EDINBURG, Texas – Following Wednesday’s 6-4 defeat on the road in the USL Game of the Week in Oklahoma City, a shorthanded Las Vegas Lights FC side will have some added roster reinforcements on Saturday night in the second leg of a crucial 4-match road swing.
Lights FC (5-7-5, 20 points) heads south for the first of two matches in three weeks with Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (1-6-10, 13 points). Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. PT match will air locally on myLVTV and stream nationwide on ESPN+.
After mounting a strong comeback from a 3-goal second half deficit on Wednesday night, Lights FC adds four pieces to its available pool of players for Saturday following the opening of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s summer transfer window.
Now in the mix for the club will be key additions both in the front of the attack and on the back line.
Defenders Rodrigo Iñigo and Joseph Patrick Perez, plus skilled strikers Omar Salgado and Daniel Guzmán Jr., give Lights FC some needed depth.
“To build something, you have to have the right resources,” Lights FC Head Coach Isidro Sánchez said. “In soccer, that’s the players. This will help us a lot.”
Defensively, the fresh legs added into the rotation come at a good time, as Lights FC has dealt with injuries on the back line of late. Joel Huiqui, who has been an unquestioned leader on and off the pitch for the club in 2018, missed the better part of the last four matches, though could be available for an increased role Saturday night.
On the attack, Salgado and Guzmán Jr. join a group that has come to life over the course of the last several matches, with Lights FC scoring four goals in three of its last seven outings, going 3-3-1 in that stretch.
Leading the surge of scoring has been midseason signee Raul Mendiola. The former LA Galaxy midfielder on Wednesday night recorded the first Hat Trick in club history, and overall has five goals in Lights FC’s last three matches.
On the other side, despite RGVFC’s struggles in terms of results this season, the Toros have conceded only 21 goals in 17 matches.
If Lights FC’s offensive attack can stay hot, it’s a golden opportunity to make a leap in the USL’s Western Conference standings, where the team currently finds itself just five points outside of the Top 8.
“It’s clear that it’s a team that’s very difficult to score against,” Sánchez said. “They have tied 10 games. Where you want to focus is in making it difficult for them to win. They play a very slow pace, and with a slow rhythm, and when you get in that rhythm, they are dangerous. We need to set the pace, establish ourselves with intelligence.”
In other words, Lights FC will be facing an opponent that couldn’t be more different than the one it engaged with in a frenetic shootout on Wednesday night.
Sánchez believes that facing a team so opposite from the OKC Energy FC club it just fell to will be a good thing, considering his overall philosophy and approach.
“In a long season, you have mistakes and you have joy, but everything happens fast – You have to turn the page very fast,” he said. “In that way, soccer is very representative of life.”
LIGHTS FC NOTES HEADING INTO SATURDAY NIGHT:
MENDIOLA COMING ON STRONG: It hasn’t taken midfielder Raul Mendiolalong to make a major impact as a midseason signee for Lights FC. Since joining the club in late May, he’s registered five goals and an assist over seven matches.
His true breakthrough has come in the last couple of weeks, though. His effort Wednesday night was arguably the loudest individual offensive performance by any Lights FC player in the 2018 season. After the team found itself down 4-1 in the second half at OKC Energy, Mendiola did his part to try to bring his guys back, with three goals after the break – the first Hat Trick in club history.
He has scored all five of his goals in the last three matches, which ties him for the team lead with captain Carlos Alvarez. The spark has helped lift the attack as a whole. After a slow offensive start to the season, Lights FC now has 28 goals scored in 17 matches – tied for the sixth-highest total in the 33-team USL.
“Mendiola is so aware and he picks up everything in his way,” Sánchez said following Wednesday’s loss. “He steps on the pitch, and he picks up every opportunity there for him. That’s a reflection of a player who always plays with necessity and desire.”
MEET THE NEW FACES: As the second half of the season officially begins Saturday night, Lights FC’s midseason transfer additions are all cleared to play and ready to go.
Up on top of the attack will be forwards Daniel Guzmán Jr. and Omar Salgado.
Guzmán, 26, is the son of long-time Liga MX player and coach – and Mexican National Team veteran – Daniel Guzmán. He transfers in from Suchitepéquez of Liga Nacional – Guatemala’s first division. There, he scored 10 goals in 17 appearances last season.
Salgado, 24, had a decorated amateur career, including representing the U.S. Men’s National Team at multiple levels. He signed with Liga MX giant Chivas at age 15, and in 2011 was the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft by Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
On the back line, coming in is 32-year-old Rodrigo Iñigo, who is not only familiar with Lights FC’s coaching staff, but has the size, skill and versatility to contribute either as a defender or a midfielder.
He’s joined by 21-year-old Joseph Patrick Perez – an Anaheim, Calif., native who spent the last three seasons playing for the U-20 side of Liga MX club Puebla FC.
INJURY UPDATES: Out for Saturday’s match, while recovering from lower body injuries, are defender Miguel Garduño and midfielder Matt Thomas. Officially questionable are a trio of Lights FC players all dealing with various lower body injuries – defenders Joel Huiqui and Christian Torres, plus forward Juan Carlos Garcia. Huiqui has missed the majority of the club’s last four matches, though could be in line for an increased role Saturday night.
WHO TO KNOW FOR LIGHTS FC
Midfielder Raul Mendiola (#40) has quickly become a fan favorite with Lights FC as a midseason signee. The former LA Galaxy fixture scored his second goal of the season last Saturday night – the deciding score in a 1-0 home victory over Saint Louis FC – then followed it up with the first Hat Trick in club history in Wednesday’s loss at OKC Energy FC. He’s proven to be an aggressive, speedy force within the attack, and others are feeding off of his energy and hunger.
Midfielder Carlos Alvarez (#7) continues to do it all in the middle of the field, leading the offensive attack for Lights FC. With five goals and three assists to his credit in USL play, he’s tied as the team’s top creator and finisher to this point in 2018. His fifth goal of the season was a highlight reel-worthy banger that equalized things early in Wednesday’s loss in OKC.
Midfielder Daigo Kobayashi (#44) was big for Lights FC on its last road swing, scoring in each of the club’s two away matches to close out June. His successful penalty kick finish in Tulsa on June 30 was his fourth goal of the year.
Midfielder James Murphy (#19) has impressed in his first four appearances with the club after joining on loan from Major League Soccer’s LAFC. The 20-year-old is a creative midfielder who likes taking chances. His first attempt at doing so resulted in an assist on a Sammy Ochoa goal on June 24 at Swope Park Rangers in his Lights FC debut.
Defender Marcelo Alatorre (#16) has continued to be an anchor on Lights FC’s back line while the unit has dealt with injuries over the last several matches and had to change up personnel – Including anchoring a clean sheet performance by the unit last weekend. The LigaMX veteran has been a valuable leader both on and off of the pitch all season.
Goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño (#1) recorded his second clean sheet of 2018 last Saturday night at Cashman Field. The aggressive “sweeper keeper” has 46 goalkeeper saves are tied for the 7th most in the 33-team USL this season.
WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO LIGHTS FC AT RGVFC:
– Saturday’s match will air locally on myLVTV, and streams nationwide on ESPN+.
– The Spanish-language radio broadcast takes place on ESPN Deportes 1460 AM, and can be streamed live at LVSportsNetwork.com.
