San Antonio FC plays the second game of a three-match road trip this Friday night as they travel to face Las Vegas Lights FC. This will be the only meeting between the two clubs this season and their first meeting since 2019. San Antonio FC are still looking for their first road win of 2021.
San Antonio will have to do it without their leading scorer as Santiago Patiño was sent off with a Red Card against Colorado after an ugly foul and punches being thrown. As a result, he will be suspended for the Las Vegas match and the following two games against New Mexico and RGV-FC. The performance last week was a far cry from his season opening performance against Colorado when he went for a hat trick.
San Antonio FC will hope they can get their offense going from the likes of Jordan Perruzza, Nathan and Jose Gallegos, the latter who returned from injury in the Colorado game. They can also turn to last week’s hero Justin Dhillon who scored on his debut appearance with the club in dramatic fashion last week. His 88th minute equalizer salvaged a point for SAFC when it appeared that a loss was unavoidable.
Dhillon was happy to finally get on the field for SAFC and contribute a meaningful performance. "It’s a perfect way to come back. I think the team fought a lot in the game and I think we deserved something from it. Obviously being out six weeks, I couldn’t have asked for any more than to come on and help the team earn a point.”
SAFC had another big night Defensively. In Goal Matt Cardone came up with 4 saves, many of them in spectacular fashion, to help earn the draw. Cardone now has 20 saves on the season. Defender Joaquin Varela also had a big night. Varela led the team in tackles (seven), clearances (six) and interceptions (four), while serving up 80 percent passing accuracy.
Said SAFC Manager Alen Marcina about Verela who finished the game with an injury after going off the pitch, “We talk a lot about grit and having a warrior mentality. For someone who dislocates their shoulder and puts themselves back in to help the club earn a point on the road shows a lot about his character.”
Las Vegas Lights FC enters the match off a 2-0 home victory over Tacoma Defiance last weekend. It was the first win of the season for the Lights and it ended a four-match losing streak to open their season. It was the first game this year where Vegas managed to score more than 1 goal.
It was also their 2021 home debut after starting the first four games on the road and the stadium was packed. Despite the records, SAFC can expect another tough game. Going back to last season, SAFC has only won one of their last seven road games under Marcina.
The Lights are attempting to bounce back from a dismal 2020 season where they finished last place in their group and won only two games. Despite the win last week, they still find themselves in the bottom of the standings once again. They are in last place in the Pacific Division and already 10 points behind division leader Phoenix Rising FC.
The Lights have had four different goal scorers but only Cal Jennings has tallied multiple goals and an assist in the early going of their season.
The Goal Keepers have struggled. Both Tomas Romero and Alex Rando have started multiple games with Romero conceding 8 goals while Rando has conceded 7. Included in their four losses have been two lopsided thumpings; a 5-0 loss to LA Galaxy II and a 5-1 loss to Phoenix Rising SC. Chinenye Uche paces the Defenders with 19 clearances.
As a team the stats are dismal for the Lights. They are tied for 23rd in the league in goals scored and they have conceded the second most goals in all of USL Championship with 15 allowed through five games. No team in the Western Conference has given up more goals than Las Vegas.
For SAFC, who have now drawn 3 of their last 5 games overall, the time to turn around their road fortunes is now. Dhillon believes they have the right attitude for the task. “The players in the locker room fight for each other. Next man up if someone is out, next man comes up and shows out. To see Varela come off with a shoulder injury and come back to finish the game off to get a point – that’s the mentality you need to become a successful team.”
SAFC will hope to see that same mentality on display again this Friday night.
The Matchup (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC (2-3-1, 9 points) at Las Vegas Lights FC (1-0-4, 3 points)
Cashman Field, Friday June 11th, 2021
Kickoff 9:30pm Central Time
Current Form (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC - 2021 Road Record 0-1-1
D-L-W-D-D
Las Vegas Lights FC – 2021 Home Record 1-0-0
L-L-L-L-W
All Time History (W-D-L)
Friday will mark the 5th meeting between the teams and the first since 2019. SAFC has done well in this series thus far, winning three games and losing once. The loss was on the road at Cashman Field in 2019, the last time these two teams played. SAFC are 3-0-1 all-time vs Las Vegas.
Season Series
6/11/21 @ LV
Last Time
SAFC dropped a 4-2 decision in Las Vegas in October 2019. Both teams scored goals in the opening ten minutes and SAFC got a goal from Frank Lopez in the 70th minute to cut the Vegas lead to 3-2, but the Lights closed the game with another late goal to take all three points; the first ever loss for SAFC in this series.
Match highlights:
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER, LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC TWITTER