The Lights face Oakland Roots with just three matches left in the regular season.
Read on to discover the keys to victory in the Lights’ last home match of the 2025 USL Championship regular season.
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC (6-7-14, 12th in Western Conference) vs Oakland Roots (7-6-14, 11th in Western Conference)
When: Saturday, October 11
Where: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
How to Watch: SSSEN, ESPN+
So… You’re telling me there’s a chance?
Despite the turbulent season, the Lights still have a numbers-backed path towards playoff qualification, at least mathematically. The odds, though, are firmly stacked against Vegas.
But where there’s life, there’s hope. Anything can happen in the game of soccer. So, what needs to happen for the Lights to qualify for the next stage of competition?
First, the Lights need to win their remaining three matches: Oakland Roots at home, Colorado Springs Switchbacks away, and Monterey Bay away. On top of that, they need Phoenix Rising, Orange County, Monterey Bay, and Oakland Roots to not make it past the 34-point mark.
If Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Phoenix Rising win or draw in their respective games on Matchday 28, then it’s game over for the Lights regardless of the result at home against Oakland.
As long as the math allows it, the team will continue fighting for a spot in the playoff rounds.
Keys to the Match
Winning is essential for the Lights to stay alive and in the fight for playoffs. Here are the keys to victory against Oakland:
Control Peter Wilson
The 2025 season has not been a good one for the Roots. The team currently stands 11th in the Western Conference with the second worst goals allowed record (47) in the league after Phoenix Rising (48). Their season of underperformance has triggered important changes in their technical staff and player roster throughout the year.
Three months into the regular season, Gavin Glinton was sacked as Roots manager and replaced by former USMNT international Benny Feilhaber. Results did improve for a while under Feilhaber, with the Roots climbing up the table and winning three consecutive matches a few weeks into his tenure.
However, the last couple of months have been rough for the Californian side. They won their last match on August 31st, a 1-0 win at the Coliseum against Monterey Bay. From that match onward, they lost three matches and drew three, conceding a baffling 15 goals: 2.5 goals against per match.
But even in these moments of defensive fragility, Oakland has shown that they’re strong up front. And it’s all because of one man: Peter Wilson.
Wilson has scored 14 goals and given out three assists in 25 matches this season, contributing directly to exactly half of the Roots’ goals in the Championship. Eleven of those goals came while working under Feilhaber’s orders, and seven of them were scored in the last five matches.
To say that Wilson is on fire is an understatement. He has truly flourished as a striker under Benny Feilhaber. For that reason, the Lights must be careful and take him seriously. To win on Saturday, Vegas must nullify the Roots’ attack, starting with Peter Wilson.
Keep a Cool Head
Oakland is a team that’s not afraid to get physical. In fact, they’re the team with the second-most fouls committed per match in the league (16), only surpassed by FC Tulsa (16.6). 432 fouls in a season is a lot.
This does not mean that they’re dirty, as their booking record is far from being the worst in the Championship. But it does mean that things could get rough for Lights players out there, with tactical fouls being an essential part of the Roots’ gameplay repertoire. This must not get into their heads; it’s important for them to stay calm and collected and not react impulsively when confronted.
Eventually, the constant fouling could turn out to be an advantage for the Lights, as this opens up interesting set piece opportunities near the box.
To win on Saturday night, the Lights must let Oakland’s fouls work in their favor.
Be Merciless in Attack
As previously mentioned, Oakland’s defense is not the most solid in the league. They have conceded 2.5 goals per match in their last six matches, with eight of them coming from their visits to Charleston, Phoenix, and El Paso.
The Lights must take advantage of the Roots’ defensive shakiness away from the Coliseum, and they must do so by being merciless and clinical in attack. These attributes have not been characteristic of the Lights offense as of late, with the team only scoring four goals from open play in their last ten matches. But this game presents the perfect opportunity for the team’s attack-minded players to generate important opportunities and score some goals.
If Johnny Rodriguez, Nighte Pickering, and Stefan Stojanovic are on fire, then the Lights have a golden opportunity in front of them to win, celebrate with the fans to close Fan Appreciation Week on a high note, and stay alive in the intense pursuit of playoffs.
