Phoenix Rising FC on Wednesday announced that the club has re-signed center back Joe Farrell to a new two-year deal through the 2023 USL Championship season.
Farrell’s signature will keep him in a PRFC kit for a sixth consecutive year after first arriving in the Valley ahead of the 2018 campaign.
“I’m really excited to have signed my extension with Phoenix,” he said in a press release. “We have the best fans in the USL, the best facilities in the league and we are hungry to bring more trophies back to the desert.”
The center back is coming off of a 2021 season in which he appeared in 25 matches (19 starts) — including the postseason — and logged a total of 1,846 minutes.
Defensively, the 27-year-old Farrell registered 32 interceptions, 55 clearances and 25 tackles at a 73.5% tackle success rate. He also won 116 of 187 duels (62%) and 62 of 89 aerial duels (69.7%).
“I’m so excited to sign Joe to another contract,” manager Rick Schantz said in the release. “He’s always been a leader in our locker room and on the field. He embodies the fighting spirit of our club and has been one of the best defenders in USL for the last four years.”
Offensively, the former college forward at La Salle University in Philadelphia scored one goal and notched three assists the past season.
In his four years with Phoenix, Farrell has scored a total of seven goals across all competitions in addition to being a vice-captain behind the likes of Solomon Asante and Jon Bakero.
However, Bakero has already announced that he won’t be returning next season and Asante, goalkeeper Zac Lubin and midfielder Kevon Lambert — who have all been at PRFC since 2017-18 — remain as unsigned free agents.
Phoenix Rising still in ongoing negotiations with “several players” and has 14 players signed to its roster ahead of the 2022 USL Championship season:
Goalkeeper: Lalo Delgado
Fullbacks: Joey Calistri, Ryan Flood, Darnell King
Center backs: Niall Dunn, Joe Farrell, Manuel Madrid, James Musa
Midfielders: Ivan Guiterrez, Jonathan Levin, Aodhan Quinn, Arturo Rodriguez, Luis Seijas
Forward: Santi Moar