Las Vegas Lights defeated Spokane Velocity FC 2-1 in a thrilling matchup for a spot in the Fourth Round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
The Lights had a dominant performance at their home Cashman Field with a total of 23 shots, with six on target, in comparison to visitors Velocity who only managed nine shots with two on target. The Lights would take the lead in the 51st minute with a beautiful right footed shot from Valentin Noel who slotted the ball past Velocity goalkeeper Peter Swinkels putting the Lights 1-0 up.
Just as the game seemed to be over for Velocity, Josh Dolling struck a rocket from outside the box, which despite Vegas goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena getting a hand to it, was not enough to keep it out as Velocity equalized 1-1.
However in the 113th minute of overtime, Riki Alba caught the ball on his left foot, placing it in the bottom left corner past Swinkels to seal the victory for Las Vegas.
After the victory, Lights player Solomon Asante spoke about how he felt after the victory.
“Fantastic you know?” said Asante. “I feel good. I feel so great. The Open Cup is never easy. It’s always difficult. So no matter what happens, the qualifiers are the most important and we are going forward and we are moving forward, that’s the most important thing.”.
In the 16th minute, Las Vegas Lights defender Valentin Noel received a yellow card after taking down Pierre Reedy as he headed towards goal for a Velocity freekick.
On the freekick, Ariel Mbumba shot it just high and wide of the goal.
Spokane’s Kimarni Smith broke away on a 1-v-1 in the 36th minute and attempted to play a ball across goal to one of his teammates, but it was cleared by the Lights defender Fabien Garcia for a corner kick.
On the corner kick, Velocity’s Jack Denton played a cross to Ahmed Longmire who headed the ball on target, however Lights defender Emra Klimenta cleared it away.
Coming into the second half, J.C Ngando played a through ball to Riki Alba who struck the ball on goal but it was caught by Velocity goalkeeper Swinkels.
In the 51st minute, Solomon Asante was running down the right side and switched the ball to Noel who caught the ball on his right foot and slotted the ball in the bottom right corner past Swinkels putting the Lights 1-0 up.
In the 67th minute, Ngando played a ball from the right side across to Shawn Smart who struck a low ball with his right foot towards the center of goal, however it was caught by Swinkels.
In the last minute of the game, Velocity’s Josh Dolling played a ball to Andre Lewis who struck a rocket shot which Lights keeper Arozarena was able to get a hand to, however was not enough to keep it out as Velocity tied the game 1-1 for overtime.
In the 91st minute in overtime, Asante played a ball to Khori Bennett who unleashed a right footed low shot into the bottom left corner of goal, but was parried away by Swinkels who dove to the save.
In the 98th minute, Kilmenta gave the ball to Alba who struck a power shot at the right center of the goal but was caught by Swinkels.
In the 112th minute, Velocity’s Dolling ran down the field with the ball catching the Lights on the wrong foot, getting a one on one with the goalkeeper as he struck a ball to the bottom left corner, however Arozarena made a great extension dive to save the ball with his right hand.
In the 113th minute, Alba caught the ball with his left foot and sunk it into the bottom left corner putting the Lights 2-1 up.
And with Velocity unable to find the net again, The Las Vegas Lights secured their spot in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup.
After the game, Las Vegas Lights coach Dennis Sanchez, gave his thoughts on how the team will continue to build momentum from this victory.
“We just gotta keep going.” Sanchez said. “We want to be competitive. Our objective is to make the playoffs. We ultimately want to play as many games as we can throughout the season. That means we’re making a run in the playoffs, that means we’re making a run in Open Cup. So we’re just going to continue one game at a time. Build our identity. Build the winning culture that we want.”
This victory is history in the making for the Lights as it is the first time in their history that they have made it to the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup.
“I think that any time we can continue to break barriers and build upon the identity and new era we’re having here, it’s a great opportunity for the club.” said Sanchez.