*** Lights FC at Sounders 2 to air locally on myLVTV, stream nationwide on ESPN+ ***
SEATTLE, Wash. – The momentum was established on Sunday.
Carrying it through on Thursday night into a return next weekend to Downtown Las Vegas is now the primary focus for Las Vegas Lights FC.
Sunday featured one of the club’s most satisfying victories of 2018 – a 2-1 triumph over Portland Timbers 2. It leads into Thursday’s 7 p.m. rematch with Seattle Sounders 2, who Lights FC defeated at Cashman Field back on June 16, 4-1.
Thursday’s match will air locally on myLVTV, and streams nationwide on ESPN+.
“This is a group that has grown,” Lights FC Head Coach Isidro Sánchez said. “The biggest thing going into this game is the awareness. If we miss or make bad decisions, everything can fall down. It’s about awareness and all of the players being together, doing the same, thinking the same and making the same decisions. That’s the hardest part for any group.”
Keeping things together and compact both mentally and physically was what Sánchez believed was the biggest contributing factor to Sunday’s win for Lights FC (6-8-5, 23 points).
After a shaky start to the match, in which Portland’s offensive attack got deep against Lights FC, the back line and goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño made several plays to stymie scoring chances.
Once Lights FC scored in the 53rd minute, even after Portland equalized 10 minutes later, its confidence as a team showed through against a patient, organized club that didn’t want to let Sánchez’s team play at its preferred pace – Intense and vertical.
Even though Lights FC has already faced and defeated Sounders 2 (3-13-2), the team expects a patient approach similar to Portland’s from the upcoming opponent Thursday night, and won’t be overlooking a team currently sitting in last place on the USL Western Conference table.
“This is a team that makes it very clear what they want to do – They want to build from the back, hold possession and have patience, much like Portland,” Sánchez said.
In the first meeting with Seattle, Lights FC put together arguably its best offensive performance of its inaugural season, including two goals from former Seattle Sounders forward Sammy Ochoa.
Entering Thursday night, Lights FC has a chance to pull even closer to the Western Conference’s Top 8, with great timing, to boot.
Following Sunday’s win, the team is now just five points outside of the eighth spot in the standings, and has a favorable August schedule ahead that includes three matches at Cashman Field, where it has currently won three straight.
“We have 15 games remaining, and if we want to be in the playoffs, we need to get all of the points at home, and win a couple more away games,” Sánchez added. “The easiest thing about winning away games is facing them with just that approach – Winning them. We’ll do it by risking a little bit, which is more entertaining for us and for the fans.”
Lights FC’s return home comes next Saturday, August 4, against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. The match will begin at 8 p.m. at Cashman Field. It will be Backpack Night, with the first 2,000 kids 12-and-under in attendance receiving a free Lights FC backpack, presented by Boston Dental Group. Tickets start at just $15 at LightsFC.com, with several promotional ticket packages available throughout the month of August. For a full rundown of all August “Saturday Night Lights” offers, visit LightsFC.com/August.
LIGHTS FC NOTES HEADING INTO THURSDAY NIGHT:
LIGHTS FC ENJOYING GOOD HEALTH: A key change for Lights FC on its current 2-match road swing has been simply having a bevy of healthy bodies available.
Last week, before leaving for the Pacific Northwest strip, Lights FC trained with a full 23-man roster available for the first time this season. A couple of players are still nursing nagging injuries, but there currently are no ailments keeping anyone on the roster completely out of action.
“Now, at 50 or 55 minutes into a match, I can have those options when looking into my bench,” Lights FC Head Coach Isidro Sánchez said. “For a while, we were losing matches from the 60th to the 90th minute, because we just didn’t have the changes to make, the fresh players to put in the pitch.”
SINCE THE FIRST MEETING … : While Lights FC has held its ground – and even gained a little – since defeating Seattle Sounders 2 on June 16 in Downtown Las Vegas, the same can’t be said for Thursday’s hosts.
That loss was the first of six straight for Sounders 2, who has struggled offensively during the stretch. In those six matches, Seattle has managed just five goals scored, and only one in its last four outings. At -20, Sounders 2 has the third-worst goal differential in the USL.
On the other side, Lights FC’s offensive attack has remained steady, as the 30 goals now on the season have the club ranked 11th in the 33-team league. Carlos Alvarez, Sammy Ochoa and Raul Mendiola lead the way individually, each tied for the team lead with five goals.
DISCIPLINE UPDATES: No Lights FC players will be serving suspensions entering Thursday’s match, though a trio of defenders each find themselves one yellow card away from an automatic 1-match accumulation suspension – Marco Cesar Jaime Jr. (7), Marcelo Alatorre (4) and Miguel Garduño (4).
INJURY UPDATES: Three players are entering Thursday’s match officially listed as questionable, while recovering from varying lower body injuries – defender Miguel Garduño, midfielder Matt Thomas and forward Juan Carlos Garcia.
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 on Saturday, July 7 – 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 at OKC Energy FC four nights later. 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. He has also worn the Captain’s armband in each of the club’s last six matches.
Defender Joel Huiqui (#3) has returned from a lower body injury to take his place in the Starting XI as the team’s primary center back. The Liga MX and Mexican National Team veteran has been a steadying presence on the back line all season, and he’s second on the club with 40 interceptions
Goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño (#1) has recorded two clean sheets in 2018. The aggressive “sweeper keeper” keeps opponents on their toes, and his 52 goalkeeper saves are the 7th-most in the 33-team USL this season.
