The Lights are set to host Western Conference rivals San Antonio FC in what’s potentially the most consequential match of the season
Match: Las Vegas Lights FC (9-11-6, 11th in Western Conference) vs San Antonio FC (9-6-11, 8th in Western Conference)
When: Saturday, October 3
Where: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, Nevada
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
How to Watch: SSSEN, CBS Sports Golazo Network
This is it, no Michael Jackson.
The biggest match of the season is upon us.
The Lights will face San Antonio FC at Cashman Field in what’s quite possibly the team’s most important match of the year.
A win would mean edging closer to the playoff-clinching objective. A draw or a defeat would make the playoffs much, much harder to achieve.
On Wednesday, the Lights lost 3-2 to Sacramento Republic FC in an extremely close match held at Heart Health Park. Oalex Anderson and Carson Locker gave the Lights the lead twice throughout the match, but it wasn’t enough to overpower a clever Sactown side.
Meanwhile, San Antonio drew 0-0 to Eastern Conference leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies at Toyota Field, prolonging their winless streak to five matches. Their last victory took place on August 29, when they beat New Mexico United 2-1 on the road.
The stakes are high. The momentum is slowly fizzling out for both sides.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Not all hope is lost. It’s time to take out your calculators… with a dose of optimism.
Summertime Happiness
The Lights and San Antonio last faced each other on July 18 at Toyota Field.
The home side took an early lead courtesy of Argentine midfielder Emil Cuello. But, the Lights came back to snatch three valuable points in Texas. Johnny Rodriguez and Abraham Okyere scored for Vegas.
Both teams now square off at Cashman Field in the pursuit of happiness and an essential victory as they keep on pushing for one of the few remaining playoff berths.
Keys to the Match
Here are the keys to a massive victory in the second-to-last showdown at Cashman Field.
Don’t let Jorge Hernandez do his thing (please)
We said it once, and we’ll say it again: Jorge Hernandez is the soul of San Antonio FC.
No player across the league has generated more chances than the San Antonio midfielder (68), and no player in his own team has scored more goals (5) or contributed with more assists (7).
Hernandez is the most important player in San Antonio’s attack, generating an incredible amount of goalscoring opportunities and scoring a few of them himself.
If the Lights want to control the match and earn three points that keep them alive in the playoff push, then they must contain Jorge Hernandez and his creative prowess.
A physical team
Few teams commit more fouls than San Antonio.
The Texan side is fifth overall in the league for fouls per match (14.7), fourth in yellow cards (73), fourth in red cards (4), and fourth in penalties conceded (5).
What does this mean? It means that the Lights’ attack will have plenty of set piece opportunities at their disposal to score.
Vegas is not the sharpest team at set pieces though, scoring only seven goals through corner kicks, free kicks, and penalties. But this match presents a golden opportunity to improve upon that metric and score some goals.
Captain Pinzon
Despite the 3-2 loss to Sacramento Republic, Lights midfielder Christian Pinzon had an incredible match.
The Lights’ captain tallied two assists in Sactown, taking his season total to eight and his goal contribution count to a career-high of ten.
A player of tremendous creativity, flair, and precise passing, Christian Pinzon is the driving force behind most of the Lights’ attacking efforts.
If Pinzon has an inspired night on Saturday, then the Lights have a good chance of earning three points at Cashman Field.
