• Las Vegas Lights (7 wins, 7 draws, 18 losses) currently sit in 15^th spot in USL Western Conference on 28 points, 13 places and 35 points behind Rising in 2^nd.
• Lights will finish in 15^th place irrespective of the results in their final 2 games at home to Rising and away to Sacramento Republic.
• This is the 3^rd meeting between the two sides this season. Rising breezed to a 4-0 victory back in May, while goals from Solomon Asante and Kevaughn Frater lifted Phoenix to a 2-0 win in Nevada before a large Rising following on August 18.
• Rising have subsequently guaranteed a home playoff match since the two teams last met, while Lights have failed to win a single match (2 draws, 6 losses).
• Earlier this season, Cashman Field was something of a fortress for Lights.  Prior to the August 18 game against Rising, Lights had lost only 2 of 10 games at home.  Coming into this game, they’ve lost their last 4 games at Cashman Field, and 5 of their last 6.

• Raúl Mendiola is Las Vegas’ top goalscorer. The former LA Galaxy striker has scored 9 goals, and set up another 2. Mendiola’s 2018 tally is higher than the entirety of his 4 season spell in California.
• Samuel Ochoa has also chipped in with 7 goals, but successfully converts only 12% of his attempts. The Morelia-born 32-year-old has also contributed 6 assists.
• No other player has found the net more than once since their last match against Rising.
• 7 of the 9 goals Lights have conceded in their last 3 games have been scored from inside the penalty box.  All 4 goals scored by Lights have also been scored from within the box.

• Ricardo Ferriño had been a mainstay in the Vegas goal, with 3 clean sheets in 27 games.  However, after a 3-3 draw against Reno and a 5-3 loss to Orange County in September, the Cashman Field coaching staff lost patience with Ferriño and dropped him to the bench.
• 23-year-old Thomas Olsen has subsequently replaced Ferriño in goal.  The Las Vegas native – who previously featured for FC Tucson – has conceded 4 goals in his 2 starts this season at home to OKC Energy (0-1), and away to San Antonio (1-3).
• Somewhat sloppy in possession, Lights has the lowest pass completion percentage of any side in USL. Their 68% accuracy is 7% behind Rising’s.
• They are also somewhat weak at the back, conceding the 4^th highest number of goals in the league (71). With Rising desperately needing to improve their goal difference, facing a team conceding an average of 3 goals per game could be a blessing.

• Lights are particularly vulnerable in the last 15 minutes of games.
• They are most potent in front of goal during the first 15 minutes of the second half.

• Lights has a reputation as one of the dirtiest teams in USL. They top the rankings for number of fouls committed (507), and have been shown 91 yellow cards – that’s 25 more than any other USL team.
• Joe Huiqui is one of the worst culprits, picking up 12 yellow cards this season – the most of any USL player across the league. Huiqui hasn’t featured in the Lights starting XI for their past 2 matches.
• Lights have also collected 6 red cards in 2018.  Their most recent dismissal was Miguel Angel Garduño, who received his marching orders for violent conduct in the 70^th minute of a 4-1 defeat in Saint Louis on August 11.

From the Ashes Prediction:  Rising to collect a second victory of the season at Cashman Field.