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Confidence comes with experience, and 21-year-old Las Vegas Lights FC’s Adolfo Guzman gained some of both Saturday night at Cashman Field.
One of seven players with Las Vegas roots on the roster, Guzman was born and raised in the valley, and was both a standout and state champion in his high school career.
Now he can add official professional minutes to that résumé.
Guzman made his 2018 USL regular season debut Saturday night, subbing on in the 62nd minute of the club’s 1-1 draw with Tulsa Roughnecks FC. In 28 minutes, his signature quality – his speed – was on display, as the team eyed a late, shorthanded goal to move ahead and add three points on the Western Conference table.
Neither came to fruition, but those 28 minutes were positive individually for the second-youngest member of the Lights FC roster.
“It’s difficult to enter as a sub – you have less time to demonstrate what you have, and the game already has its pace and rhythm,” Lights FC Head Coach Isidro Sánchez said. “You have to pick that up in an instant, then make it different. And everyone is expecting you to have the solution. It’s difficult, and you’re a youngster and it’s your first game. He tried. He made good movements.
“I saw him have those ‘moments.’”
Part of the significance of the opportunity for Guzman was that the chance itself was truly earned.
After weeks of steady improvement on the training field, the coaching staff felt Saturday night presented a good window to get Guzman into the mix. At the time he came onto the pitch Saturday, what the team needed was a quality Guzman specifically is known for- his speed.
“They’re looking for speed and for attacking forwards – That’s what I’m going to do in games,” Guzman said. “I’m going to go forward, if I get the opportunity to shoot, I’ll shoot, or look to make passes that can make a difference in the game.
“It’s been a long preseason, and already a long season for me. Being young, I definitely take advice from the most experienced guys here. It’s been helping a lot. When I get in the game, I’m more prepared to show my talent.”
Two veterans on the team Guzman has been able to soak in plenty from are defenders Marcelo Alatorre and Joel Huiqui.
A few weeks back, one key moment came following a particularly tough training session, when Alatorre pulled Guzman aside onto an adjacent field while the rest of the team began to stretch and cool down. The two spent several minutes together, with Alatorre helping Guzman fine tune what he’d just absorbed.
Listening has become equally as important as executing at training for several of the younger members of the roster such as Guzman.
“Joel and Marcelo have taught me how to be more unpredictable, while playing my own game and not thinking about it too much,” Guzman said. “They tell me to focus on what I can do, and the rest will fall into place.”
Saturday’s game as a whole changed on a dime not long after Guzman checked in, as a red card issued to Matt Thomas in the 72nd minute forced Lights FC to have to play 10-on-11 for the final stretch.
Guzman was brought into the game originally to ignite an offensive spark, potentially finding some open space to create within around forward Sammy Ochoa, who regularly draws plenty of the attention from the opposing back line.
Things changed on the fly, and Guzman was forced to adjust along with everyone else – Another bit of valuable experience at the start of a promising career.
“I did what I could with the minutes I had, but I was happy to play,” Guzman said. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, so it wasn’t a good moment after. But I’m ready to get more minutes in.”
