Saturday night presents the first chance for Las Vegas Lights FC to prove it collectively turned the page from last week’s road trip to Southern California.
An intense week on the training pitch and an influx of a couple of new faces all leads up to Saturday’s 8 p.m. rematch with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Cashman Field.
Tickets for Saturday’s match are available, starting at just $15, at LightsFC.com, while the match will air locally on myLVTV and stream nationwide on the ESPN+ app.
With 24 regular season matches still to play, Lights FC (2-4-4, 10 points) finds itself currently on the outside looking in at the USL’s Western Conference playoff picture, but doesn’t want to wait long to start making its push back into the Top 8. The club matches up well with Colorado Springs (5-6-2, 17 points), who it lost to in the first meeting, 1-0, in a closely contested match on May 11.
“I need to pay a lot of bills to the fans,” Lights FC Technical Director Chelís said. “This week, pay one, the next week, pay another one. The team and I have time, we have 24 more games, but it’s time to change – change the players, change the performance. In this next game, I want to pay the first bill to the fans.”
As Lights FC retools its roster a bit entering this crucial mid-season stretch, three MLS veterans will be suited up Saturday night at Cashman Field – Zach Mathers and Raul Mendiola, who officially signed with the club on Thursday, and Eric Avila, who started both matches for the club on last week’s road trip.
Chelís pointed out one factor all three players bring, which he feels that the team needs as it looks to get back on track from an early season slump – experience.
Mathers and Mendiola are both 24 years old, with tastes of experience in MLS with Seattle Sounders FC and LA Galaxy, respectively, and both have also shown that they can be prolific contributors with those clubs’ USL sides, as well.
Avila has more than 150 career MLS appearances, and looked good last week in his first chances to take the pitch with Lights FC. He hopes to show even more when making his Cashman Field debut.
“I’m very excited,” Avila said. “I’ve seen all the games. It’s packed all the time, the fans are out there, I’m excited for all the pregame stuff. But more importantly for the game, I’m going to be concentrating and focused on showing myself for the crowd and also getting my first win with this team.”
More new faces will pepper the roster come mid-July, as the U.S. Soccer Federation’s International Summer Transfer Window opens on July 10. Two already-signed players who Lights FC will add at that point are LigaMX veteran defender Rodrigo Iñigo and dangerous striker Daniel Guzmán Jr.
But Chelís is quick to point out that between now and that time, Lights FC has six matches on the schedule, with 18 crucial points up for grabs. Both before and after that transfer window, he remains confident the team will reward the fans’ strong loyalty to the club.
“This league is very, very strong, and the fans are demanding – They want a team to win,” he said. “Just give me time, and we need them to support us.
“This team will stay in the playoff in October, I’m sure.”
LIGHTS FC NOTES HEADING INTO SATURDAY NIGHT:
SINCE THE FIRST MEETING … : Colorado Springs’ 1-0 victory on May 11 over Lights FC helped catapult the club back into the Western Conference playoff picture. Following that victory came a 1-0 loss to OKC Energy, then a statement 3-0 victory over St. Louis FC. Currently, Colorado Springs sits tied for seventh on the Western Conference table with Reno 1868 FC, with each club having 17 points to its credit.
HUIQUI HELPING THE MOVE FORWARD: As the team moves on from last week’s tough road trip in California, captain Joel Huiqui’s presence is as important as ever. The LigaMX and Mexican National Team veteran always leads by example, and that was especially needed following a 7-2 defeat Saturday night in Los Angeles against Galaxy II – his first time being part of a defense that allowed as many goals.
“This is the first time, and hopefully the last,” Huiqui said. “But being analytic and realizing that during the first half, we had a good game, we had a first half that was acceptable. I don’t want to say it was the best. But offensively, we were effective. We had two goals and a couple of chances. We couldn’t win both parts, offensively and defensively. Once we have the chemistry to combine both parts, we will demonstrate the true potential of the team.”
BREAKOUT FOR KOBAYASHI: In many ways, Lights FC midfielder Daigo Kobayashi has shown what his years of high-level experience can bring to the middle of the team’s offensive attack. Last Saturday, despite the club’s loss at LA Galaxy II, he showed his true scoring prowess for the first time, as he was accountable for each of the team’s two first half goals. In recent matches, Kobayashi has become increasingly aggressive on the attack, and he now looks to carry that through to Saturday night and beyond.
DISCIPLINE UPDATES: Lights FC will not have any suspended players missing Saturday’s match, though three players currently sit at four yellow cards on the season, meaning each player is one yellow card away from an automatic 1-match accumulation suspension. Those three are goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño, midfielder Carlos Alvarez and defender Miguel Garduño.
INJURY UPDATES: Out of Saturday’s match will be forward Juan Carlos Garcia, who is still recovering from a lower body injury suffered on May 5 vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC. Questionable for Saturday night will be defender Miguel Garduño and midfielder Alex Mendoza, who are both dealing with lower body injuries, as well.
WHO TO KNOW FOR LIGHTS FC
Midfielder Carlos Alvarez (#7) continues to be the most consistent piece within the Lights FC attack. Enjoying a strong year to this point, the 27-year-old attacking mid leads the club in both goals (3) and assists (3) through 10 regular season matches.
Defender Joel Huiqui (#3) takes on even more of the focus on defense for Lights FC, as Miguel Garduño works his way back from a lower body injury suffered last Wednesday during U.S. Open Cup play. Huiqui is second on the team in defensive clearances (48) and leads the club in interceptions (26), while also winning 53 of his 95 duels.
Midfielder Matt Thomas (#21), one of the Las Vegas locals on the Lights FC roster, is turning heads in his first professional season. The Palo Verde HS grad has become known as an aggressive, non-stop worker along the left side of the pitch
Goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño (#1) had his first rough outing of the 2018 USL regular season last Saturday, but overall has been as exciting to watch as any goalkeeper in the league to this point. His aggressive style has made him a fan favorite early on, and his 31 goalkeeper saves rank currently as the fifth-highest total in the 33-team USL.
WHO TO KNOW FOR SWITCHBACKS FC
Defender Josh Suggs (#5) is in his third season with the club, and it’s his first as the team’s captain. Suggs has a goal and two assists so far this season.
Midfielder Luke Vercollone (#4) was the first player signed in club history, and had gotten off to a strong, creative start so far in 2018, with four goals and one assist to his credit. His 70th minute goal in the first meeting with Lights FC helped secure a 1-0 victory for the club.
HERE IS EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW AHEAD OF SATURDAY’S MATCH VS. SWITCHBACKS FC:
– Saturday’s match kicks off at 8 p.m. For on-site ticket purchase at Cashman Field, the box office will open at 12 p.m., and Will Call opens at 4:30 p.m.
– The expanded Zappos Tailgate Party, featuring Lights FC’s own “Cash the Soccer Rocker,” live music, a variety of food trucks, an experiential beer garden from Motley Brews and tailgate games for both kids and adults begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Cashman parking lot. The Zappos Tailgate is FREE for fans to attend.
– Gates to the stadium for general public entry open at 7 p.m., with three available entrances at Cashman Field: The Main Gate, the Zappos Gate and the Stadium Corner Gate.
WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN
– The match will air locally on myLVTV. myLVTV is available locally over the air (Channel 21), on COX (Channel 12, 1012 in HD), on Centurylink (Channel 21) and on DirecTV (Channel 21). It will stream nationwide on the new ESPN+ app.
– The Spanish-language radio broadcast takes place on ESPN Deportes 1460 AM, and can be streamed live at LVSportsNetwork.com.