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As Las Vegas Lights FC continues to fine tune its roster entering the middle stretch of its inaugural USL season, the club on Thursday signed a pair of veteran midfielders with Major League Soccer experience – Raul Mendiola and Zach Mathers.
The duo joins the club ahead of Saturday night’s 8 p.m. return to Cashman Field. Following a week-long road trip in Southern California, Lights FC comes home for its second of two meetings this season with Western Conference foe Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
“The principle is these two new players have experience in MLS and in the U.S. – In this moment, the team needs experience in the field,” Lights FC Technical Director Chelís said. “The next six games, to arrive to July 10, are very, very important. That’s 18 points the team needs, and these two guys make the team stronger.”
The team will also have more newcomers eligible once July 10 hits and brings the opening of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s International Summer Transfer Window. Two of those additions already on board are forward Daniel Guzmán Jr. and defender Rodrigo Iñigo, who are currently training with the team.
The 24-year-old Mendiola, originally from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, joined the LA Galaxy Academy in 2011, and was signed to a Homegrown contract with Galaxy in 2014. The attacking midfielder has made 13 career appearances at the MLS level with Galaxy, and has scored six goals in 39 appearances with Galaxy II in USL play.
“I’m just trying to do whatever the coaches need me to do within the game plan,” Mendiola said. “Whatever I have to do, I’ll do. (Chelís) has a lot of experience, so I’m looking forward to learning from him.
Mathers, a 24-year-old Keller, Texas, native, was a second round choice (35th overall) of Seattle Sounders FC in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. That came on the heels of a standout collegiate career at Duke, where he tallied 14 goals and 18 assists. Mathers was voted team captain as a senior, and also earned First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. Combined in 2016 & 2017, Mathers scored 14 goals over 48 appearances with USL’s Sounders 2, and is known for his ability to hold and control possession in the middle third of the field.
“I’m excited to just be taking advantage of every opportunity I have here,” Mathers said. “It’s new, it’s exciting, the fans are really into it. It’s a great place to be right now. The (USL) Western Conference is really strong, and I think it’s just a great team to be a part of.”
In terms of their immediate availability, Mendiola and Mathers join fellow recent signee Eric Avila, an MLS veteran who started both of the team’s matches last week in California.
Tickets for Saturday’s match at Cashman Field start at just $15 and are currently available at LightsFC.com/SingleTix.
