Abraham Okyere’s burst at Colorado Springs was loud enough to reach the league office, and two goals in four minutes will get noticed. On Tuesday, the USL Championship named the Las Vegas Lights FC midfielder to the Team of the Week bench for Week 2 after his late brace in a 3-2 loss to the Switchbacks on March 14.
The brace that flipped the match
Colorado Springs broke through after the hour, and it struck twice in 10 minutes. Levonte Johnson scored in the 60th minute, then Jonas Fjellberg made it 2-0 in the 70th.
However, Las Vegas answered with urgency and numbers. Okyere headed home a Nykolas Sessock cross in the 75th minute to cut it to 2-1. Then, in the 79th, Okyere stepped in to disrupt buildup and drove toward the top of the box, where he buried a low shot into the bottom left corner to level it 2-2.
Great comeback, brutal ending
Even so, the Lights could not hold the point. In the 85th minute, Benjamin Ofeimu scored an own goal, and Colorado Springs held on for the 3-2 win.
The Switchbacks controlled the volume all afternoon, outshooting Las Vegas 21-9 and holding an 8-2 edge in shots on goal. Still, Jared Mazzola made six saves, so the Lights stayed close enough to complete the comeback.
A defensive mid with an attacker’s timing
Okyere earned more than a box-score nod. Team notes credited him with 75% pass accuracy, six defensive contributions and a perfect mark in aerial duels.
He landed on the Week 2 list with Oakland Roots coach Ryan Martin, plus Detroit City FC’s Devon Amoo-Mensah and Darren Smith, Louisville City FC midfielder Ray Serrano and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC forward Albert Dikwa, among others.
Up next
Next, Las Vegas stays on the road to face FC Tulsa at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After that, the Lights return home for their home opener against Monterey Bay FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
