Antonoglou stunner, Phoenix Rising force 1-1 draw at Las Vegas

Phoenix Rising FC escaped Cashman Field with a 1-1 draw after Themi Antonoglou’s spectacular opener gave Las Vegas Lights FC the lead and Ben Ofeimu’s own goal brought Phoenix level before halftime. The Week 22 match, played Saturday night in Las Vegas, turned on those two first-half swings and then settled into a stalemate that neither side could break.

Las Vegas got the start it wanted from Antonoglou, the Canadian left back signed ahead of the 2026 season after arriving from Valour FC and with Major League Soccer experience at Toronto FC. USL described the finish as a spectacular opening goal, and it looked like the kind of strike that can take control of a home match before the visiting side finds its footing. Instead, Phoenix answered the right way. The visitors did not let the early setback unravel the night, stayed organized, and found a route back through pressure that forced the equalizer off Ofeimu before the break.

That response matters as much as the result. Phoenix could have folded after conceding early at a difficult venue, but instead it stabilized quickly enough to flip the momentum before halftime. The own goal meant Phoenix did not need a clean final ball or a perfect finish to reset the match, only enough sustained urgency to make Las Vegas crack once. After that, the game lost its edge. Neither club found the second breakthrough, and the draw left both sides with one point instead of three.

For Phoenix, the result leans more toward a valuable road point than a pure miss. Las Vegas had already shown it could land a decisive punch, but the Lights never built on it, and Phoenix at least recovered from adversity against a team that had started fast. At the same time, a road win was there to be claimed once the match evened out, and Phoenix will know it left Cashman Field without cashing in on a favorable opening.

The matchup also fit the erratic history between these clubs in Las Vegas. Phoenix beat the Lights 1-0 at Cashman Field on May 28, 2025, when Patrick Rakovsky saved a stoppage-time penalty. Las Vegas had taken a 2-1 home win on March 19, 2022, and Phoenix had also lit up the stadium in a 6-3 win in October 2021.