Saturday, Republic FC takes to Sin City for their final contest against Las Vegas Lights FC. Sacramento enters with confidence after blanking one of the USL Championship’s best attacking squads, cruising to a 3-0 win over Colorado Springs with a complete effort. In their first trip to Las Vegas since last season, the club has a great opportunity to claim another table tiebreaker and climb another spot in the standings.
Sacramento has no plans to take their opponent lightly, knowing they played them tough in their first match back in April. Yes, Lights FC’s season has had its ebbs and flows, but regardless of results they possesses some attacking weapons that have hurt teams of all calibers for the entire year. Sacramento knows this, and knows that playing on a smaller pitch in Southern Nevada presents both some challenges and opportunities that will change how each squad plays.
“They got a very good result in Orange County [Wednesday]. We’ve got to continue with our momentum and continue with our quality,” said Mark Briggs on Thursday. “We need to keep our mentality, keep our identity, and understand we’re going to face a difficult opponent again.”
“Vegas is a very young, hungry attacking team,” said Danny Vitiello. “They’re going to come out and give us all they’ve got and we’ve got to be ready.”
The match closes out a busy stretch for the club that hasn’t allowed for much rest – a challenge they’ve faced frequently this season. Throughout the year, congestion has had them looking inward for the answer and the message this week is no different. Focus on the things in their control, and make sure that every player is mentally ready to make an impact.
“Three games in eight days is difficult. We know what we’re capable of doing in regard to going there and getting three points,” Briggs continued. “It’s [Las Vegas] a difficult place to go, we’ve got to prepare properly, and keep the team as fresh as we can to get the points we want.”
In addition to getting a second straight victory, the club will also be gunning for a climb in the league table. A spot in the top three in the west is up for grabs pending other results. Especially after the Colorado Springs’ match, the club knows what they’re capable of, as well as where playing to that level week in and week out can do for them.
“Going forward, if we’re good defensively and we’re scoring we can do well,” said Dan Casey. “We’ve just got to keep that momentum going and take it one game at a time.”
