Lights FC Head Coach Dennis Sanchez
On his overall impressions on the match…
We knew it was going to be competitive from the first whistle to the end. New Mexico is a good
side, there’s a reason why they’re in first place [in the Western Conference]. They’ve also been
very successful at home. Our guys came out with belief and energy. I think we were a little
unfortunate not to take a couple of our chances early on. We came into halftime 1-1, and the
guys responded well. We continued to dig in and be resilient.
On 10 points from this four-match July road trip…
The idea is for us to play the same at home as we do away. Every away game has proposed
different types of challenges, but the guys have adapted and stepped up. This is something that
we’re most likely going to have to do during the playoffs and continue to do for the rest of the
season.
On 10 matches unbeaten…
We want to respect the past, but at the same time, be present and not get too far ahead of
ourselves. We know that every time we step on the field, we have to one, respect our
opponent, and two, prove ourselves. We’re going to keep going step-by-step.
On Valentin Noël showing up big again with a goal and assist…
Val is dynamic. He’s one of the guys who we want to consistently get in rhythm and find him
the ball. We lacked that a little against Colorado Springs, but tonight he was able to find his
spaces and have a good level of wide dynamism with Solomon Asante. He continues to put
himself in good positions. He’s a guy that we depend on and will continue to depend on.
On returning to Cashman Field on Aug. 10 against Detroit City…
We’re excited to play back in front of our crowd and be home. Detroit is a good, gritty team, so
we’ll rest up, but stay in rhythm. We’re going to keep pushing forward and put out a good
performance against Detroit.
