A 53rd minute penalty scored by Johnny Rodriguez snapped a four-match losing streak in Devin Rensing’s debut as Lights Head Coach.
Las Vegas Lights FC drew 1-1 to San Antonio FC at Cashman Field on Saturday night in a match that marked the inauguration of Devin Rensing’s tenure as Lights head coach.
Lucio Berron opened the scoreline for San Antonio in the 18th minute when his shot soared above Raiko Arozarena after a deflection off Anthony Herbert. From that goal on until the half-time whistle, the Texas side controlled the rhythms of the match.
The second half was very different, with the Lights pushing forward in the search for an equalizer. Those efforts were rewarded in the 51st minute, when the referee called a penalty for a foul on Patrick Leal. Two minutes later, Johnny Rodriguez would score from the penalty spot to tally his eighth goal of the season and give the Lights a valuable point, putting an end to an unfortunate run of defeats.
What They’re Saying
HEAD COACH DEVIN RENSING
On his overall thoughts on the match…
I thought we played well, you know, only 4 days of training, and, a lot of change for these guys. What they did in four days to come out and play like that, I was happy with the performance. What’s important for me is that we get better and we pick up points along the way, and I think we accomplished that. They ran and they fought hard and they fought for each other, so I’m proud of them.
On how he encouraged the team during the half despite being down 1-0…
Just the mentality. The not giving up mentality. I challenged them to push on each other all week, and they did that and they didn’t give up. They didn’t stop running until the end until the final whistle blew, and I think we even could have snuck a couple more points… our mentality was great tonight.
On what he saw from the three strikers on the starting eleven…
I think that those guys just need to keep building building chemistry. Johnny’s a dynamic player -he stepped up and smacked that PK home, so it’s great to see him take on that responsibility. Stefan’s a young forward and wants to learn, and he’s like a sponge. He (Stefan) just wants to learn and get better and he held the ball really, really well. Nighte played well. I put him on the wing, which is a little bit different for him, but I like the idea of him cutting in with his left foot and, Younes getting around him. So we just got to keep building on those sorts of things.
DEFENDER GENNARO NIGRO
On his thoughts of the first match under new head coach Devin Rensing…
After a couple of rough results, definitely getting points was the most important thing. We had a tough week of training where we were trying to understand exactly what it is that coach is asking of us, I think that we executed it well at times. Other times less so, but it’s all in the work in progress. Obviously happy to come away with with a point. I think that they were not so dangerous in the first half, obviously keeping a lot of possession, but not in dangerous areas of the field. I think we’re quite unlucky to concede. That being said, I thought the team had a good mentality sticking in the game and eventually getting ourselves back into it.
On what he sees from new head coach Devin Rensing so far in training…
First and foremost, he’s very direct. He lets us know exactly what he wants when he wants it, how he wants it, which I think for us was the most important thing, have clarity on from 360 degrees. That being said, I feel as though I was playing in a four with our traditional wingers suits our team, especially with who we have available at the moment.
The squad is quite thin – everyone is available to put in a shift and play out a position when asked. That’s what makes a team at the end of the day.
On his new role as captain…
It’s been a process here. I arrived last season with some experienced players to look up to and learn from. These guys who have done it all in this league: won championships, are top 10 in the appearances list. So, just being able to take from them and obviously from the guys who are here now… My role is is to support them both on and off of the field and be an example.
Summary
Lights Starting XI:
Arozarena (GK), Boudadi, Herbert, Gartig, Nigro (c), Pearson, Leal, Pickering (Gyau, 74′), Gannon, Rodriguez (Jones, 81′), Stojanovic
San Antonio FC Starting XI:
Sanchez (GK), Neville (Medranda, 66′), Taintor (c), Crognale, Buckmaster, Soto (Erofeev, 74′), Berron, Haakenson, Hernandez (Agudelo, 83′), Pacheco (Hernandez, 65′), LaCava (Salim, 83′)
Goals:
SA – Lucio Berron – 18′
LV – Johnny Rodriguez – 51′
Discipline:
SA – Yellow, Lucio Berron – 24′
SA – Yellow, Harvey Neville – 51′
LV – Yellow, Anthony Herbert – 67′
LV – Yellow, Johnny Rodriguez – 73′
SA – Yellow, Alex Crognale – 89′
LV – Yellow, Coleman Gannon – 90′
Next Up
The Las Vegas Lights will be traveling to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico United on Saturday, August 16 at 6:00 p.m. PT.