Las Vegas travel to Fresno to take on the Foxes on August 3rd at 7:30 P.M.

Hometown Heroes

Tonight is Hometown Heroes Night. The game is sure to be a nailbiter for the Foxes who have dropped to third in the power rankings and currently sit at third with two games in hand over Reno.

Along with the Foxes match there will be a half-time game between the Fresno PD and Fresno FD – should be fun to watch. Hopefully, no one gets hurt.

Las Vegas Lights

Fresno and Las Vegas have an interesting relationship. Last year’s opener at Chukchansi was the inaugural game for both franchises – though they are not considered a traditional rival to the Foxes. Las Vegas has a two-year history of failure. They won their first game against us, but last season they finished 15th, and this season after 20 games they are in 14th.

The playoffs seem to illude them, but if they win tonight, they will see themselves rise to a possible 10th place. A rise like that will keep their dream alive, and that makes them dangerous. Just like a team avoiding relegation in any other league, a team fighting for playoffs has nothing to lose. I don’t see Las Vegas holding back.

What to Expect

Las Vegas is a weird team. They win at home, sometimes by huge margins, and lose away. It is predictable and boggles the mind. Their form seems to be either really on, or really off. For example, they have both won 5-1 against Tacoma Defiance and lost 4-1 against them in the reverse fixture. They lost to Phoenix and Reno and drew against Austin, but they have also beaten teams like Sacramento 4-2 and New Mexico United 5-1.

As predictable as they are, we can expect a good game. Las Vegas lets in 1.5 goals per game, and score about 1.5 goals per game. Their away record sheds a bit of light on which team we might be seeing tonight. Currently, when away from home they have a 1-7-1 record, showing that they are no good on the road.

Who to Watch

Las Vegas has a single key player on their squad – Irvin Parra(#11). Parra leads the line with 10 goals and 4 assists, the top for both stats. His goal record is a whopping 33% of all their goals.

Other key players include Pablo Cruz who has created a team-leading 42 chances and their goalkeeper Thomas Olsen who has 7 clean sheets.

The Stakes

When you sit at the top of the table, the stakes are always high. Fresno is now 4 points behind Reno after the loss against Austin Bold. It isn’t enough to draw, the Foxes need to win. Playoff contention is great, but until we are making up the lost ground against Austin, we are in not guaranteed a top seed.

While Las Vegas might need a win to make the playoffs, Fresno needs a win to stay in the top four, and that means we are likely to exploit Las Vegas with a fast attacking style. I expect the wingers to be in full force, and Qudus to start. We need to hit them fast and hit them a lot – Vegas generally loses by 3 goals while on the road against top teams, and we need that same result tonight to push us back to pressuring Reno for 2nd.

Prediction

It is hard to predict a score, but I think we will win. The only loss at home we have this season was to Sacramento, and that was dubious. I foresee a long game, but I think we will walk away with a 3-1 win.

#SomosZorros