LAS VEGAS – History was made on Saturday night as Las Vegas Lights FC played its home opener, the first ever Silver State Cup match against Reno 1868 FC. With 9,019 fans packing into Cashman Field the fans were thoroughly entertained throughout, despite being somewhat disappointed with the result, a 1-1 draw that arrived despite the hosts having a man-advantage for the final 18 minutes.

"It's important that we continue to accumulate points in the table," Lights FC midfielder Alex Mendoza said. "You have to give them credit. They made some great saves in the second half. We have a couple more games against them, and we can learn off of this."

It may be early days but getting off to a good start can be vital for how the whole season turns out, especially in the case of an expansion club, and with Lights FC undefeated through the first two games, the signs are there that Las Vegas should be competitive throughout its inaugural season. Should Lights FC learn the lessons Mendoza spoke about things could look very good moving forward in the entertainment capital of the world.

But despite the promising signs, there is an element of frustration for Las Vegas, giving up a winning position and going agonizingly close to winning the match in stoppage time.

"I thank the fans who came, all of them," Lights FC Technical Director Chelís said. "The truth is that we lost two points. “

With the support the club has seen so far in four games at Cashman Field, though, it looks as though Lights FC will prove a difficult team to beat at home. With the challenge of the defending Western Conference champion Swope Park Rangers arriving next Saturday night, that is something the players are hoping to continue.

"We're excited to have this type of support from our fans," Mendoza said. "It hurts a little bit to tie a game we felt like we had a chance to win. We want to make sure we continue to perform at the highest level for them."

SAFC FIND A WAY TO WIN: After falling in its season opener San Antonio FC was hoping to get the most out of its home opener against Saint Louis FC on Saturday. After a shaky start forced SAFC to come from behind after conceding in the second minute, the sellout crowd of 7,946 spurred the team on to seal all three points.

“After you score a goal and the whole crowd erupts you can’t even hear yourself think, so hopefully we continue to have a strong fan base this season,”  said SAFC midfielder Kris Tyrpak, who provided the game-winning goal in the second half.

There were improvements from San Antonio, not just in front of goal, as the hosts upped their passing accuracy from their opening game of the season. Connecting on 78.4 percent of its passes while holding the majority of possession, SAFC was able to put the ball into dangerous positions more consistently to create more opportunities.

“The way we moved the ball tonight was an improvement from last week. There are some things we need to work on, but credit to Saint Louis for a very difficult game for us tonight,” said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. “It was a very exciting game for the fans to watch. I think St. Louis is a very well coached team and very good team and they presented several problems during the course of the game and I’m very proud of our players; the way they found a way to win the game tonight.”

The improved connectivity no doubt comes from a team that is really starting to find chemistry despite having three key veterans sidelined on Saturday in forward Cesar Elizondo, midfielder Rafa Castillo and defender Stephen McCarthy. Most notable was the manner Tyrpak and Mikey Lopez linked up in the SAFC midfield, with the two players reunited from youth soccer each recording a goal and assist apiece.

“The connections we’re getting and the relations we’re getting are building more each week,” said Lopez. “Each and every game, each and every week that we train together we get more comfortable with each other and its starting to show out on the field.”

If those links continue to improve like Lopez suggests that will only lead to more success for SAFC and bolster the club's aspirations of being near the top of the Western Conference standings throughout the season.

FRESNO WANTS MORE: Coming from a goal down early it would be easy to think that Fresno FC would be happy with its first ever point. But that was not the response from the Fresno locker room following its 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy II that left a mood of disappointment in the locker room.

“We’re devastated, obviously, again by the early goal and it was the first thing on the note board inside, we don’t concede early,” said Fresno FC Head Coach Adam Smith. “But I’m just going to put that under the carpet now and not even talk about it because we’re a good team and that’s not going to continue to happen.”

That early goal was made even more disappointing by the way it arrived, a third-minute own goal from Mickey Daly as he challenged a near-post corner by the Galaxy II's Julian Buscher only to send it into the back of his own net. Fresno could have let that disappointment get the better of it in its effort to equalize, but instead used it to fight.

“Again we conceded the early goal which is disappointing,” said Fresno defender Alex Cooper. “We dominate totally from there on, and I think we could’ve scored numerous goals, but we couldn’t get that final break in the penalty area, we just couldn’t get that final touch to get the ball in the goal, but there were a lot of positive signs, you know. We created a lot of chances and hopefully going forward, we can start punishing teams.”

Those positive signs are certainly showing, it would be hard to argue against Fresno FC deserving a point in the match, but while the side held 73.5 percent of possession in the game after Los Dos were reduced to 10 men in the first half, the lack of more clear scoring opportunities to take all three points was a letdown for another strong crowd at Chukchansi Park.

“The guys are disappointed we didn’t get the second, but I think it’s baby steps, and it’s great,” said Smith. “We deserved a point – we probably deserved a bit more – but we’ll build off that now.”