After three straight shutout victories, the Lights will look to make it four in a row on the Fourth of July.
Read on to discover the keys to victory for this Friday’s match against a familiar foe: Sacramento Republic FC.
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC (5-3-6, 7th in Western Conference) vs Sacramento Republic FC (4-5-4, 8th in Eastern Conference)
When: Friday, July 4
Where: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
How to Watch: SSSEN, ESPN+
Tickets: Buy your tickets now!
Revenge on the Mind
May 17th and May 31st are two days that Las Vegas Lights FC fans would rather forget.
On two Saturdays at the end of May, the Lights made back-to-back road trips to Sacramento. Both trips ended in similarly brutal fashion: a 5-0 loss and a 4-0 loss.
Those two losses were part of a five-match losing streak that prompted Head Coach Antonio Nocerino and the club to mutually part ways. Since then, under Interim Head Coach Giovanni Troise, things have been the exact opposite: a three-game winning streak.
Now, a true measuring stick emerges. Should the team’s momentum under Troise continue against a Sacramento side who has had Vegas’ number, the positive momentum would be proven true.
The team will surely have both of those blowouts – and revenge – on their mind when Friday rolls around.
The Race for the Playoffs Heats Up
As things stand, Las Vegas and Sacramento are battling head-to-head and sitting in the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference: 7th and 8th place, respectively.
For both teams, pretty much any place in the standings remains a real possibility. Only nine (NINE) points separate first from last place in the entire conference.
The Lights (18 points, 7th place) and Sacramento (17 points, 8th place) sit right in the middle between New Mexico (25 points, 1st place) and Lexington (14 points, 12th place). Things are incredibly tight, especially compared to the Eastern Conference which has a 25 point spread from first to last.
That means that matches against fellow Western Conference teams become the proverbial “six-pointer”. Winning against a team like Sacramento doesn’t just gain you three points; it also keeps a direct rival from taking those three points. This can become a big six-point swing in the standings at the end of the day.
With the right mix of results… the Lights could finish the weekend as high as tied for 3rd place. Every win matters in the race for playoffs.
Keys to the Match
Here are the three keys to look out for on Friday night to take down Sacramento.
Defensive Prowess Continued
Over Interim Head Coach Giovanni Troise’s three matches in charge, the Lights have conceded exactly… zero goals. Three wins, three shutouts, while still playing a more attacking brand of soccer that has resulted in match-winning goals.
In the Light’s two matches against Sacramento in May, they conceded goals for fun. The Republic’s wingbacks and attacking midfielders found acres of space in and around the Vegas defense, resulting in nine goals over just two matches.
Obviously, to get a result tonight, the team will need to continue the much-improved defensive solidity they’ve demonstrated under Troise.
What better test than against a high-flying Sacramento attack?
Valentin Noel’s Chance Creation
As the team gets more comfortable dominating more possession under Troise’s style, club captain Valentin Noel sees a LOT of the ball during the team’s buildup.
So far, he’s been unable to deliver the assists that the fans became so used to seeing from the Frenchman in 2024. However, the system under Troise has freed up Noel’s role to allow him to roam into the half spaces and create chances.
With three new strikers ahead of him in great form – Johnny Rodriguez, Stefan Stojanovic, and Nighte Pickering – Noel will have options in attack. Developing chemistry with these three new teammates over the course of the summer will be vital.
He currently sits just one assist shy of tying the club record for all-time assists, and two shy of taking the record for himself. If Noel can get going in the goal contribution column, the Lights attack will truly begin to click.
One Eye on Pirano
Sacramento’s number 10, Cristian Pirano, was a thorn in Vegas’ side in the two previous matches this season. A goal in the Jagermeister Cup win and constant danger in between the lines made Pirano a problem.
With the back three that the Lights have mostly preferred to use, a player like Pirano is constantly trying to get behind the defensive midfielders and draw the outside center backs out of position.
In the games at Sacramento, he did this to great effect. As he dragged the Lights center backs up into the midfield, he consistently spun around them or bounced passes past them into the empty space left behind.
To see success defensively tonight, the Lights will need to shut down Pirano’s ability to find these spaces.