s match between the two rivals started disastrously for Rising and Lubin. Looking to find their early footing, they instead found themselves trailing after a massive blunder:
Lubin attempted to distribute the ball to his defense but instead directed it to Reno’s Corey Hertzog, who did the rest.
“That one goal wasn’t going to decide the game. My team had my back — we shrugged it off,” Lubin said.
After the miscue, Rising settled down and sought the equalizer. They had a few decent chances but nothing materialized.
Meanwhile, Lubin made several key stops to keep Rising down just one goal.
That changed in the 40th minute as a high, deflected ball led to Reno doubling its lead. Rising defenders Darnell King and Joey Farrell appeared to not communicate and Reno’s Kevin Partida took advantage.
Partida knifed through both defenders and secured possession before sending a low liner past Lubin to give Reno a 2-0 lead:
Needing a spark, Rising’s Santi Moar provided it in first-half extra time.
The Spaniard showed off his speed and skill in the 47th minute, weaving through the Reno defense and unleashing a shot on Reno keeper Ben Beaury. The ball was stopped but fell right to the foot of Lambert, who cashed in his first goal of the season:
Down just 2-1 at the break, Rising had the momentum and continued to push for the equalizer in the second half. Lubin denied two quality chances by Reno’s Foster Langsdorf to keep the match close.
In the 63rd minute, Lubin nearly botched another distribution but he was able to save Hertzog’s header off the line to avoid disaster.
A few minutes later, Rising got what it was looking for from captain Solomon Asante:
Tied 2-2 with players getting fatigued, both teams sought the potential game winner. The defenses held tight before Moar missed a glorious chance in the 93rd minute of play. With an open left side of the net, Moar’s kick sailed high off his foot and over the crossbar.
The battle of attrition continued into two extra-time periods of 15 minutes each. The best chance occurred just eight minutes in when Apodaca flew past a tired Phoenix back line but Lubin was there to make the crucial save.
With nothing decided after extra time, the match went to the shootout where Lubin got his shot at redemption. Dadashov eventually finished off the match, but Farrell, King, Joey Calistri and Corey Whelan were all successful on their shootout attempts as well.
Farrell, King and Whelan are all defenders who might not normally be among the first five selected for penalty kicks.
“I just felt like we needed something different in PKs,” said Gavin.
Reno held 56 percent of possession but Phoenix outshot them 31-26 on the night. Reno had 10 shots on goal while Phoenix had 8. There were 45 fouls committed in the match and nine yellow cards issued (5 for Reno, 4 for Phoenix). The home squad earned 13 corner kicks to 9 for visiting Rising.
The Western Conference Final will be broadcast on CW61 television and streamed on ESPN+ with live audio on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. The championship final on Nov. 1 will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Phoenix’s goalkeeper, who went from potential goat to shootout hero, is looking forward to next week.
“We have home field now which was the goal,” said Lubin. “But it’s going to be incredibly tough no matter who we play.”
Matt Loeschman Editor | Daily Independent @MattLoeschman
I have edited and written about almost everything in my 20-year journalism career, but I have a strong passion for sports since my father was a teacher and coach when I was young.
My job has allowed me to meet many influential people, including Hillary Clinton, Al Gore (I have a brief, on-camera part in his second movie), George Strait, Matthew McConaughey and several world-class athletes.
I have worked for Independent Newsmedia on two separate occasions – 2000-09 and 2018-present – after studying journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
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