Las Vegas Lights FC is hosting Monterey Bay FC on Saturday in their second and final meeting of the regular season. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Hispanic Heritage Night celebration, presented by Travel Nevada:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT at Cashman Field (TICKETS).
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available to watch locally on SSSEN and streamed nationally on ESPN+ (subscription required).
2024 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Lights: 10-8-9 (39 points, 6th West), Monterey Bay: 7-13-7 (28 points, 11th West)
FORM GUIDE (all competitions, most recent first): Las Vegas Lights FC: DWWLD, Monterey Bay FC: LLDLL
PREVIOUS MEETING: Monterey Bay defeated the 10-man Lights 3-1 in Seaside, Calif., on April 13. Alex Dixon, Tristan Trager and Michael Gonzalez scored for the hosts, while Gaoussou Samaké tallied for Vegas. Lights defender Emrah Klimentah was sent off in the 74th minute.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Lights erased a deficit to earn valuable points for the second consecutive match on Wednesday when they scored late to draw 1-1 at FC Tulsa. This was on the heels of a 3-2 win over Orange County where they came from 2-0 down to steal all three points.
WEST HEATING UP: The Western Conference playoff race continues to be tightly contested as teams jockey for playoff positioning. Just two points separate Sacramento Republic FC in second place and the Lights in sixth.
NEW MAN IN CHARGE: Monterey Bay will have a different manager than the one who coached against the Lights earlier this season. The club hired Englishman Jordan Stewart on Aug. 5 after parting ways with former manager Frank Yallop in July.
WINLESS RUN: Monterey Bay enters this weekend winless in its last eight contests (0-5-3) dating back to July 13. The club has had difficulty in front of goal this season, scoring just 24 times, which is tied for the third-fewest in the USL Championship.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Tristan Trager, F
Despite Monterey Bay’s scoring struggles this season, Trager has accounted for one-third of the team’s goals. He also scored in the first meeting between the clubs back in April.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Lights FC Head Coach Dennis Sanchez
On turning the page quickly after Tulsa to prepare for Monterey Bay…
The first thing is rest and recovery. We’re definitely going to have to maximize the time between each game to make sure that we’re as rested as possible. There is where having depth is beneficial and being able to rotate some guys through on Saturday.
On what he’s expecting from the match against Monterey Bay…
They have a newer coach who’s been there for a few games now. They just recently changed a little of their style. It’s hard to completely predict what they’re going to do, but at this point of the season, there are no easy games. We have to come out, respect the opposition, but we also have to play our way. If we perform to our capabilities, we’re expecting to get three points.
