Lights FC and Loyal SC finish level in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Lights FC had a quick turnaround after their 4-3 loss to Los Dos on Sunday and came away with a 1-1 draw last night vs. San Diego Loyal SC. Collin Martin scored the opener for San Diego before super-sub Blake Frischknecht equalized, possibly from an offside position.

Key Stats

Nine second-half shots, three on target for the hosts. The Lights had seven shots in the first half with only one going on frame. With some attacking players subbing on in the second half, they put up nine shots in the second 45 minutes with three going on target, including Frischknecht’s goal.

24 crosses attempted by Vegas. Junior Burgos led the way with 12 crosses on the night and the balls coming in from out wide helped keep San Diego’s defense on their toes. Jaiden Waggoner’s cross started the sequence that ended with the Lights’ goal.

Brightest Lights

Blake Frischknecht: As you can see in my tweet before the match, it seems inevitable that the rookie striker will either score a goal or pick up an assist off the bench. Whether he was onside or not, he came through with a nice close-range effort to give the Lights a point.

Junior Burgos: The 32-year-old veteran turned in a great shift for Las Vegas across the board. He finished the match with eight total shots, four completed crosses, four chances created, and blocked three shots.

Johnny Fenwick: Still playing without Ramon Martin Del Campo next to him, the Newcastle native registered eight clearances on the night and won 3/4 aerial duels.

Quick Kicks

• Let’s start with the obvious question…was Frischknecht offside? Probably. But, without a camera angle down the line and with a defender to his left not far off his line, it’s impossible to say definitively. San Diego fans will feel cheated and they do have an argument there, but I’ve always said that a game is never defined by one call and this one wasn’t either.
• The quick turnaround pushed Frank Yallop to rotate his squad quite a bit and without newcomer Quincy Amarikwa available yet, there wasn’t a player on the pitch that resembled a striker until the second half.
• Another change was starting Thomas Olsen over Lalo Delgado in goal, as some fans have been clamoring for. I don’t think Delgado earned a demotion and I don’t expect this was anything more than a night off. But, TKO did only concede one goal so Yallop could stick with him for a match or two moving forward.
• It is definitely a combination of switching things up on the road, but San Diego finished with 50% possession, lower than their 54% average possession on the season. San Diego definitely controlled a lot of the action in the first half, but the Lights established themselves in the second frame.
• Big fan of the midfield pairing of Mobi Fehr and Seth Moses, who combined for nine tackles on the night and can also spread the ball around well.

What’s Next?

Lights FC will host Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday at Cashman Field. After their draw in Vegas, Phoenix suffered a defeat to Reno 1868 FC last weekend, but they still hold a slight edge on the Group B table.