The 2020 Las Vegas Lights FC season was the club's third season, and their third season in the United Soccer League Championship (USLC), the second division of American soccer. This article covers the period from November 18, 2019, the day after the 2019 USLC Playoff Final, to the conclusion of the 2020 USLC Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.[1]
| 2020 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General manager | Brett Lashbrook | ||
| Head coach | Eric Wynalda (until June 17, 2020) Frank Yallop (June 29-present) | ||
| Stadium | Cashman Field | ||
| USL | Group B: 5th Western Conf.: 15th | ||
| USL Cup Playoffs | Did not qualify | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Cancelled | ||
| Silver State Cup | Runner-Up | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Yamikani Chester All: Yamikani Chester | ||
| Biggest win | LV 3–1 TAC (August 19) LV 3–1 OC (August 25) | ||
| Biggest defeat | PHX 5–1 LV (September 11) | ||
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| |||
Summary
editThe Las Vegas Lights played their first match of the USL Season against USL expansion side San Diego Loyal, who were making their USL debut. The Las Vegas Lights opened the scoring when Junior Burgos scored a fantastic 40-yard effort in off the crossbar, the USL Goal of the Week and a possible USL Goal of the Year contender. San Diego Loyal soon equalized in the 15th minute when a Charles Adams shot took a deflection of a Las Vegas defender and went in past Delgado.[2]
After the season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lights had poor losing performances in a 2–1 loss to San Diego Loyal and 1–0 loss to in-state rivals Reno 1868 FC. Because of positive COVID-19 cases, matches against San Diego Loyal and Tacoma Defiance were delayed. The club lost 1-0 again to Orange County SC, with both goalies making important saves. Las Vegas finally won their first match of the season against Tacoma Defiance, 3–1. Burgos opened the scoring through a far shot that deflected of Taylor Mueller in the 19th minute. The Lights then doubled their lead after a center by Yamikani Chester was tapped in by Rashawn Dally. Later in the match, Junior Sandoval scored after being assisted by Blake Frischknecht. In the 84th minute, Azriel Gonzalez got a goal back that squeezed through Lights keeper Thomas Olsen.[3]
The club continued their run of form with a 3–3 draw against first place in Group B Phoenix Rising FC. Phoenix scored early through a shot by Rufat Dadashov, assisted by Solomon Asante. Lights keeper Edward Delgado made several decisive saves against Junior Flemmings, but Flemmings scored in the 68th minute from a lob. The Las Vegas Lights got a goal back from Chester, and soon after Junior Burgos hit the crossbar from a free kick. In the 90th minute Solomon Asante converted a penalty. The Las Vegas Lights then scored in stoppage time as a header by Chester hit of A. J. Cochran for an own goal. The club then equalized after a deflected free kick came to Ramon Martin Del Campo.[4]
After the Phoenix draw, Vegas went down 1–0 to Orange County after a penalty converted by Aodhan Quinn. Las Vegas soon equalized after Del Campo scored from a corner. Substitute Frischknecht then scored a low shot assisted by Dally, before Junior Sandoval added gloss to the win in stoppage-time, making it 3–1. The Las Vegas Lights then lost a closely contested 4-3 thriller against LA Galaxy II, with lights player Raul Mendiola hitting the post in stoppage time. After a 1–1 draw with San Diego loyal (in which Blake Frischknecht scored his 4th goal or assist in 3 games) the club lost 2–0 to Phoenix Rising at home. In the away match, they lost 5–1, their worst result of their season to date. The Lights then lost a 2-goal lead against LA Galaxy II and ended up losing 3–2, with Augustine Williams netting a late penalty.[5]
Las Vegas were eliminated from the play-offs after a 1–0 loss to Orange County SC, in which Mobi Fehr and Seth Moses being sent off. After San Diego Loyal beat Phoenix Rising 3–2, the lights could not finish above fifth. Vegas then had a 2–2 draw with La Galaxy II. Sandoval scored after collecting a long ball from Jordan Murrell. LA Galaxy turned the game around with two quick goals in the 71st and 81st minute. In stoppage-time, Dally equalized after some good dribbling by José Carrera García.[6] Las Vegas then played rivals Reno 1868. The lights took the lead early through Junior Burgos but soon Reno equalized from Foster Langsdorf. The lights scored again from Yamikani Chester but Reno equalized soon after again from Kevin Partida. The score finished 2-2 and Reno won the Silver State Cup. The lights lost the final match of the season 4–2 to Orange County. Fans were permitted for the match, at limited capacity.[7]
Squad
edit- As of September 28, 2020[8]
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | GK | Edward Delgado |  United States
|
| 1 | GK | Thomas Olsen | United States
|
| 2 | DF | Ramon Martin Del Campo |  Mexico
|
| 3 | DF | Johnny Fenwick |  England
|
| 4 | DF | Gabe Robinson | United States
|
| 5 | DF | Javan Torre | United States
|
| 6 | MF | Mobi Fehr | United States
|
| 7 | MF | Junior Sandoval |  Honduras
|
| 8 | MF | José Carrera | Mexico
|
| 9 | FW | Blake Frischknecht | United States
|
| 10 | MF | Junior Burgos |  El Salvador
|
| 11 | FW | Yamikani Chester |  Malawi
|
| 12 | DF | Jordan Murrell |  Canada
|
| 14 | MF | Bryan de la Fuente | United States
|
| 15 | MF | Grant Robinson | United States
|
| 17 | DF | Jaiden Waggoner | United States
|
| 20 | DF | Noah Billingsley (on loan from Minnesota United FC) |  New Zealand
|
| 22 | FW | Seku Conneh |  Liberia
|
| 23 | MF | Alex Culwell | United States
|
| 25 | FW | Quincy Amarikwa | United States
|
| 29 | FW | Santiago Echavarría |  Colombia
|
| 32 | MF | Jonathan Levin | Mexico
|
| 36 | MF | Seth Moses | United States
|
| 40 | FW | Raúl Mendiola | Mexico
|
| 58 | GK | Angel Alvarez | United States
|
| 66 | DF | Chancel Ndaye |  Burundi
|
| 81 | FW | Rashawn Dally (on loan from FC Cincinnati) |  Jamaica
|
Competitions
editExhibitions
edit| February 8 Preseason 1 | Real Salt Lake | v | Las Vegas Lights FC | Herriman, Utah |
| PST | ||||
| Note: Result not made public. | ||||
| February 19 Preseason 2 | LA Galaxy II | v | Las Vegas Lights FC | Carson, California |
| PM PST | Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park |
| February 28 Preseason 3 | Orange County SC | v | Las Vegas Lights FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 PM PST | Stadium: Orange County Great Park |
USL Championship
editStandings — Group B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix Rising FC | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 17 | +29 | 35 | 2.19 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | LA Galaxy II | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 26 | 1.63 | |
| 3 | Orange County SC | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 24 | 1.50 | |
| 4 | San Diego Loyal SC | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 23 | 1.44 | |
| 5 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 11 | 0.69 |
Match results
editOn December 20, 2019, the USL announced the 2020 season schedule, creating the following fixture list for the early part of Las Vegas' season.[9]
| March 7 1 | San Diego Loyal SC | 1–1 | Las Vegas Lights FC | San Diego, California |
| 7:00 PM PST | Adams  15' Stoneman  90+3' |
Report | Burgos 4' Sandoval 29' Torre 55' |
Stadium: Torero Stadium Attendance: 6,100 Referee: Elton Garcia |
In the preparations for the resumption of league play following the shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the remainder of Las Vegas' schedule was announced on July 2.[10]
| July 25 2 | San Diego Loyal SC | 2–1 | Las Vegas Lights FC | San Diego, California |
| 7:00 PM PST | Moshobane 9' Adams 54' Parra 65' Kempin 81' |
Report | Sandoval 17' Dally 45+6' Fenwick 84' |
Stadium: Torero Stadium Referee: Joseph Salinas |
| August 1 3 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 0–1 | Reno 1868 FC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Mendiola 81' |
Report | Richards 18' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Michael Radchuk |
| August 8 4 | Las Vegas Lights FC | P–P | San Diego Loyal SC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| TBA PM PDT | Stadium: Cashman Field |
| August 12 5 | Las Vegas Lights FC | P–P | Tacoma Defiance | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| TBA PM PDT | Stadium: Cashman Field | |||
| Note: Match postponed due to positive covid-19 test result with the Las Vegas Lights organization.[11] | ||||
| August 15 6 | Orange County SC | 1–0 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 PM PDT | Quinn 69' Okoli 89' |
Report | Moses 9' Waggoner 45' del Campo 74' |
Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Referee: Michael Radchuk |
| August 19 5 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 3–1 | Tacoma Defiance | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Burgos 19' Dally 30' Sandoval 67' |
Report | Cissoko 68' Gonzalez 84' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Karen Callado |
| Note: Reschedule of postponed August 12th match.[12] | ||||
| August 22 7 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 3–3 | Phoenix Rising FC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 8:30 PM PDT | Chester 80' Moses 84'Cochran 90+6' (o.g.)del Campo 90+9' |
Report | Dadashov 4' King 22'Kontoh 59'Flemmings 68'Stanton 74'Asante 90' (pen.) |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Malik Badawi |
| August 25 8 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 3–1 | Orange County SC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:00 PM PDT | del Campo 18' Gr. Robinson 52' Fenwick 62' Burgos  68' Frischknecht 84' Sandoval 90+2' |
Report | Quinn 12' (pen.) Alston 60' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Brandon Stevis |
| August 30 9 | LA Galaxy II | 4–3 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Carson, California |
| 2:00 PM PDT | Cuevas 5' Williams 53' Gutiérrez 62' Hernandez 74' |
Report | Chester 14' Gr. Robinson 27' Torre 64' Fenwick 73' Frischknecht 87' |
Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Referee: Ricardo Fierro |
| September 2 4 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 1–1 | San Diego Loyal SC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Billingsley 69' Frischknecht 73' Torre 90+5' |
Report | C. Martin 53', 57' Stoneman 72' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Jonathan Bilinski |
| September 5 10 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 0–2 | Phoenix Rising FC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 6:30 PM PDT | Fehr 45+1' Sandoval 50'de la Fuente 52'Amarikwa 90' |
Report | King 14' Olsen 53' (o.g.)Cochran 73'Bakero 74'Dadashov 90+4' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: William Hoffman |
| September 11 11 | Phoenix Rising FC | 5–1 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Dadashov 27', 44' Flemmings 55' Stanton 57' Bakero 72' (pen.) Farrell 90+2' |
Report | Moses 41' Fenwick 71' de la Fuente 82' |
Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Referee: Isaiah Vlad |
| September 15 12 | LA Galaxy II | 3–2 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Carson, California |
| 7:00 PM PDT | Williams 37', 84' (pen.) Perez 62' Nava 65' |
Report | Moses 22' Chester 28' Delgado 83' |
Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Referee: Brandon Stevis |
| September 18 13 | Orange County SC | 1–0 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 PM PDT | Orozco 43' Jones 63' Okoli 64' Quinn 69' Smith 81' |
Report | Fehr  29' Moses 46'  59' Torre 54' Burgos 67' |
Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Referee: Omeed Azadpour |
| September 26 14 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 2–2 | LA Galaxy II | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Sandoval 39' Levin 74' Burgos 88' Dally 90+3' |
Report | Cuevas 55' Williams 71' Perez 81' |
Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Brad Jensen |
| September 30 15 | Reno 1868 FC | 2–2 | Las Vegas Lights FC | Reno, Nevada |
| 8:00 PM PDT | Alfaro 8' Langsdorf 12' Hertzog 19' Partida 28' (pen.) Apodaca 81' |
Report | Burgos 9' Chester 25' Moses 57' Fehr 70' Robertson 74' Fenwick 90+5' |
Stadium: Greater Nevada Field |
| October 3 16 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 2–4 | Orange County SC | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Mendiola 24', 66' Fehr 30' Sandoval 73' Murrell 90+3' |
Report | Hoffman 17', 21', 27' Henry 37' Casiple 68' 76' Quinn 90+2' (pen.) |
Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 250 Referee: Alejandro Mariscal |
U.S. Open Cup
editAs a USL Championship club, Las Vegas will enter the competition in the Second Round, to be played April 7–9.[13]
| April 9 2nd round | Las Vegas Lights FC  | Cancelled |  Cal FC or Ventura County Fusion | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Report | Stadium: Cashman Field | ||
| Note: Match cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[14] | ||||
References
edit- ^ "USL Championship Unveils 2020 Schedule". January 9, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Scores".
- ^ "Lights FC 2020 Roster". Las Vegas Lights FC. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "USL Championship Unveils 2020 Schedule". January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Schedule Announcement". lasvegaslightsfc.com. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Tacoma Defiance Match on August 12 at Las Vegas Postponed". tacomadefiance.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ "Tacoma Defiance Match on August 12 at Las Vegas Postponed". tacomadefiance.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ "Restructured Competition Format For 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Provides Opportunity For More "David vs. Goliath" Matchups In 107th Edition Of U.S. Soccer's National Championship". U.S. Soccer Federation. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup cancelled due to COVID-19". ussoccer.com. August 17, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.