Lights FC see yellow, but no cautionary tale
Wynalda expects club to remain aggressive, despite penalty cards
As the Lights FC make their stretch run for a USL playoff berth, they are among the league leaders in two categories that could keep them home.
The club is tied for second in the league with five red cards and alone in second with 53 yellow cards — in 22 games.
“I think this is a team that is learning what it means to be professional at times,” coach Eric Wynalda said. “They’re many occasions where we have lost our nerve. … And there are other times, in just a very naive way we’ve gone into tackles that we shouldn’t have. That’s something that happens in the game.
“I don’t want to encourage my guys to stop playing hard. But that’s a part of the learning process as a young player, to figure out what’s a foul and what isn’t.”
The Lights have been dealt all five of their red cards over the past four games and the yellow cards are building up, with top scorer Irvin Raul Parra with six, forward Tabort Etaka Preston with five and two starting defenders, Javan Torre and Gabe Robinson, with four.
Midfielder Mobi Fehr, who is on his third yellow card, said, “I think it just shows that players are hungry and eager to get the ‘W.’ ”
While a yellow card is typically a slap on the wrist, in the United Soccer League a player who accumulates five yellow cards must serve a onegame suspension.
“It’s hard to avoid a fifth yellow card,” Fehr said. “There are situations in games where you have to stop a short counterattack, and maybe get that yellow card on purpose to save the team. So, I personally don’t think about avoiding a card.”
On Wednesday, the Lights (7-9-6) played Sacramento Republic FC to a scoreless tie, but Parra drew his sixth yellow and Preston picked up his fifth.
Both players will be forced to sit out the Lights’ next match versus Orange County SC (6-8-9) on Saturday in Irvine, California.
They will be missed with the Lights playing six out of their last 12 games on the road — where they are 1-8-2 — while fighting for a playoff berth.
In those 12 games, the Lights, who are in 13th place, must face nine higher-ranked teams.
The Lights are not known to proceed with caution, and Wynalda wants the team to remain aggressive.
“There are several yellow cards that we received — many yellow cards that we received this year — where I have to defend my guys,” Wynalda said.
“I just don’t think it was a yellow, and the referees are in the middle of their learning process, too.”
Contact Jonathan Eskin at jeskin@ reviewjournal.com.