Phoenix Rising extends coach’s contract
Schantz gets new deal through 2024 season
The Phoenix Rising FC announced Thursday that Rick Schantz, the club’s all-time winningest head coach, has received a contract extension through the 2024 season.
The deal comes as Schantz has guided the club to another winning season and USL Championship league playoff berth.
“I’m very happy to sign a new contract with Phoenix Rising,” said Schantz in a statement issued through the Rising. “I would like to thank our ownership group along with Bobby Dulle and the front office, for continuing to believe in me.”
Dulle, Phoenix Rising’s general manager, noted Schantz’s success guidnig the club, which has an overall record of 7020-18 since he took over.
“We are thrilled to extend his contract. He has tremendous passion for this club and he’s proven to be a consistent winner in this league,” said Dulle in a prepared statement. “Rick provides continuity and stability as the leader of our team. We are excited to see him continue to guide Phoenix Rising to unprecedented heights.”
Schantz has been apart of the Rising staff since early 2017, when he joined as an assistant coach.
The Tucson native was named the interim
head coach in June of 2018, after the previous head coach, Patrice Carteron, left the team mid-season to join Egyptian club Al Ahly FC.
That same season, Schantz coached his club to a record of 12-6-2, and the third overall seed in the USL Western Conference. Schantz also led the Rising on a historic postseason run that year,
winning the teams first ever playoff match. They also advanced all the way to the USL Championship game where they faced Louisville City FC, but lost 1-0.
The following year was Schantz’s best regular season coaching job. He was named 2019 Coach of the Year by the USL Championship league and broke all sorts of USL records, including most wins (24), points (78), and goals (89) in a season.
That season, the club clinched the USL Championship regular season title after winning 20 consecutive matches from May 5 to Sept.14. The feat was recognized as the longest winning streak in league and North American professional soccer history. However, the club lost a semi-final playoff match and fell short of a title again.
Rising’s fans saw another successful run in 2020, when the season was delayed then resumed in mid-summer. Rising clinched the Western Conference championship for the second time in three years,and was scheduled to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the title match. But that game was canceled because of a COIVD-19 outbreak within the Rowdies organization. No champion was named.
This season, Schantz has the Rising competing at a high-level once again, with just two regular season games remainin. The Rising have already clinched the top seed in the Pacific Division, but still are vying for the top seed in the Western Conference. They also are in a neck-and-neck competition with the the Tampa Bay Rowdies (21-7-2), the top team in the Eastern Conference, for the No.1 overall seed in the league.
Both teams had 65 points on the season as of Thursday.
The Rising’s remaining regular season matches are on the road, at Sacramento Republic FC (8-12-10) on Saturday, and at the Tacoma Defiance (9-13-8) on Oct. 30.