Las Vegas Lights FC defeated Sacramento Republic 3-2 on penalties after a scoreless draw in regulation in Round One of the USL Championship Playoffs at Cashman Field in Las Vegas on Friday night.
Las Vegas Lights FC Head Coach Dennis Sanchez
On how the first home playoff win feels…
It’s great. We feel the energy, we feel the crowd. We knew it was going to be a close game. I have so much respect for Sac Republic. All the games we’ve played against them this year have been tight. We were really close to feeling like we were going to score in certain moments, but guys come up and make big plays. Raiko [Arozarena] in the shootout was fantastic. We live another week, and we can compete with anybody.
On what worked so well for Raiko Arozarena in goal…
We’ve been focused on [penalties] over the last few weeks, but a lot of that is intuition, feeling confident, and Raiko has earned the right to be out there. Once again, he comes up and makes big plays for us.
On what was going through his head on the final penalty kick…
I was praying. Praying to higher spirits, whatever I can do to help us. When you go into a shootout, it’s 50-50. Fortunately, we were the victors tonight. I had so much confidence in guys stepping up there to do the job tonight.
On turning the page to the Western Conference Semifinal against either New Mexico United or Phoenix Rising…
We’re ready for anybody. We still don’t know what date the next game will be on, so there’s a little bit of a waiting process, but we’ve played them both before this year. We’ll rest, we’ll recover, we’ll prepare. Guys will be ready to go next weekend.
On the fan atmosphere at Cashman Field on Friday…
It’s fantastic. We talked all year about reconnecting with the community. Maybe it’s taken a little bit of time, but we appreciate them so much. Hopefully we can host another playoff game here.
Las Vegas Lights FC midfielder Valentin Noël
On what was going through his mind on the final penalty kick…
Not many things. You just need to find a way to empty your mind. It’s 1-v-1 with the ‘keeper. He’s trying to do some tricks to [make me unfocused], but in my mind I had my side chosen and I knew where to wanted to shoot. Just breathe in and breathe out. That’s it.
On Raiko Arozarena stopping three penalties…
That’s unbelievable. Raiko has been amazing all year long, and he’s still delivering tonight. He’s huge for us. A successful team obviously has a very competitive goalkeeper.
On adding this performance to an already impressive season…
It’s the best game. It’s the one that any player wants to play. You want to perform in these types of games, you want to change the course of the game. You just try to be at your best and play your ‘A’ game for your teammates and hopefully get a win.
On sharing this win with Head Coach Dennis Sanchez after celebrating an MLS NEXT Pro title together at Austin FC II last year…
It’s interesting because it’s a similar path, a similar momentum going through the playoffs. Last year, we were winless for six games [going into the postseason]. This year we lost the last two. But going into this first game of the playoffs, the confidence was there. There was no doubt that we could do it. We would have loved to finish ahead in 90 minutes, but the job’s done and now we move to the next one.
On preparing for the Western Conference Semifinal between New Mexico United and Phoenix Rising…
At this point, if you want to win the title, you have to beat anybody. If Phoenix wins, that means they come here, and we would love to have a second game at home. Tonight was fantastic. It was great. It’s definitely a plus to have this home-field advantage.
On the environment at Cashman Field on Friday…
[The fans] showed up. It’s just a big difference. You can feel them push you. It’s loud…It really does make a difference, and I really hope to experience it again within the next few weeks.
