Rising complete epic comeback to beat Charleston 3-2 on penalties to win USL Championship

Third time’s the charm.

It will surely go down as one of the most memorable playoff runs in United Soccer League history.

On Sunday evening, the Phoenix Rising completed an epic comeback on the road for the fourth consecutive week to beat the Charleston Battery 3-2 on penalties in the USL Championship Final. Defender John Stenberg’s 90th-minute header tied the game at 1-1 before forward Manuel Arteaga stepped up and drilled the decisive goal in penalties after the team fell down, 0-2.

With the win, the Rising captured the first USL championship trophy in the club’s seven-year history. It was the team’s third berth in the title game after missing out on a chance to play in the final in 2020 when it was canceled due to COVID-19 complications.

“It’s hard to find words right now,” Stenberg said in his postgame interview. “This season has been up and down for us, playoffs as well. We’ve been down in games, come back late. Everyone contributed to this performance and all these playoff games. I’m happy and super proud of this team, this club, this organization, the fans.”

In these 2023 playoffs, the Rising scored in the 119th minute against No. 3 San Diego Loyal SC in the first round, in the 116th minute against No. 2 Orange County SC in the second round, in the 92nd minute against No. 1 Sacramento Republic FC in the Western Conference Final, and in the 90th minute against Charleston. All of those came on the road versus higher seeds.

And if that wasn’t dramatic enough, the Rising seemed down and out in penalties after its first two attempts were no good. Midfielder Emil Cuello, the hero the last two weeks with his game-winning goals, attempted to chip Charleston goalkeeper Trey Muse on the first attempt of penalties, but the shot fell softly, right into Muse’s hands. Defender Daniel Krutzen was the second player that coach Juan Guerra called upon, and his shot too was saved by Muse.

Hope was fading fast for the Rising.

But this wasn’t the first moment in the game when the words appeared to be written on the wall. Stenberg had just revived the Rising 20 minutes before with his perfectly placed header in the last moments of the match.

That’s when midfielder Renzo Zambrano launched a rocket into the top right corner to keep the season alive and the team’s title hopes on life support. Charleston defender Leland Archer’s shot went wide on the next attempt, making it 2-1 with forward Erickson Gallardo up to the spot next.

Gallardo danced his way up to the ball before slotting it in to dramatically tie it at 2-2. Right then and there, the breath seemed to be taken out of Patriots Point stadium. The Rising had clawed back from death not once, but twice. The pressure was now on the Battery.

Charleston midfielder Chris Allan had his shot saved by Rocco Rios Novo on the ensuing attempt, leaving it up to forward Manuel Arteaga, one of the league’s leading scorers, to put his team ahead. Just as he has done the whole season, Arteaga converted, setting up a dramatic potential final kick.

With it all on the line, it’s only right that the league leader in saves with 116, Rios Novo, was the one to stifle Charleston defender Derek Dodson to win the USL Championship as the shot hit the left post.

Rios Novo, the second-youngest goalkeeper in league history, was named the game’s MVP. Rios Novo finished with seven saves.

Steven Spielberg and James Cameron would have a tough time writing a better script for a movie.

The Rising had come painstakingly close in years past. They lost 1-0 in 2018 to Louisville in the final. The next season was one of the club’s best ever as it won the USL regular season title before losing in a chaotic 8-7 penalty shootout with Austin Bold FC in the first round. In 2020, the Rising made another deep run in the playoffs, beating the El Paso Locomotives 5-4 on penalties to win the Western Conference Final. But a COVID-19 outbreak among the Rising’s opponents in the final, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, led to the game being canceled.

The championship completes a rather rapid rebuild from Guerra, who was hired to take over as head coach only 447 days ago after leaving the Oakland Roots. Guerra rebuilt this roster from nearly scratch in 14 months and has instilled a vision into these players.

That vision was fulfilled on Sunday with a USL trophy.

As Guerra said earlier this week before the team left for South Carolina, this team never gives up. And they never gave up, even when faith seemed to evaporate. They believed in Guerra’s message and fought to the literal very end, culminating in a truly miraculous season that will never be forgotten.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Rising beat Charleston on penalties to win USL Championship