Las Vegas Lights (1 win, 1 draw, 3 losses) currently sit in last place in Group B – a position occupied by the team ever since the group system was announced.

The last meeting between these two clubs came on 11 September 2019. Rising were on top for much of the game, but failed to break through during the first half at Cashman Field. It took until just after the hour mark for Rising to break the deadlock through Adam Jahn, and the team maintained that 1-0 lead to claim all three points.

Vegas has won just one of the five meetings between the two clubs, when Phoenix made several changes for a midweek game just around the corner from the 2018 playoffs. Outside of that 5-2 victory, Lights hasn’t managed to score against Rising, but has conceded 11 goals.

Frank Yallop is the current head coach of Lights, taking over after Eric Wynalda was let go during the stoppage in play. Yallop is an experienced coach, and has managed teams to MLS Cup in the past. He also was in charge at Arizona United when the team rebranded to Phoenix Rising, and for a time had Rick Schantz on his coaching staff. He left Arizona shortly after the arrival of Didier Drogba.

Vegas is quite clearly most dangerous in front of goal in the first half. Through the first five games, the team is averaging less yellow cards than last season, and has yet to have anybody sent off (compared to 7 red cards in 2019).

LAST TIME OUT

Vegas faced Tacoma in midweek, and had little trouble in brushing aside the Sounders’ second team. Goals from Junior Burgos, Rashawn Dally and Junior Sandoval gave Lights a large advantage. Azriel Gonzalez scored for the visitors late on, but it served as little more than a consolation goal as Vegas claimed the 3-1 victory.

If it weren’t for the gaudy uniforms, Rising fans could have been forgiven for taking a look at Vegas’ starting lineup and head coach and not realizing who the team was. Just one of the starting eleven was with the club last season, and he actually missed the September match against Phoenix due to suspension.

Edward Delgado started in goal against Tacoma. Like many of his teammates, he’s new to the club, but he’s also new to the professional game. As such, it’s surprising to see that he’s started all five of Lights’ games this season. Delgado played four years in college at Westmont, an NAIA school in California. Wednesday’s game was the first time this season that he hasn’t conceded a goal, but it can’t count as a clean sheet as he was taken off at half-time.

At right-back was Noah Billingsley. The New Zealander is currently on loan from Minnesota, and only joined Vegas last week. He was a first round MLS draft pick, having played at UC Santa Barbara. Note his height: at 6-foot-2, he’s a danger in the air, and that’s something he showed while at college.

Another new signing at the back is Johnny Fenwick. The center-back joined from San Antonio, where he struggled to break into the first team. He made just three appearances last year, and in none of them did he feature for over 70 minutes. Fenwick is originally from Newcastle, but spent time in Sheffield Wednesday’s academy before moving to the States to play for High Point University. He was named a 2nd-team All-American in 2018.

A familiar face in the Western Conference is Fenwick’s fellow center-back, Ramón Del Campo. He had the captain’s armband in the last match, and joined Vegas from Fresno FC. There, he was the first name on the teamsheet throughout the 2019 season, failing to feature in just one regular season game. Del Campo also missed the club’s last ever game, as a red card ruled him out of the playoff matchup with El Paso. Del Campo is a strong tackler, winning 80.8% of them last year, and can be dangerous with his head. The 6-foot-3 defender scored two headers in 2019.

Jordan Murrell started at left back in midweek. He caused trouble for Tacoma’s defence in the last match by being unafraid to push forward and attack. Like his coach, Murrell was born in England but chose to play for Canada on the international stage. He first moved to Canada at age 11, and played for FC Toronto’s academy before attending college in the US. Since then, he’s had spells with a variety of clubs in USL and the Canadian Premier League, including two seasons at Reno 1868.

Another recent signing for Lights is defensive midfielder Seth Moses. He’s a solid tackler (winning 69.2%) and a good distributer of the ball (85.7% passing accuracy), but his indiscipline tends to let him down. In fact, he was sent off against Rising last season while with Fresno. Moses is from Baltimore, but his professional playing career actually began with clubs in Austria and Liechtenstein. He first played in USL with Orange County in 2014.

Grant Robinson is yet another new face on team who has played in every match this season. Robinson played in the college game at George Mason, and last year featured for the League Two side The Villages. With the latter team, he featured in last year’s Open Cup 2nd Round match against Tampa Bay Rowdies. So far this season, Robinson has looked like a solid presence in midfield, winning 74.1% of duels and two-thirds of challenges in the air.

Junior Sandoval was the only returner in the starting XI in midweek. As mentioned earlier, he missed the September clash with Rising last season after receiving a red card in the match prior. That was his second red card of season, with both coming in the space of a month. The Honduras-born midfielder, who was raised in Georgia, has had a slow start to his season, but a goal and assist against Tacoma will undoubtedly boost his confidence.

Out on the wing was Yamikani Chester. Chester featured at North Carolina last season, where he was on loan from Czech side MFK Vyškov. He impressed in his first full game for Vegas in midweek, displaying speed and recording an assist. Chester has featured in eight qualifying matches for his native Malawi, but has not scored an international goal.

Junior Burgos was on the other flank. Burgos is from El Salvador, and has featured for multiple clubs in his home country and in the US. He’s another former Reno player that is now with Vegas. Burgos is an experienced player with two goals to his name in 2020, and can always cause a problem with his crosses. He’s been capped at senior international level in the past, just like his father, Efrain Burgos.

Rashawn Dally started up top against Defiance, and is on loan from FC Cincinnati. He’s got two goals so far this season: one with his right foot, and one with his left. The 23-year-old from Connecticut has played at youth levels for Jamaica, but is still waiting to receive his first senior cap. Dally spent the first part of last season on loan in USL, too, featuring for Memphis 901. He was recalled to his parent club in May, and played intermittently in MLS for the remainder of 2019.

Thomas Olsen was the first of the substitutes in midweek, taking over goalkeeping duties at half-time. He was Vegas’ first choice keeper last season, but has spent this year as a benchwarmer. Perhaps it’s appropriate that Olsen made his first appearance of 2020 against Tacoma, after last season recording a rare assist against the team. He kept nine clean sheets in 2019 along with a 64.1% save percentage, and as a former FC Tucson player will be well known to Rick Schantz.

Another returner who made his appearance off the bench was Gabriel Robinson. This was only his second game of the season, after starting the season opener. The 6-foot-2 centre-back has proven his ability to win the ball in the air, succeeding in 72.5% of challenges in 2019. In his debut professional season last year, Robinson also managed to record three goals.

José Carrera is something of a man of mystery. Depending on your choice of source, the midfielder could be 5-foot-7, 5-foot-6, 5-foot-4, or, if you choose to believe the official USL website, “4ft12”. Regardless of his actual height, he’s playing like the latter option this year, as he hasn’t won a single ball in the air. Carrera signed for Vegas this season, having previously featured for Celaya in Ascenso MX. He hasn’t scored for Lights so far, but has put four of his five shots on target.

The final returner on this list is Mobi Fehr. He’s a versatile winger, who can feature out wide or down the middle, as well as in defence or midfield. Fehr was born in the US to Swiss and Japanese parents, and has played football at youth or senior level in all three of those countries. He played against Phoenix at Casino Arizona Field last year, but was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

Blake Frischknecht signed earlier this month. The forward was raised in Vegas, before heading off to BYU for college. His studies were interrupted for two years as he undertook an LDS mission trip to Argentina, but on returning to the States he established himself a decent prospect. An injury forced him to miss out on the MLS draft, so instead Frischknecht has found himself back in Nevada. Interestingly, he had played at Cashman Field before signing for the team. Frischknecht scored the 89th minute go-ahead goal for Orange County FC last summer that ultimately helped them knock Lights out of the Open Cup.

ONE TOP TALKING POINT

Earlier this week, Rising coach Rick Schantz spoke about the most important lesson he learnt from working under current-Lights coach Frank Yallop:

From the Ashes Prediction: Vegas are normally poor, and this season it doesn’t look like much has changed. Rising should take all three points.