Las Vegas Lights FC - Four Things We've Learned From Preseason

No game this weekend.

The next game actually isn't until next Friday. It will be away from home against another USL team, so that will be interesting. But I'll have time to talk about that next post.

For now, let's sit down and take stock of where we are at, now that we've had a chance to see the team play a couple of times in their pre-season warm-ups.

1. We've Lost Every Game, But That's Ok

So far the Lights have lost every single game they've played. But there are some extenuating circumstances. First, they are a completely new team. Expansion teams almost always take some time to gel together. Second, let's remember that they've only played against MLS opposition so far. USL teams are always going to be heavy underdogs against any MLS team, every time, in every game. The soccer landscape in America just hasn't really developed to the point where lower division teams have the talent to routinely challenge the big boys. It does happen occasionally (see Open Cup last year), but those upsets are definitely the exception, rather than the rule.

2. Let's Sort Out the Defensive Mistakes

While the losses themselves are nothing to be worried about, there are definitely aspects of the manner  the losses that have me concerned. First and foremost are the lapses in defensive focus that happened each and every game. Most of the games were not lost because the opposition was so much better than us (though they did dominate the ball). Most of the games were lost because of a bone-headed defensive mistake.

Some of the goals the Lights conceded were quality (think of the Davies goal), and you have to just put your hands up and say "yeah, they were more talented, so fair play to them." But alot of the goals were just falling asleep on dead balls (like the goals against Montreal). The team just has to cut out those defensive errors if they want to go far this season.

Also, can we cut out the red cards? I mean, two (three including the manager) red cards in three games? That's clown car level defending, and it needs to stop.

3. We Need Some Attacking Variety

The Lights scored four goals in its three preseason games against MLS caliber opposition. A couple of them even came when down to ten men. That isn't bad, taken at face value.

However, two of the goals were penalties. One was a free kick (a great free kick, to be fair). And of the four, three were scored by the same player.

What's clear here is that we need to add some variety to the attack. First off, we need to start scoring some more goals from open play. We can't rely on penalties and free kicks for all of our attacking. And second, let's get Calderon some help going forward. Maybe that means the great Freddy Adu gets some more playing time to kick start his career. Or maybe it just means that we were facing some MLS-level defenses, and maybe Friday against Orange County SC our attack will find some more space to work with. But we have to figure that out.

4.  The Support Has Been Solid So Far

The first game was a standing-room-only sellout game. I think the club stated that 10,000 people showed up. The next was a few less, and the third was about the same. I think all together, the club stated that 25,000 people showed up to the first three games. IF (and I capitalized that on purpose) that continues, that would be absolutely fantastic for the team. That averages out at about 8,000 people per game - which would probably put us at around the 4th or 5th best-supported USL team in the league. (Look here for league averages for last season).

Now, do I expect those numbers to continue? Probably not. There will be some people who are more likely to go during the regular season (like myself - I've always liked regular season games more than preseason friendlies, the players care more and put more energy out there). But the reality is that most likely, the "new team" shine will wear off a little bit throughout the season, some people will have come to these first games to see the MLS team/players we were facing, etc. It's just natural.

But even if there is a bit of a drop off - heck, even if there is a 25% drop off - that would still put us around 6th or 7th in the league by attendance. If we take out the MLS II teams (which are obviously supported financially from other sources beyond just ticket sales), that would put us about in the middle of the pack. Which, for a market like Las Vegas, which isn't as big as other markets, and which is competing with three other new/upcoming professional teams, is a pretty good result.

Till next time.