Lights FC top Tacoma in successful home debut
After starting the season with four straight road losses, Lights FC made a successful home debut Saturday night at Cashman Field with a 2-0 victory over the Tacoma Defiance in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 7,268.
The Lights opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Forward Cal Jennings broke through the Tacoma defense and found the back of the net off an assist from Alvaro Quezada.
“We put enough in the back of the net tonight and that’s what counts,” Jennings said. “Obviously the supports came out tonight and we’re extremely thankful to the fans.”
The Lights controlled things early, outpacing Tacoma (2-1-1) in shots 12-1 through the first 45 minutes.
It was much the same in the second half. Midfielder Bryce Duke broke free and scored in the 74th minute, giving the Lights a 2-0 lead.
“It was my first professional goal, so I was definitely excited,” Duke said.
The Lights consistently put pressure on the Tacoma defense and finished with 18 shots on goal to three for Tacoma.
The Lights also played better defensively. They came into the match having given up a league-worst 15 goals with a minus-12 goal differential.
They limited Tacoma’s scoring opportunities as the Defiance looked out of sync offensively all night.
Las Vegas native and Liberty High School graduate Danny Musovski made an appearance for the Lights.
Musovski, who is on loan from LAFC, played college soccer at UNLV and was one of the more decorated players in program history. He started and had quality scoring opportunities but was didn’t convert in front of his hometown crowd.
The Lights, in eighth place in the Pacific Division of the United Soccer League’s Western Conference, next play Friday in a home matchup against San Antonio FC.
Contact Aidan Subira at asubira@reviewjournal.com.
