TACOMA, WASH. – Tacoma Defiance (3-12-5, 14 points) on Wednesday defeated Las Vegas Lights FC (6-8-5, 23 points) by a 4-1 margin at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma is now unbeaten in three of its last four matches (1-1-2), and will play four of its next five contests in front of the home crowd in the South Sound. Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez recorded two goals and one assist to lead Defiance, while Justin Dhillon and Shandon Hopeau each netted a goal in the rout.
Justin Dhillon got the home side off to a strong start with the opening goal in the 31st minute. Marlon Vargas found him with a through ball and Dhillon performed two step-overs to force to goalkeeper to the ground before calmly finishing to the back of the net. The goal was Dhillon’s team-leading seventh of the season in 15 games played.
Ocampo-Chavez came on as a substitute at halftime for Dhillon and scored his first goal of the evening less than two minutes later. He pounced on a loose ball after a misplay in Vegas’ back end and finished for his first career USL Championship marker. The 17-year-old First Team player completed his brace in the 66th minute to give Tacoma a 3-1 advantage. Nick Hinds sent a ball near the center of the area to the foot of Ocampo-Chavez, who needed just one touch with his left foot to push the contest out of reach.
In the 85th minute, Ray Serrano made several clever touches in the area before sending a pass across to Ocampo-Chavez, who turned and left the ball behind him for Hopeau to finish with his right foot. The goal was Hopeau’s second of the season to tie him for second on the club in that category. The assist was the first in the USL Championship career of Ocampo-Chavez.
Las Vegas finished the contest with eight men after receiving red cards in the 70th, 75th and 86th minutes. Six players under the age of 20 saw action for Tacoma tonight, including one First Team player in Ocampo-Chavez. Sounders FC Academy player Ethan Dobbelaere made his professional debut after coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute.
Tacoma Defiance next plays host to OKC Energy FC on Saturday, July 27 (7:00 p.m. / ESPN+). The club then takes on Orange County SC in Tacoma on Friday, August 9 (7:00 p.m. / ESPN+).
MEDIA RESOURCES
PHOTOS – IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE: https://sndrs.com/8bl7a
VIDEO – HEAD COACH CHRIS LITTLE POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/je3fq
VIDEO – FORWARD ALFONSO OCAMPO-CHAVEZ POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/ww4eu
VIDEO – MIDFIELDER JESSE DALEY POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/cgwjl
AUDIO – DOWNLOADABLE POST-MATCH SOUNDBYTES: http://sndrs.com/audio
MATCH SUMMARY
Tacoma Defiance I 4-1 I Las Vegas Lights FC
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Venue: Cheney Stadium I Tacoma, Washington
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Assistants: Christian Clerc, Cameron Siler
Fourth Official: Cuauhtemoc Delgadillo
Weather: 75 degrees and mostly sunny
Attendance: 2,208
SCORING SUMMARY
TAC – Justin Dhillon (Marlon Vargas) 31’
LVL – Javan Torre (Preston Tabort Etaka) 36’
TAC – Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez 47’
TAC – Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Nick Hinds) 66’
TAC – Shandon Hopeau (Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez) 85’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
LVL – Junior Sandoval (caution) 4’
LVL – Irvin Parra (caution) 45’+2’
TAC – Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (caution) 69’
LVL – Thomas Olsen (caution) 69’
LVL – Jesus Gonzalez (ejection) 70’
TAC – Antonee Burke-Gilroy (caution) 73’
LVL – Javan Torre (ejection) 75’
LVL – Sammy Ochoa (ejection) 86’
LVL – Preston Tabort Etaka (caution) 90’+4’
LINEUPS & STATS
TAC – Bryan Meredith; Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Sam Rogers, Josh Atencio, Nick Hinds; Jesse Daley, Joel Rydstrand; Shandon Hopeau, Danny Robles (Ray Serrano 76’), Marlon Vargas (Ethan Dobbelaere 81’); Justin Dhillon (Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez HT)
Substitutes not used: Trey Muse, Alec Diaz, Ben Numbi, Ever Rubio
Total shots: 17
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 14
Offside: 3
Corner-kicks: 4
Saves: 6
LVL – Thomas Olsen; Kevin Garcia-Lopez, Gabe Robinson, Javan Torre, Christian Torres; Jesus Gonzalez, Jonathan Levin (Pablo Cruz HT), Junior Sandoval (Sammy Ochoa 84’), Irvin Parra; Preston Tabort Etaka, Santiago Echavarria (Jose Villarreal 58’)
Substitutes not used: Adam Hobbs, Ferrety Sousa, Edwin Rivas, Victor Rojas
Total shots: 19
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 16
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 4
Saves: 3
