After a rough defeat away at Sacramento, the Lights return to Cashman Field with the objective of regaining confidence and earning three points against Western Conference rivals El Paso Locomotive FC.
Read on to discover our keys to a match that promises to be one of the most attractive of the USL Championship match week.
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC (3-3-3, 8th in Western Conference) vs El Paso Locomotive (4-2-4, 4th in Western Conference)
When: Saturday, May 24
Where: Cashman Field
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
How to Watch: ESPN+, FOX5
Tickets: Buy your tickets now!
Blast From the Past
During the 2024 USL Championship regular season, the Lights and El Paso faced each other twice, with both results favoring Las Vegas. On March 23, the Lights won at Cashman Field thanks to an own goal from Javier Garcia. Then, on July 12, the Lights would win three key points in Texas after a 2-0 victory courtesy of Coleman Gannon and another El Paso own goal, this time from Lucas Stauffer.
El Paso would end the season in last place of the Western Conference with one of the worst attacking records of the entire league, only one goal ahead of Miami FC. Meanwhile, the Lights finished in fourth place of the same conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in history and making it to the Conference Final against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
And Now…
Things have changed. The Lights, despite their 5-0 defeat at Sacramento Republic, are more solid defensively, leading the league in shutouts with six. Built by Head Coach Antonio Nocerino, led by Elias Gartig, and supported by Raiko Arozarena and his acrobatic saves, the Lights have managed to present a robust defensive setup that has been hard to break down by opposing attacks.
Meanwhile, El Paso has improved massively on the attacking front, going from scoring 0.8 goals per match in 2024 to 1.9 in the first ten games of the 2025 season. If this upwards trend is sustainable is yet to be seen, but the reality is that Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera has found a formula to get this team going full steam ahead.
El Paso remain unbeaten in their last four games in the USL Championship, earning eight points out of a possible 12. They also put in a decent fight against MLS side Austin FC in the U.S. Open Cup despite finally losing 3-2, showing that they are one of the league’s most competitive teams.
But, as any soccer fan knows, things in this sport change… and fast. Unbeaten streaks end. And tactical systems, whether simple or complex, are ultimately deciphered.
It’s time to play the game.
Keys To The Match
Here are the three keys to look out for on Saturday night for the team to return to winning ways:
It’s All In Your Head
Losing 5-0 is tough. It’s not easy to bounce back, especially when statistically the game didn’t seem to merit such an outrageous advantage for the rival. Pinpointing any specifics on what went wrong is difficult. There are even some positives to highlight despite the result, as Gennaro Nigro would state last Wednesday. That is the game of soccer, and lamenting over spilled milk is not ideal at this point of the season.
On April 27, 2024, the Lights lost 6-0 away to Charleston Battery. Did that stop the team from making history and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time ever? It did not. The team went on and finished fourth in the Western Conference, picking themselves up after moments of struggle.
Mental fortitude. That is what the Lights need tonight to win and get back on track.
All Eyes On The Counter
El Paso Locomotive FC is a literal train when it comes to attacking. They use counter-attacks intelligently, taking advantage of spaces left by opposing sides once they head to attack. El Paso move quickly, leveraging the speed of their attacking trio Beto Avila, Amando Moreno, and Wilmer Cabrera Jr to blast past defenses.
The Locomotive are a flexible team, comfortable with or without ball possession. This flexibility allows them to stay calm in moments of intense opposing pressure, always alert to any spaces left by the adversary’s transition to defensive positions.
This alertness is what has allowed them to improve offensively compared to what they were presenting last season, scoring on average 1.1 more goals per match.
For the Lights to leave this match with three points in the bag, they must keep a tight low block that does not allow for the formation of pockets of space that El Paso’s wingers can take advantage of. The team must attack with intelligence, acknowledging that the rival is anxiously waiting for a turnover to blast ahead the Lights’ first lines of defensive resistance.
Attack.
The Lights have only scored two goals in their last five USL Championship matches. That is not going to be good enough in the long run.
It’s true that they have also scored five goals in two USL Jägermeister Cup matches, but those games won’t determine whether the team makes it to playoffs or not.
A lot more is expected from the team’s attack. The Lights’ xG (expected goals) is the third lowest in the league (1.07), which means that beyond not scoring, the team is not generating quality chances for the strikers to finalize.
To win, you need to score goals. For the Lights to win tonight, the attack must be in “Jägermeister Cup” mode, and the big players will need to step up with big moments.