After two home results on either end of the spectrum – a 1-0 Home Opener win over Tampa Bay and a 3-2 loss to New Mexico – and a bye week since, the Las Vegas Lights hit the road for their first away match of the season at Oakland.
Read on for the keys to the match and more insight as the third match of the 2025 season approaches.
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC at Oakland Roots SC
When: Saturday, March 29
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PT
How to Watch: FOX5, ESPN+ (more information here)
A Review: 2025 So Far
The Lights opened the 2025 season with two straight home games against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on March 8 and New Mexico United on March 15.
In the Home Opener, Las Vegas snatched all three points through a late Christian Pinzon game-winner after an error by the Tampa Bay goalkeeper. The match was hard fought, and while the Lights struggled to build play through the attacking half, they stayed resolute defensively and took full advantage of their opportunity.
In the second match a week later, the team took strides forward in their build-up play. After conceding two frustrating, self-inflicted goals to New Mexico early in the second half, the Lights made some aggressive substitutions and immediately found themselves on top of the match.
Johnny Rodriguez scored his first goal of the season off a Valentin Noel assist before Joe Gyau scored an incredible outside-of-the-box strike to equalize in the 90th minute. Unfortunately, Las Vegas capitulated late on from a corner to see the draw slip away in a 3-2 loss.
However, Head Coach Antonio Nocerino will have been very encouraged by the progress shown through the first two matches, and he will expect the team to continue to improve on a similar trajectory following a bye week.
Keys to the Match
Here are three keys to look out for on Saturday night:
Improved Build-Up Play
In the first two matches, Nocerino’s squad were solid defensively but still looked like a team in their development phase, particularly with the ball.
Club Captain Valentin Noel, speaking on episode two of The Lights Lounge weekly podcast, preached patience with the team’s progress trajectory under a brand new coaching staff:
“We had to set up the base. With a new coach and new system, you have to be on the same page as quick as possible. I don’t think we were by the end of preseason, which is normal according to the conditions, with player arrivals, injuries, and such.
“But, you have to set up the base, and the base is [defending] without the ball. We had that first game against Tampa where it was a good game off the ball, but then with the ball, we were struggling to find each other, be on the same page, have good rotations, etcetera. This then got better in the second game against New Mexico.
“What I’m saying is that it’s step-by-step. We would love to be great right away, but it just takes time.”
Since those opening two games came very quickly after preseason, the team had a bye week last week, giving them two full weeks to work on their deficiencies and improve on the training ground.
For Saturday’s match, Nocerino and his team will need to demonstrate that those two weeks were well spent with improved build-up play on the ball to earn three points against the Roots.
Embrace the Crowd’s Energy
Last week, the Oakland Roots played their first home match at historic Oakland Coliseum, drawing an impressive 26,575 fans to the former MLB baseball stadium.
It remains to be seen whether the club can match those attendance numbers in match number two. However, if they can, the Coliseum is sure to be rocking on Saturday night.
On the Roots’ side, they will be looking to ride the momentum of the crowd more successfully than they did in that Home Opener, a 2-1 loss to San Antonio FC. A lively home crowd can sometimes be the difference in key momentum swings.
For the Lights’, they will need to embrace the energy the crowd brings rather than let it rattle them. Embracing the opportunity to play in front of huge crowds in huge stadiums is what this sport is all about, and the players need to let that fuel their energy to match Oakland’s intensity.
Decisiveness with Chances
So far in 2025, the Roots have struggled to keep the ball out of their own net. They’ve played three matches with three losses, albeit entertaining ones, with a 4-2 loss, 3-2 loss, and 2-1 loss.
Often, Oakland gets stretched vertically on the field as they tend to press higher up the field. Whenever the opponent is able to break the first line of that press with an effective pass or dribble, it turns the press into a scramble.
For the Lights, this will be the key. Slicing through the higher press with incisive passes to the attacking midfielders to turn and drive in the attacking half will be a crucial component to finding chances against a thus-far porous Roots defense.
Regardless, with the context of the teams’ first games under consideration, this match promises to be an entertaining affair. Catch all the action locally on FOX5 or streaming on ESPN+!