With the Lights in first place in Group 1 with their four group stage matches already finished, the team must wait for the results of tonight’s matches to determine advancement to the knockout rounds.
With this year’s USL Jägermeister Cup group stage nearing its conclusion tonight, Las Vegas Lights FC are in wait-and-see mode.
With all four of their group games already finished, the Lights can only watch from home to find out if they will advance to the knockout rounds. Read on below for a breakdown of the scenarios facing Las Vegas to clinch first place in the group.
How We Got Here
As a reminder, this competition pits every team from both the USL Championship and USL League One against each other to crown a single champion.
Teams were divided into six groups of either six or seven teams each. Each team was scheduled to play four games within their group. From there, the six group winners plus the best two second-placed teams would advance to a single-elimination knockout bracket.
The Lights were drawn into Group 1 with Championship clubs Sacramento Republic FC, Monterey Bay FC, Oakland Roots SC, and Orange County SC, as well as League One clubs AV Alta FC and Spokane Velocity.
After opening with two consecutive wins (3-1 away at Orange County and 2-1 at home to AV Alta), Las Vegas dropped a tough 4-0 road loss at Sacramento. The team rebounded in the final group game, however, with a 2-0 victory at home over Spokane Velocity.
This puts the Lights in first place of the group at 3-1-0 with nine points and seven goals scored.
Scenarios to Win the Group
The two teams with a chance of catching the Lights are two Championship rivals: Sacramento and Monterey Bay. They each sit on six points with one match to play tonight, three points behind Las Vegas.
Both teams are on the road against League One opposition, as Sacramento takes on Spokane Velocity at 7:00 p.m. PT and Monterey Bay takes on AV Alta at 8:00 p.m. PT.
Below are the official scenarios for Las Vegas to WIN Group 1.
Las Vegas Lights Win the Group IF
1. Sacramento Republic FC fails to take a regulation win at Spokane Velocity FC
AND Monterey Bay FC fails to take a regulation win at AV Alta FC
– Lights finish first on nine points
2. Sacramento Republic FC wins 1-0 in regulation at Spokane Velocity FC
AND Monterey Bay FC wins 1-0 in regulation at AV Alta FC
– Lights advance in three-way tiebreaker with seven goals scored
3. Monterey Bay FC wins 1-0 in regulation at AV Alta FC
AND Sacramento Republic FC fails to take a regulation win at Spokane Velocity FC
– Lights advance on tiebreaker with seven goals scored
Scenarios to Advance as a Wild Card
However, should the Lights finish second in the group, there are far too many permutations to give the scenarios to advance. If a second-place finish is the result, then Lights fans need to keep an eye on the other groups second-place finishers.
With the Lights on nine points, it is very likely that tiebreakers would come into play. For fans that want to do the live math during this evening’s matches, the tiebreakers are listed below for Wild Card determinations.
1. Total Points in Group
2. Goals For In Group Play
3. Head-to-Head Earned in Group Play
4. Total Wins In Group Play
5. Goals Against In Group Play
6. Goal Differential In Group Play
7. Number of Disciplinary Points (i.e., fewest disciplinary points)
8. Coin Toss
What Would Be Next?
The draw for hosting rights and matchups for the first knockout round took place last week ahead of the final round of matches.
If the Lights advance, the club will not host the team’s Quarterfinal match, which would take place in August. The Group 1 Winner was drawn as a road team, and both Wild Cards are automatically slotted in as road teams.
However, if the Lights were to advance beyond the Quarterfinals, there is a fresh draw for the Semifinals and the Final. With each round, there would be new hope that Las Vegas fans would get a home playoff match in the competition.
See below for the full draw results for the next round: