Match Recap:  Lights FC vs Orange County SC – Matchweek 8

http://franchisesportsmedia.com

 

The Las Vegas Lights FC take their third loss in a row as they fall short to Orange County SC 1-0.

 

Saturday’s matchup was a close battle between the two clubs until the 69th minute when Orange County midfielder Brian Iloski dished a pivotal pass to Aodhan Quinn for the game’s only goal.

 

Photo Credit: Angels on Parade

The Lights held their own for the majority of the match on the defensive end with crucial saves. Goalkeeper, Edward Delgado saved a tap in from striker Diego Lopez around the 19th minute. Ramon Del Campo also made a highlight save from what could have been another easy goal by Orange County.

Nonetheless, the save of the match goes to Orange County keeper Frederik Due with an outstanding stop against midfielder Bryan de la Fuente. De la Fuente had an open breakaway when he made a cut inside and took an almost perfect shot heading for the top left corner only to be deflected away.

 

This play was arguably the deciding factor of the game. A goal for de la Fuente would of given the Lights a big momentum shift.

 

Instead, Orange County dominated possession and stayed on the attack for the majority of the game after. Except for de la Fuente attempting a close header for a goal at the 80th minute of the match. Soccer is a game of possession time and a team’s ability to put shots on goal. In this game, Orange County SC looked like the more organized team with over 60% of ball possession.

The Lights struggled throughout the game with many incomplete through passes and crosses, which diminished their chances of getting any quality shots on goal. One has to give credit where credit is due, and Orange County SC did an excellent job of constant ball pressure, closing in the passing gaps, and splitting the difference during their on-ball and marking defense.

After all, there was still some good to come out of this game for the Lights. Las Vegas homegrown and former Centennial High School graduate Blake Frischknecht subbed in at the 76th minute of the match, which kept the Light’s homegrown player program alive. During his tenure at Centennial High School, Frischknecht was named All-State, All-Northwest, and All-Sunset Region. He then went on to set the school and conference goal-scoring records as well as being named WAC Offensive Player of the year at Utah Valley University, which then got the young striker the notability to be drafted in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.

 

With this match, the Orange County SC move up in the rankings to 2nd in the group B stage.

 

OCSC surpasses San Diego and LA Galaxy II with 11 points and a +4 goal difference against all opponents. Unfortunately, this leaves the Las Vegas Lights still staggering at the bottom of the division with only 1 point.

 

Photo Credit: OurSports Central

However, playoff hopes are not over as the Lights still have 12 games left to play in the 2020 season. An underdog feat like this is not impossible, especially with the unique schedule the USL Championship has created. Every team the Las Vegas soccer club faces for the remainder of their season will be in their group stage. So this gives them a considerable advantage to catch up on points.

Typically, teams will face many opponents ranging from in division to non-conference throughout the season. So many times, even if a club beats their opposition, it does not guarantee they can gain ground against the higher seated teams in their conference. With this new format, every game is crucial for the Lights because every win will guarantee the group stage point differential to change.

 

The Las Vegas Lights FC will look to change up their fortunes in their next match against Tacoma Defiance on August 19, at 7:30 pm PT.

Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC    Lights FC vs Orange County SC

 

-Justin Brooks – Franchise Sports Media

Follow The Franchise on Social Media

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube