MATCH DETAILS

Las Vegas Lights FC (7-18-7, 28 pts., 15th in West) vs. Phoenix Rising FC (19-7-6, 63 pts., 2nd in West)

8:00 PM (MST), Wednesday, Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV

TV: Cox 4 (SD) and 1004 (HD) in Phoenix, Cox 7 (SD) and 1007 (HD) in Tucson

Live Stream: ESPN3 (subscription required)

Radio:Fox Sports 910 AM / El Patron 97.3 FM (Spanish)

MatchCenter: LVvPHX

Phoenix Rising Last Match: Needing a win to keep pace with Orange County, Phoenix Rising left frustrated Saturday night in a 0-0 draw with Reno 1868 FC. Phoenix dominated the match in terms of shots and chances but were unable to break through with any clear opportunities. The best chance came from a team move, the ball circulating from Asante to Vega to Forbes, whose well-placed shot was stopped by the right hand of the Reno’s keeper.  Although the attack sputtered, the good news is that the defense kept its third clean sheet out of the last four matches. Another bright spot in the draw was the performance of Kevon Lambert. The 23-year-old midfielder has had his ups and downs throughout the year but Saturday night might have been his best performance yet, with 38/43 passes completed, 2 chances created, and 7 duels won. Lambert will be a key player for Rising in the playoffs and his continuing improvement should give Rising fans even more hope.  

Playoff Watch: Saturday night’s draw, combined with Orange County’s last-second win means Phoenix is now three points behind the conference leaders with two to play. The ability for Phoenix to finish in first is dependent on their result Wednesday night. A win against the Lights would pull Phoenix even on points with Orange County. Phoenix is currently three goals behind on goal differential and this match is their chance to catch up on what many consider a much weaker opponent.  

Team News: The only noteworthy item for the team occurred late in the match Saturday night. In the 85th minute, James Musa went down with an apparent injury to his right foot/ankle. Coach Schantz did not have an update after the match, as they had to wait until Sunday morning for scans. Regardless of the severity of the injury, it is unlikely that Musa will appear in either match this week.

Las Vegas Lights FC Report: For all that has gone on off-field, the 2018 expansion season for the Las Vegas Lights has not gone as they would have probably hoped. While their attack has been league average, their defense has been dismal, giving up the 4th most goals in all of USL. Add all this up, along with the departure of the technical director, Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, who told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “I want to leave,” Sola said. “Sincerely I want to leave. I can’t anymore with this. Tomorrow I’m going to talk with the owner. I don’t have the intention of continuing here”. Las will look to play spoiler, as they almost did a couple weeks ago, going up 3-2 on Orange County before the defense broke apart again, giving up three unanswered goals in a 5-3 defeat.

LAST MEETING:

PREVIOUS FORM (Last five league matches played):

Phoenix Rising FC: L-W-W-W-D

Las Vegas Lights FC: L-D-L-L-L

POSSIBLE STARTING XI

With such short rest, along with the match this upcoming Saturday, expect some rotation for the match vs. Las Vegas. We would expect four or five changes along with some main guys either sitting or not coming on the trip at all. Below is an attempt at what our starting XI will be.