Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Lights FC score late, beat Rio Grande Valley FC
The Lights FC decided to fight Rio Grande Valley FC with size. It paid off in the 81st minute.
Captain Joel Huiqui jumped up to head a corner kick into the net and his late goal helped the Lights win 1-0 Saturday in front of 6,752 fans at Cashman Field. It was the team’s fourth straight victory at home and ensured technical director Jose Luis Sanchez Sola’s return to the sideline after an eight-game suspension was a happy one.
Sola went big in his first game since June 13, starting a lineup that, excluding goalkeeper Ricardo Ferrino, averaged 6 feet. Going with size meant the Lights (7-9-5) conceded the possession battle — they held the ball only 36.6 percent of the time — but they had an advantage in the air.
The team won 53.1 percent of its aerial duels, with the most important coming on a corner kick late in the game. Midfielder Omar Salgado sent a cross to the far side of the box, and Huiqui rose over his defender for his fourth goal.
The header was all the Lights needed, as goalkeeper Ricardo Ferrino and a five-man backline combined for the team’s third shutout.
Ferrino made seven saves, many of them impressive, and helped make up for the fact that his club was outshot 14-12. His most stunning stop came near the end of the first half in stoppage time, deflecting a point blank header by midfielder Wilmer Cabrera over the net.
The Rio Grande Valley FC (3-7-11) player was so wowed that his shot was stopped that he gave Ferrino a congratulatory pat after the play.
The goalkeeper didn’t stop there though, and he bought enough time for his team to break through at the end of the game. Huiqui, who wore the captain’s armband with midfielder Carlos Alvarez and defender Marcelo Alatorre suspended, used all of his 6-foot-1 frame to his advantage and turned the Lights’ postgame fireworks display into a celebration.