The Lights travel to California to face Monterey Bay FC for the club’s last Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage match
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC (0-2-1, 6th in Group 1) at Monterey Bay FC (0-1-2, 5th in Group 1)
When: Saturday, July 11
Where: Cardinale Stadium, Seaside, California
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PT
How to Watch: 5DRVtv 5.4, ESPN+
The Prinx Tires USL Cup’s group stage is nearing its end, and the Lights travel to beautiful Seaside, California to play Monterey Bay FC for their last match of cup competition.
Both Vegas and Monterey Bay arrive at this match with no chance of making it through to the knockout stages. The Lights drew against AC Boise (1-1) and lost against Spokane Velocity (1-0) and Oakland Roots (2-0). Meanwhile, Monterey Bay drew against Oakland Roots (1-1) and Sacramento Republic (1-1), losing in their second game against AC Boise (4-3) in an exciting exhibition.
In hindsight, this match is not important. However, it offers both teams a great opportunity to defend their honor as they exit the competition and continue building for the remainder of the USL Championship regular season.
Earlier this year…
The Lights last faced Monterey Bay FC on March 28 at Cashman Field for Week 4 of the USL Championship regular season.
Johnny Rodriguez, the team’s top goalscorer, shot a penalty kick past Fernando Delgado to give the Lights their first win of the season (1-0).
Keys to the Match
Here are the keys to victory in Seaside.
Smart Rotations
Saturday night’s showdown at Cardinale Stadium will offer the Lights the possibility to make significant rotations in the team’s starting XI.
This means that players that haven’t been playing significant minutes as starters will most likely get their chance to prove themselves in front of the technical staff, creating an incentive for top performance.
If these players make the best of the opportunity in front of them, then we can expect a very competitive Lights team giving it its all in California.
Making Less Mistakes
The Lights are conceding less goals than at the start of the season, but silly mistakes in the back have cost the team important points at home against Orange County and El Paso Locomotive.
Often coming from a lack of communication and defensive coordination, these errors have conditioned the team in key moments of both matches.
Against Monterey Bay, the Lights must stay tight in defense, not being permissive as the opposition pushes forward.
Monterey Bay’s Positive Momentum
After a turbulent start to the season, Monterey Bay have shown significant signs of improvement in their latest matches.
The Californian side has only lost one of their last seven matches across all competitions, winning four matches and drawing twice. They’ve scored ten goals in this stretch, only conceding five after having one of the most porous defenses in the tournament.
Their improvement in overall performance is noticeable, which is why they must be taken seriously this Saturday night if Vegas aspires to earn three points on the road.
