2018 Las Vegas Lights FC season

The 2018 Las Vegas Lights FC season was the club's inaugural season, and their first season in the United Soccer League, the second division of American soccer. The Lights played their home matches at Cashman Field, north of Downtown Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Lights FC

2018 season
General manager	Brett Lashbrook
Head coach	Chelís (until March 14, 2018) Isidro Sánchez Macip (from March 15, 2018)
Stadium	Cashman Field
USL	Conference: 15th Overall: 28th
USL Cup Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Third Round
Silver State Cup	Runner-Up
Top goalscorer	League: Raúl Mendiola (10 goals) All: Raúl Mendiola (10 goals) Sammy Ochoa (10 goals)
Highest home attendance	9,109 (Mar 24 vs. Reno)
Lowest home attendance	3,875 (Sep 26 vs. Orange County)
Average home league attendance	6,395
Home colors Away colors
2019 →

The Lights' first season began on March 17 against fellow expansion side Fresno FC at Chukchansi Park with a 3–2 victory.

Background

In April 2017, Brett Lashbrook, former COO of Orlando City SC, received preliminary approval for a USL expansion franchise in Las Vegas and thus began negotiations with Las Vegas city officials over a lease agreement to allow his franchise to play their home games at Cashman Field north of Downtown Las Vegas.^[1] After three months of negotiations, the Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a 15-year lease between Lashbrook and the city to play their home games at Cashman Field that was to begin on January 1, 2018. As part of the lease, the Las Vegas 51s minor league baseball club would remain the venue's primary tenant and would receive priority on scheduling, however, if the 51s were to move from Cashman Field, the city and Lashbrook would look to convert Cashman Field into a modern soccer specific stadium as part of a redevelopment of the area.^[2]

In August 2017, Lashbrook, alongside Nevada governor Brian Sandoval, Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman, and USL officials, officially announced Las Vegas as the 33rd member of the USL at a fan festival at Zappos headquarters in downtown Las Vegas. During the presentation, Lashbrook announced six potential names (Viva Vegas, Las Vegas Silver, Las Vegas FC, Las Vegas Lights, Las Vegas Action, and Club Vegas) for the franchise, with the official name for the club being chosen through a fan vote.^[3] Shortly after midnight on August 29, 2017, Las Vegas Lights FC, a combination of the two most popular names during the fan vote (Las Vegas Lights and Las Vegas FC), was announced as the team's official name during a presentation at the Fremont Street Experience. Following the announcement, Lights officials asked the public to submit designs, ideas, and colors to help the team create its inaugural logo.^[4] On October 30, 2017, the Lights released their inaugural crest which resembled the outline of the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign – rotated 90 degrees and included the official team colors of blue, yellow, and pink. The colors, which were originally used on the placeholder logo presented when the team was first announced, were adopted officially after many of the fan submissions for logos incorporated the three colors.^[5]

On November 13, 2017, Fútbol Picante analyst José Luis Sánchez Solá was announced as the club's first head coach. El Chelís, as he was commonly referred, had managed numerous clubs in the first and second divisions of Mexico and the United States, including stints with Puebla F.C., Estudiantes Tecos, and Chivas USA, prior to taking over the position with Lights FC.^[6] In December 2017, the club expanded its partnership with Zappos.com by announcing a three-year deal for the online retailer to be the club's jersey sponsor^[7] and announced BLK as the club's jersey supplier in a multi-year deal in January 2018.^[8]

Summary

Preseason

On November 27, 2017, Lights FC announced three preseason friendlies against MLS sides at Cashman Field, as part of their preparations for their first campaign in the USL. The matches were to be on February 10 against the Montreal Impact, February 17 against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and February 24 against D.C. United.^[9]

In their first preseason friendly, Lights FC fell to Montreal 2–0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,387, after a goal from Impact forward Michael Salazar and an own goal by Lights FC defender Joel Huiqui in a matter of three minutes in the second half.^[10] Lights FC would fare better in their second preseason game, although they would still lose to Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–2, with Lights FC scoring their first goals of the year through a brace from midfielder Juan José Calderón.^[11] Seven days later, in their last home fixture of the preseason, Lights FC would see another good offensive effort with a goal from defender Miguel Garduño and another goal from Calderón, his third of the postseason; however, Lights FC would fall for the third time during the preseason, losing 4–2 to DC United.^[12] Lights FC would get their first result in their final preseason game, after the club drew 1–1 away to Orange County FC through a 77th-minute goal from forward Anuar Kanan.^[13]

March–May

Just prior to Lights FC's season opener, the club announced that head coach Chelís had been promoted to Technical Director for the club, with his son Isidro Sánchez Macip, who had been an assistant for Lights FC under his father, promoted to head coach.^[14] Lights FC began the 2018 USL season on March 17 with an away fixture against Fresno FC, which Lights FC won 3–2. Las Vegas native Matt Thomas opened the scoring within two minutes of the kick-off, while midfielder Alex Mendoza and defender Joel Huiqui added goals within seven minutes of each other in the second half. Despite late goals by Fresno forwards Jemal Johnson and Renato Bustamante, Lights FC was able to hold on for the first victory in club history.^[15] Thomas' performance against Fresno FC would lead him to being named to the USL Team of the Week for the first week of the season.^[16] The following week, Lights FC would host in-state rival Reno 1868 FC in the first match of the Silver State Cup, ending in a 1–1 draw. Mendoza would open the scoring in the 27th minute with a shot from outside of the box following a failed clearance, but was answered within a minute by Reno forward and UNLV alum Danny Musovski, who slotted home a rebound. Reno would be down to 10-men, following a second yellow card to Musovski lead to his dismissal in the 72nd minute, despite mounting pressure by Lights FC, including a fingertip save by goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski from a header from midfielder Juan Carlos García in the 95th minute, to preserve the draw.^[17]

On March 31, Lights FC completed their first come from behind victory with a 2–1 home victory against defending Western Conference champions Swope Park Rangers. Swope Park would open the scoring with an 18th-minute goal from midfielder Rodrigo Saravia. Lights FC midfielder Carlos Alvarez would tie the match with a strike in the 53rd minute and a misplaced headed back pass from Swope Park defender Colton Storm helped Lights FC secure their first home victory of the season.^[18] Lights FC defender Joel Huqui's performance against Swope Park, which included three interceptions and seven clearances, led to his selection to the USL Team of the Week^[19] and the club's performance in the month of March led to head coach Isidro Sánchez Macip, led to his selection as the USL's Coach of the Month for March.^[20] Following a bye week, Lights FC returned to action on April 14, drawing 1–1 with Sacramento Republic FC at Cashman Field. Defender Joel Huiqui would open the scoring two minutes into the match, but Sacramento forward Christian Eissele equalized before the hour mark and Lights FC extended their undefeated streak to four matches.^[21]

Following another bye week, Lights FC suffered their first loss of the season, dropping a 3–1 decision at home to San Antonio FC. San Antonio received first half goals from forward Éver Guzmán and midfielder José Escalante in the 17th and 33rd minute respectively. San Antonio would add a third when midfielder Rafael Castillo converted a penalty in the 51st minute and, despite Carlos Alvarez' 75th-minute goal, a red card to defender Christian Torres limited Lights FC's chances of closing the gap with San Antonio.^[22] Three days later, Lights FC would participate in their first road game since the season opener when they traveled to play Western Conference leader Real Monarchs SLC. Despite playing with 10 men for over 70 minutes, after defender Marcelo Alatorre was sent off for a dangerous foul in the 18th minute, Lights FC was able to produce numerous scoring chances, including an 84th-minute strike by midfielder Daigo Kobayashi that crashed off of the post. Lights FC were able to hold of the Conference leaders and ended with a 0–0 draw, the first shutout for Lights FC goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño.^[23]

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2018 U.S. Open Cup

Lights FC entered the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the second round, defeating Premier Development League side FC Tucson, 4–2 on May 16. The match, which was played at Peter Johann Memorial Soccer Field on UNLV's campus, was the first that Lights FC hosted away from Cashman Field, as the baseball field would not be converted to a soccer pitch in time following a Las Vegas 51s home stand. Lights FC would jump out to an early lead as midfielder Carlos Alvarez and defender Alatorre scored within the first ten minutes of the match. Forward Jason Romero would put FC Tucson on the board with a goal in the 38th minute and three minutes after the restart, midfielder Adrian Valenzuela tied the score at 2–2. Lights forward Sammy Ochoa would net his first two goals of the year with goals in the 56th and 65th minute to help Lights FC advance to the third round.^[24]

In the third round of the tournament, Lights FC were knocked out by PDL side FC Golden State Force in an away fixture, 2–1, on May 23. After a stalemate in the first half, FC Golden State Force's Allisson Faramilio opened the scoring a quarter of an hour from full time with a shot from outside of the box. Although defender Joel Huiqui would net the equalizer with a header off of a corner kick in the 81st minute, Faramilio would secure the victory and advancement in the competition for FC Golden State after converting a penalty shot in stoppage time.^[25]

June–August

On June 2, Lights FC won their first regular season game since March 31, defeating Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 4–1. Carlos Alvarez opened the scoring with a strike in the 24th minute, while midfielder Freddy Adu and forward Sammy Ochoa scored their first league goals of the season with strikes in the 47th and 58th minute, respectively. Colorado Springs defender Josh Suggs would pull a goal back for Switchbacks FC, but midfielder Matt Thomas would secure the 3 points for Lights FC with a goal in stoppage time to snap the club's seven match winless streak.^[26] After an 11-day layoff, Lights FC made their first visit to regional rival Phoenix Rising FC, losing 4–0 to the hosts. Phoenix would receive goals from defender Joe Farrell and forward Solomon Asante, as well as a brace from forward Jason Johnson to send Lights FC to their fourth league loss in five matches.^[27] Following the match against Phoenix, an altercation took place between a fan and Technical Director Chelís. The altercation began when the fan yelled something profane at Chelís and he responded by going up to the fan, placing a hand on the fan, and asking him to repeat what he said. Two days after the incident, the USL suspended Chelís for eight games.^[28]

Lights FC would return to action three days later hosting Seattle Sounders FC 2, seeing several changes in the lineup including goalkeeper and Las Vegas native Angel Alvarez' debut for the club. Lights FC would ride an offensive outburst in the first half with a brace from Sammy Ochoa and a third goal from Joel Huiqui to take a 3–1 lead into halftime and would add a fourth with a goal from newly acquired midfielder Zach Mathers, as Lights FC won their second straight home match 4–1.^[29] Lights FC's next match would be away to Swope Park Rangers, losing to the hosts 3–2. Lights FC would receive goals from midfielder Daigo Kobayashi and forward Sammy Ochoa and had a chance to get an equalizer from a penalty late into stoppage time, but failed to convert when midfielder Carlos Alvarez passed the spot kick to a charging Ochoa in a designed trick play instead of shooting the penalty. Ochoa's shot would ring off the post with Rangers able to clear the ball for the final whistle.^[30] Lights FC would continue their Midwestern swing with a match away to Tulsa Roughnecks FC, drawing 2–2 to extend their road winless streak to six matches. Tulsa would score first after midfielder Joaquin Rivas converted a penalty minutes into the match, while Lights FC would receive goals from midfielders Raúl Mendiola and Daigo Kobayashi. Lights FC had a chance to extend the lead, but forward Sammy Ochoa launched a penalty kick over the crossbar in the 62nd minute and defender Josh Morton would score the equalizer for the hosts a minute after Ochoa's miss.^[31]

Lights FC would open their first match of the month of July at home against Saint Louis FC. Lights FC were able to extend their home winning streak to three matches through a goal from midfielder Raúl Mendiola shortly into the second half, his second consecutive match with a goal, and goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño recorded his second shutout of the season, as Lights FC won 1–0.^[32] After a one assist, four tackle, and two interception performance against Saint Louis FC, on loan defender Nico Samayoa would be named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 17.^[33] Lights FC would begin a four match road trip with a match against OKC Energy FC on July 11. Despite the first hat trick in club history coming from Mendiola and another goal from midfielder Carlos Alvarez, Lights FC would extend their road winless streak to seven matches, as the fell to Energy FC 6–4.^[34] Lights FC's struggles would continue on the road, dropping a 2–0 result away to Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Goals from Toros' defender Conor Donovan and forward Jesús Enríquez extended Lights FC's road winless streak to eight matches.^[35] Eight days later, Lights FC would travel to Portland to take on Timbers 2. After a goalless first half, forward Sammy Ochoa netted his fifth goal of the season in 53rd minute. Timbers 2 midfielder Jack Barmby was able to level the match with a goal in 63rd minute, however, forward Omar Salgado would score his first goal of the season in the 74th minute, securing Lights FC's first road victory since March 17, ending an eight match road winless streak.^[36] Lights FC would end their longest road trip on July 26 against Seattle Sounders FC 2. The Lights would fall behind early to Sounders 2 after midfielder Antonee Burke-Gilroy scored in the second minute of the game and were hampered more so after defender Marcelo Alatorre received his second yellow of the match in the 45th minute and midfielder Carlos Alvarez received a straight red card two minutes later, leaving Lights FC down to 9 men with a full half to play. Sounders 2 would capitalize on their two-man advantage, getting a penalty kick goal from forward David Estrada and a goal from former UNLV forward Lamar Neagle to lead to a 3–0 loss for Lights FC.^[37]

Lights FC would return home to Cashman Field on August 4 against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros on August 4. Lights FC were led by goalkeeper Ricardo Ferriño has he stopped all seven shots from RGV FC on way to his third shutout of the season. Defender Joel Huiqui netted the winner for Lights FC in the 82nd minute, as Lights FC extended their home winning streak to four matches with a 1–0 victory.^[38] Ferriño's seven saves led to him being named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 21.^[39]

Club

As of August 26, 2018^[40]

No.	Position	Nation	Player
1	GK	MEX	Ricardo Ferriño
2	DF	USA	Carter Manley (on loan from Minnesota United FC)
3	DF	MEX	Joel Huiqui
4	DF	MEX	Rodrigo Íñigo
7	MF	USA	Carlos Alvarez
8	FW	USA	Omar Salgado (on loan from El Paso)
9	FW	USA	Sammy Ochoa
11	MF	USA	Freddy Adu
12	MF	USA	Eric Avila
13	DF	SLV	Juan Herrera-Perla
14	MF	USA	Alex Mendoza
17	DF	MEX	Juan Carlos García
21	MF	USA	Matt Thomas
22	GK	USA	Angel Alvarez
23	DF	MEX	Christian Torres
25	MF	USA	Rafael Garcia
29	DF	USA	Joseph Patrick Pérez (on loan from Puebla)
33	DF	MEX	Miguel Garduño
40	MF	MEX	Raúl Mendiola
44	MF	JPN	Daigo Kobayashi
58	FW	MEX	Daniel Guzmán Jr.

Competitions

Preseason

Las Vegas Lights v Montreal Impact

February 10	Las Vegas Lights	0–2	Montreal Impact	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 p.m. MST	Huiqui  19' Mendoza  43' Ferriño  68'	Report	Mancosu  39' Lovitz  41' Salazar 64' Huiqui 66' (o.g.) Choinière  77'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 10,387

Las Vegas Lights v Vancouver Whitecaps FC

February 17	Las Vegas Lights	2–3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 p.m. MST	Alatorre  57' Chelís (staff)  57' Sánchez (staff)  57' Calderón 66', 68' (pen.)	Report 1 Report 2	Techera 13' Davies 18' Pert (staff)  57' Kamara 74' (pen.)	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,046

Las Vegas Lights v D.C. United

February 24	Las Vegas Lights	2–4	D.C. United	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 p.m. MST	Calderón 53' (pen.) Garduño 87'	Report	Asad 42' Mattocks 51' Harkes 80' Acosta 90+2'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 7,158

Orange County SC v Las Vegas Lights

March 9	Orange County SC	1–1	Las Vegas Lights	Irvine, California
11:00 a.m. PST	17'	Report	Kanan 77'	Stadium: Champion Stadium

United Soccer League

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
13	Rio Grande Valley Toros	34	8	14	12	36	42	−6	38
14	LA Galaxy II	34	10	7	17	60	67	−7	37
15	Las Vegas Lights FC	34	8	7	19	50	74	−24	31
16	Seattle Sounders FC 2	34	6	7	21	40	71	−31	25
17	Tulsa Roughnecks	34	3	12	19	36	77	−41	21

Source: 2018 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Stadium	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	D	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	W	L

Updated to match(es) played on October 1, 2018. Source: Match reports
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Fresno FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

March 17 1	Fresno FC	2–3	Las Vegas Lights FC	Fresno, California
7:00 pm PDT	Johnson 73',  90' Bustamante 90'	Report	Thomas 2' Ochoa  33' Mendoza 57' Huiqui 63',  74' Garduño  65' Portugal  78'	Stadium: Chukchansi Park Attendance: 7,750 Referee: Ramy Touchan

Las Vegas Lights FC v Reno 1868 FC

March 24 2	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–1	Reno 1868 FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Huiqui  13' Garduño  18' Mendoza 27',  28' Portugal  31'	Report	Musovski 28',  34'  72' Richards  44'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 9,019 Referee: Victor Rivas

Las Vegas Lights FC v Swope Park Rangers

March 31 3	Las Vegas Lights FC	2–1	Swope Park Rangers	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Ochoa  32' Huiqui  36' Alvarez 53' Storm 71' (o.g.) Garduño  81' Ferriño  90+5'	Report	Saravia 18',  76' Smith  90+2'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 7,888 Referee: Robi Hullner

Las Vegas Lights FC v Sacramento Republic FC

April 14 4	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–1	Sacramento Republic FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Huiqui 2'	Report	Eissele 57'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 8,167 Referee: Kevin Stott

Las Vegas Lights FC v San Antonio FC

April 27 5	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–3	San Antonio FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Alvarez 75' Torres  88'	Report	Guzmán 17' Escalante 33' Castillo 51' (pen.)	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 8,025 Referee: Luis Guardia

Real Monarchs SLC v Las Vegas Lights FC

April 30 6	Real Monarchs SLC	0–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Herriman, Utah
6:00 pm PDT	Velásquez  68'	Report	Alatorre  18' Kobayashi  56' Ferriño 90' Alvarez  90+2'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 4,065 Referee: Jon Freemon

Las Vegas Lights FC v Tulsa Roughnecks FC

May 5 7	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–1	Tulsa Roughnecks FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Alvarez 15' Portugal  53' Huiqui  66' Thomas  72' Ricardo Ferriño  77'	Report	Rivas 44' Lennon  80' Tavares  85'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 7,777 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

May 11 8	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	1–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Colorado Springs, Colorado
6:00 pm PDT	Vercollone 70'	Report	Alvarez  53' Jaime  65' Alatorre  80'	Stadium: Weidner Field Attendance: 4,039 Referee: Adam Zarrin

Las Vegas Lights FC v Real Monarchs

May 19 9	Las Vegas Lights FC	0–2	Real Monarchs	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Drake  34' Alvarez  66' Huiqui  90+5'	Report	Velásquez 3' Adams  16' Heard 22' Horst  59'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,810 Referee: Malik Badawi

LA Galaxy II v Las Vegas Lights FC

May 26 10	LA Galaxy II	7–2	Las Vegas Lights FC	Carson, California
7:30 pm PDT	Zubak 10', 16', 18', 54'  17' Jameison  28' Lassiter 65', 89' Büscher 87'	Report	Kobayashi 7', 22' Torres  38' Jaime  41' Herrera-Perla  76'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 1,215 Referee: Michael Radchuk

Las Vegas Lights FC v Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

June 2 11	Las Vegas Lights FC	4–1	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Alvarez 24' Adu 47' Thomas  52' 90+1' Ochoa 58'	Report	Uzo  52' Suggs 77' Maybin  80'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 5,712 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

Phoenix Rising FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

June 13 12	Phoenix Rising FC	4–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 pm PDT	Johnson 32', 77' Wakasa  42' Farrell 53' Woszczynski  90+1' Asante 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Huiqui  52' Mathers  56' Ferriño  79'	Stadium: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex Attendance: 5,939 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Las Vegas Lights FC v Seattle Sounders FC 2

June 16 13	Las Vegas Lights FC	4–1	Seattle Sounders FC 2	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Ochoa 17', 35'  31' Haiqui  19' 43' Mathers 49'	Preview	Saari 45+1'  85'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,785 Referee: Alejandro Mariscal

Swope Park Rangers v Las Vegas Lights FC

June 24 14	Swope Park Rangers	3–2	Las Vegas Lights FC	Kansas City, Kansas
4:00 pm PDT	Sinovic 12' Belmar 56' Kuzain 67' Barry  83'	Report	Kobayashi 21' Mendoza  46' Jaime  60' Alatorre  83' Ochoa 87'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 923 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Tulsa Roughnecks FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

June 30 15	Tulsa Roughnecks FC	2–2	Las Vegas Lights FC	Tulsa, Oklahoma
5:30 pm PDT	Rivas 4' (pen.) Cerda  49' Morton 63' Pírez  74'	Report	Avila  3' Mendiola 34' Kobayashi 49' (pen.) Jaime  70'	Stadium: ONEOK Field Attendance: 3,431 Referee: Guido Gonzalez, Jr.

Las Vegas Lights FC v Saint Louis FC

July 7 16	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–0	Saint Louis FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Avila  20' Alatorre  36' Mendiola 49' Samsyoa  63'	Report	Greig  84'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,651 Referee: Victor Rivas

OKC Energy FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

July 11 17	OKC Energy FC	6–4	Las Vegas Lights FC	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
5:00 pm PDT	Dixon 12', 72' Atuahene  37' 57' Harris 44' Siaj 50' Ibeagha  56' Barril  56' Ross  88' Volesky 90+3'	Report	Alvarez 15' Jamie  56' Mendiola 65', 70', 90+5'	Stadium: Taft Stadium Attendance: 5,557 Referee: Jon Freemon

Rio Grande Valley FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

July 14 18	Rio Grande Valley FC	2–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Edinburg, Texas
5:30 pm PDT	Greene  35' Donovan 45' Enríquez 90'	Report	Pérez  14' Salgado  35' Jaime  38' Alatorre  90+4'	Stadium: H-E-B Park Attendance: 4,078 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Portland Timbers 2 v Las Vegas Lights FC

July 22 19	Portland Timbers 2	1–2	Las Vegas Lights FC	Portland, Oregon
2:00 pm PDT	Barmby 63'	Report	Ochoa 53' Salgado 74' Herrera-Perla  90+3'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 1,947 Referee: Daniel Radford

Seattle Sounders FC 2 v Las Vegas Lights FC

July 26 20	Seattle Sounders FC 2	3–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Tacoma, Washington
7:00 pm PDT	Burke-Gilroy 2' Ele  57' Miglietti  62' Estrada 68' (pen.) Neagle 72'	Report	Alatorre  19'  45' Huiqui  21' Alvarez  45+2'	Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 3,259 Referee: Mark Allatin

Las Vegas Lights FC v Rio Grande Valley FC

August 4 21	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–0	Rio Grande Valley FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Huiqui  41', 82' Ochoa  90+2'	Report		Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,752 Referee: Michael Zapata

Saint Louis FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

August 11 22	Saint Louis FC	4–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	St. Louis, Missouri
5:30 pm PDT	Kavita 4' Dacres 14' Greig 41' Cox 88' Fall  89' Reynolds  90+3'	Report	Kobayashi  7' Salgado 19' (pen.) Íñigo  23' Huiqui  42' Thomas  62' Garduño  70' Mendiola  71'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 4,001 Referee: Greg Dopka

Orange County SC v Las Vegas Lights FC

August 15 23	Orange County SC	3–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	Irvine, California
7:00 pm PDT	Enevoldsen 26' Seaton 29', 65'  81' Rawls  56' Alston  90+2'	Report	Thomas 16'	Stadium: Orange County Great Park Attendance: – Referee: Timothy Ford

Las Vegas Lights FC v Phoenix Rising FC

August 18 24	Las Vegas Lights FC	0–2	Phoenix Rising FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Pérez  29' Íñigo  65' Salgado  72'	Report	Asante 10' Vega  79' Frater 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,720 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez

Las Vegas Lights FC v Fresno FC

August 25 25	Las Vegas Lights FC	2–2	Fresno FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Alvarez  45' Mendiola 64' Garcia 86'	Report	Caffa 4' del Campo  68' Bustamante 90+4'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 5,779 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Reno 1868 FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

August 28 26	Reno 1868 FC	2–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	Reno, Nevada
7:30 pm PDT	Brown 5' Griffiths  70' Hoppenot 90+5',  90+5'	Report	Alvarez 47' Herrera-Perla  67' Avila  87'	Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 5,559 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Las Vegas Lights FC v LA Galaxy II

September 8 27	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–2	LA Galaxy II	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Salgado 10' García 81'	Report	Aguilar  14' Alvarez  18', 27' Lassiter 21' (pen.) Traore  64' Williams  82'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 8,017 Referee: Lorant Varga

Las Vegas Lights FC v Portland Timbers 2

September 16 28	Las Vegas Lights FC	1–2	Portland Timbers 2	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Mendiola 4' (Thomas) R. Garcia  45' Ochoa  71' Avila  71' J. Garcia  79'	Report	Arboleda 72' (Diz Pe) Zambrano 84' (Langsdorf)	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 4,875 Referee: Matthew Franz

Reno 1868 FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

September 22 29	Reno 1868 FC	3–3	Las Vegas Lights FC	Reno, Nevada
7:00 pm PDT	Brown 19' Casiple  47' Richards  50' Hoppenot 55' Griffiths  72' Mfeka 85'	Report	Huiqui  23' Mendiola 29', 90' Alvarez  50' Ferriño  55' Íñigo  62' Guzman 82' Ochoa  90+5'	Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 6,467 Referee: Michael Radchuk

Las Vegas Lights FC v Orange County SC

September 26 30	Las Vegas Lights FC	3–5	Orange County SC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	García 36' Garduño 45+3',  81' Ochoa 48',  77' Torres  80' Garcia  83'	Report	Quinn 8' Enevoldsen 31', 90+4' Seaton 54', 76' Amico  90+1'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 3,875 Referee: Jon Freemon

Las Vegas Lights FC v OKC Energy FC

September 29 31	Las Vegas Lights FC	0–1	OKC Energy FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	Pérez  77' Alvarez  90+6' Olsen  90+6'	Report	Brown 73' Beckie  90+4' Ibeagha  90+5'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 6,578 Referee: Elton García

San Antonio FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

October 6 32	San Antonio FC	3–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	San Antonio, Texas
5:30 pm PDT	Guzmán 34', 48' Laing 80'	Report	Ochoa 12' Kobayashi  61' Guzman  88'	Stadium: Toyota Field Attendance: 6,471 Referee: Victor Rivas

Las Vegas Lights FC v Phoenix Rising FC

October 10 33	Las Vegas Lights FC	5–2	Phoenix Rising FC	Las Vegas, Nevada
8:00 pm PDT	García 29' (pen.) Huiqui  41' Íñigo  66' Garduño 71' Mendiola 74' Alvarez 79' Ochoa 84' Thomas  90+2'	Report	Fernandez 2' Vega 43' (pen.) Vásquez  67'	Stadium: Cashman Field Attendance: 5,929 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

Sacramento Republic FC v Las Vegas Lights FC

October 13 34	Sacramento Republic FC	1–0	Las Vegas Lights FC	Sacramento, California
7:30 pm PDT	Matjašič  30' Taintor  45+1' Iwasa 55' Gomez  65' Hord  69'	Report	Torres  45+2' Mendoza  54' Ochoa  70' Garcia  87' Herrera-Perla  90+3'	Stadium: Papa Murphy's Park Attendance: 11,569 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2018 U.S. Open Cup

Las Vegas Lights FC v FC Tucson

May 16 Second round	Las Vegas Lights FC	4–2	FC Tucson	Paradise, Nevada
7:30 PM PDT	Alvarez 5' Alatorre 9' Huiqui  20' Jaime  34' Ochoa 56', 66'	Report	Romero 39' Valenzuela 48' Salazar  89'	Stadium: Peter Johann Memorial Soccer Field Referee: Alejandro Aguilera

FC Golden State Force v Las Vegas Lights FC

May 23 Third round	FC Golden State Force	2–1	Las Vegas Lights FC	Whittier, California
7:00 PM PDT	Allisson 75' (90+1), pen.'	Report	Avila  43' Herrera-Perla  45' Huiqui  76' 81' Calderón  90+2'	Stadium: Rio Hondo College Attendance: 524

Statistics

Appearances

Source:^[41]

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad, but only as unused substitutes.

Discipline includes league, playoffs, and Open Cup play.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

No.	Pos.	Name	League		Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Ricardo Ferriño	23	0	0	0	2	0	25	0	5	0
2	DF	Carter Manley	2 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (1)	0	0	0
3	DF	Joel Huiqui	19 (1)	4	0	0	2	1	21 (1)	5	13	0
4	DF	Rodrigo Íñigo	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	2	0
7	MF	Carlos Alvarez	22	6	0	0	2	1	24	7	5	1
8	FW	Omar Salgado	7 (2)	2	0	0	0	0	7 (2)	2	2	0
9	FW	Sammy Ochoa	23 (1)	5	0	0	2	2	25 (1)	7	5	0
11	MF	Freddy Adu	7 (5)	1	0	0	0 (1)	0	7 (6)	1	1	0
12	MF	Eric Avila	12 (3)	0	0	0	1	0	13 (3)	0	4	0
13	DF	Juan Herrera-Perla	13 (1)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	14 (2)	0	4	0
14	MF	Alex Mendoza	7 (7)	2	0	0	1 (1)	0	8 (8)	2	3	0
17	DF	Juan Carlos García	5 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	5 (4)	0	0	0
20	MF	Sebastian Hernandez	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0
21	MF	Matt Thomas	10 (5)	2	0	0	2	0	12 (5)	3	2	1
22	GK	Angel Alvarez	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
23	DF	Christian Torres	15 (2)	0	0	0	2	0	17 (2)	0	2	1
25	MF	Rafael Garcia	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1	0	0
26	MF	Julian Portugal	6 (7)	0	0	0	0	0	6 (7)	0	3	0
29	DF	Joseph Patrick Pérez	4 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	4 (1)	0	2	0
33	DF	Miguel Garduño	12	0	0	0	2	0	14	0	4	1
40	MF	Raúl Mendiola	10 (4)	5	0	0	0	0	10 (4)	5	1	0
44	MF	Daigo Kobayashi	20 (4)	4	0	0	2	0	22 (4)	4	2	0
58	FW	Daniel Guzmán Jr.	2 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (3)	0	0	0
Players with appearances who left before the end of the season
	DF	Marcelo Alatorre	18 (1)	0	0	0	1 (1)	1	19 (2)	1	5	2
	MF	Juan José Calderón	1 (2)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (3)	0	1	0
	DF	Marco Cesar Jaime Jr.	16 (3)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	17 (4)	0	8	0
	FW	Isaác Díaz	2 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (2)	0	0	0
	DF	Zak Drake	3 (3)	0	0	0	1	0	4 (3)	0	1	0
	DF	Jorge Guillen-Torres	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
	MF	Adolfo Guzman	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
	FW	Anuar Kanan	2 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (2)	0	0	0
	MF	Zach Mathers	3 (2)	1	0	0	0	0	3 (2)	1	1	0
	MF	James Murphy	6 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	6 (1)	0	0	0
	DF	Nico Samayoa	1 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	1	0

Last updated: August 29, 2018.
Source: Las Vegas Lights FC

Top scorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	United Soccer League	USL Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	MF	7	Carlos Alvarez	6	0	1	7
	FW	9	Sammy Ochoa	5	0	2	7
3	MF	40	Raúl Mendiola	6	0	0	6
4	DF	3	Joel Huiqui	4	0	1	5
5	DF	44	Daigo Kobayashi	4	0	0	4
6	MF	21	Matt Thomas	3	0	0	3
7	FW	8	Omar Salgado	2	0	0	2
	MF	14	Alex Mendoza	2	0	0	2
9	MF	11	Freddy Adu	1	0	0	1
	DF	16	Marcelo Alatorre	0	0	1	1
	MF	25	Rafael Garcia	1	0	0	1
	MF	32	Zach Mathers	1	0	0	1
#	Own goals			1	0	0	1
TOTALS				36	0	5	41

Last updated: August 29, 2018.
Source: Las Vegas Lights FC

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total appearances are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	United Soccer League	USL Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	1	Ricardo Ferriño	3	0	0	3
TOTALS			3	0	0	3

Last updated: August 29, 2018.
Source: Las Vegas Lights FC

Transfers

Players transferred in

Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee	Ref.
January 8, 2018	MF	Adolfo Guzman	Unattached	Free	[42]
January 8, 2018	MF	Sebastian Hernandez	Unattached	Free	[42]
January 8, 2018	MF	Marco César Jaime Jr.	Unattached	Free	[42]
January 8, 2018	MF	Julian Portugal	Unattached	Free	[42]
January 8, 2018	MF	Matt Thomas	Rocky Mountain College	Free	[42]
January 16, 2018	DF	Zak Drake	F.C. Maia	Undisclosed	[43]
January 16, 2018	DF	Juan Herrera-Perla	FC Dallas Academy	Free	[43]
January 16, 2018	MF	Alex Mendoza	Unattached	Free	[43]
January 16, 2018	DF	Jorge Guillen-Torres	Unattached	Free	[43]
January 26, 2018	DF	Joel Huiqui	Potros UAEM	Free	[44]
January 31, 2018	DF	Marcelo Alatorre	Venados F.C.	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	GK	Angel Alvarez	Unattached	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	MF	Juan José Calderón	Unattached	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	GK	Ricardo Ferriño	Venados F.C.	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	MF	Juan Carlos García	Unattached	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	DF	Miguel Garduño	Unattached	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	FW	Anuar Kanan	Young Harris College	Free	[45]
January 31, 2018	DF	Christian Torres	Dorados de Sinaloa	Free	[45]
February 12, 2018	MF	Carlos Alvarez	Los Angeles FC	Free
February 16, 2018	MF	Daigo Kobayashi	New England Revolution	Free	[46]
February 16, 2018	FW	Sammy Ochoa	Sacramento Republic FC	Free	[46]
February 22, 2018	MF	Freddy Adu	Unattached	Free	[47]
May 4, 2018	GK	Thomas Olsen	University of San Diego	Free	[48]
May 22, 2018	MF	Eric Avila	ASC San Diego	Free	[49]
May 31, 2018	MF	Zach Mathers	Seattle Sounders FC	Free	[50]
May 31, 2018	MF	Raúl Mendiola	LA Galaxy	Free	[50]
July 12, 2018	FW	Daniel Guzmán Jr.	CD Suchitepéquez	Free	[49]
July 12, 2018	DF	Rodrigo Íñigo	Venados	Free	[49]
August 10, 2018	MF	Rafael Garcia	New York Cosmos B	Free	[51]

Players loaned in

Start date	Pos.	Name	Club	End date	Ref.
January 31, 2018	FW	Isaác Díaz	Mineros de Zacatecas	May 10, 2018	[52]
June 11, 2018	DF	Nico Samayoa	New England Revolution	July 11, 2018	[53]
June 22, 2018	MF	James Murphy	Los Angeles FC	August 6, 2018	[54]
July 12, 2018	FW	Omar Salgado	USL El Paso		[55]
July 12, 2018	DF	Joseph Patrick Pérez	Club Puebla		[56]
July 31, 2018	DF	Carter Manley	Minnesota United FC		[57]

Players transferred out

Date	Pos.	Name	Club	Fee	Ref.

Players loaned out

Start date	Pos.	Name	Club	End date	Ref.
August 3, 2018	GK	Thomas Olsen	Sacramento Republic FC	September 14, 2018	[58]

Players released

Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 22, 2018	MF	Jorge Guillen-Torres	Unattached		[49]
May 22, 2018	MF	Adolfo Guzman	Unattached		[49]
May 22, 2018	FW	Anuar Kanan	Unattached		[49]
June 29, 2018	DF	Zak Drake	Unattached		[59]
July 6, 2018	MF	Zach Mathers	unattached		[60]
July 10, 2018	MF	Juan José Calderón	unattached		[61]
August 18, 2018	DF	Marcelo Alatorre	unattached
August 18, 2018	MF	Marco César Jaime Jr.	unattached

Awards

Player

No.	Player	Award	Week/Month	Source
21	Matt Thomas	USL Team of the Week	Week 1	[16]
7	Joel Huiqui		Week 3	[19]
5	Nico Samayoa		Week 17	[33]
44	Raúl Mendiola		Week 18	[62]
1	Ricardo Ferriño		Week 21	[39]
44	Raúl Mendiola		Week 28	[63]
2	Carter Manley		Week 31	[64]

Coach

Player	Award	Week/Month	Source
Isidro Sánchez Macip	USL Coach of the Month	March	[20]

See also

• 2018 USL season
• 2018 in American soccer