Las Vegas Lights FC had the possession, the passes and the pressure Saturday night. El Paso Locomotive FC had the finishing.
The Lights fell 2-1 to El Paso on July 4 at Cashman Field, another frustrating home result where control did not turn into points. Las Vegas dropped to 4-3-7 with 15 points, while El Paso improved to 5-4-5 with 19 points.
Rodriguez answers before halftime
El Paso struck first in the 20th minute when Alex Méndez scored from distance off a Rubio Rubín assist.
Las Vegas pushed back before the break. Themi Antonoglou delivered the cross, and Johnny Rodriguez headed it in during the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time. The goal tied the match 1-1 and gave Rodriguez his ninth goal of the season.
Head coach Devin Rensing, in remarks posted on the Lights team page, said Rodriguez keeps delivering in the hardest part of the game.
“He just scores goals,” Rensing said. “That’s the hardest thing to do in soccer, and he does it fantastically well.”
One shot on goal tells the story
The second half turned quickly. Álvaro Quezada entered at halftime for El Paso and scored in the 52nd minute off an Alex Méndez assist, putting Locomotive FC back in front for good.
That was the difference. Las Vegas finished with 62% possession, 502 passes and 437 accurate passes, but the Lights put only one shot on goal. El Paso had just 38% possession but forced three shots on target and made its chances count.
Pressure without payoff
The Lights spent plenty of time in El Paso’s half, but Locomotive FC handled the pressure. El Paso finished with 37 clearances, while Las Vegas had nine shots blocked and could not turn long spells on the ball into clean looks.
Charlie Lanphier started in goal for Las Vegas, making one save in the loss. Ben Mines and Marc Ybarra picked up yellow cards for the Lights.
Rensing, through the Lights team page, said the problem was not complicated.
“We continue giving up soft goals, and that’s just not good enough, especially here at Cashman,” Rensing said.
Rodriguez also pointed to the same issue in remarks posted by the club.
“I think we’re giving up soft goals,” Rodriguez said. “That starts with everybody. It starts with me at the nine, and it trickles down all the way to the goalkeeper.”
Clean it up at home
Rodriguez supplied the goal, but the larger issue was clear. Las Vegas had enough of the match to control the night, but not enough precision to change it.
The Lights have shown they can keep the ball. Now they have to turn that control into cleaner chances, stronger defending and points at Cashman.
Up next
The Lights shift to USL Cup play Saturday, July 11, at Monterey Bay. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, California.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, 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.
