PHOENIX – Just 15 yards separated New Mexico’s first three penalty spot takers and Phoenix Rising’s goal. Fortunately for Phoenix, they had Patrick Rakovsky in the way.
This time, goalkeeper Rakovsky, who had saved six of the eleven penalties he’s faced this season, saved each of New Mexico United’s first three penalties Saturday night, diving right for the first two and left for the third, seeming to easily cover the width of the goal on each strike before punching the ball to safety.
For Rising, it was just enough to escape with a 3-3 (3-2) win in the penalty shootout, earning two out of three possible points under USL Cup rules against the top team in the USL Championship Western Conference.
Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah was animated when asked about his keeper’s success on spot kicks, trying to prevent outside forces from getting in the way.
“Don’t jinx him! Next question,” Kah said. “I don’t want to talk about him, he was unbelievable. I give Corey Robertson, our goalkeeper coach a lot of credit, but I don’t want to jinx him.”
When asked about his preparation on penalties, and whether he has scouting reports written on a water bottle or other objects in the goal, Rakovsky coyly said, “Uh, maybe.”
Just three weeks ago, the Rising were 1-4-3 in USL play, had lost their first USL Cup match, and looked like they could be headed for a disappointing season under first year coach Kah.
The team, however, never lost its self-belief.
“We don’t divert because of results or not winning — I think sometimes that’s the worst thing you can do,” Kah said before Saturday’s match. “When you start shifting around the trust is gone and the belief is gone.”
That everlasting belief was never more palpable than it was with Jearl Margaritha’s post-match comments.
“I think we’re better than (New Mexico United), and I think it showed,” Margaritha said. “We had a few chances to finish off the game at 3-3. But yeah, I think we’re better than them, we have a lot more.”
Margaritha said Rising’s success has resulted from their unity.
“We’ve been together from the start,” Margaritha said. “Through the hard times that we were losing, and now we’re winning, and everyone’s just in a good vibe.”
He continued, “We’re getting to know each other way better now. I know their qualities, they know my qualities. We really fought and it showed. Tonight the way we fought from one-nil down, from two-three down. It shows what we’re capable of as a group.”
The next step Kah envisions for Rising is to “become killers,” he said, adopting a relentless mentality of never being satisfied with any lead.
“We have the self-awareness to know that we can get better, and that we’re going to get better,” Kah said. “Like I said, the killer mentality. That is the difference between if you’re going to be a good team, or if you’re going to be a great team. … We still have some gears to go.”
In the last three weeks, Rising have put their season back on track, looking the sum of their parts. Over the next couple of months, they’ll show whether there is another gear to reach.
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