LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — One of the biggest turnaround stories in all of football is happening right here in Las Vegas.

Your Las Vegas Lights are coming off their best USL regular season in team history – and they’re now getting ready to host their first-ever postseason match.

At the start of the season, most of these players didn’t even know each other, let alone play together. Now they are one step closer to their ultimate goal.

“It feels great. I’m so proud of the guys. We’ve been talking about the process all year. The most important thing for us is to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year,” said head coach Dennis Sanchez. .

After winning just three games last year, the Lights have completely turned things around under new team owner José Bautista.

LOOK | Las Vegas Lights introduces retired Major League Baseball star José Bautista as its new owner

Las Vegas Lights introduces retired MLB star Jose Bautista as its new owner

They finished fourth in the USL Western Conference after an impressive 20-match undefeated streak. Let’s not forget that this team wasn’t even fully assembled when the season started.

Light forward Khori Bennett has described this season as a process, but one that has paid off.

“In the beginning, like you said, we knew it was a bunch of guys who had never played together before… so we knew it would take some time, and it did. In the beginning we had our setbacks, but “We knew that once we had confidence in the process, things would come together, and they did, so I was very happy with that,” Bennett said.

The Lights will take on Sacramento Republic FC, a team they are 2-0 against this season.

But this is play-off football – where there is no tomorrow – so the team said they must play their best 90 minutes if they want to progress to the next round.

“We know it won’t be the same team. They’ll come in with a different mentality. They want it really bad, but we want it more. I’m confident the boys will take to it as well as I do.” .the result,” said Bennett.

The first play-off match against Sacramento Republic FC is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 PM on home field