Chelís, a former MLS and Liga MX manager, was introduced as the team's head coach in November and promised to build a team that would entertain.[18] The Lights held their first scouting camps in December and signed several Mexican players using connections from Chelís.[19][20] In the inaugural preseason match, the team lost 2–0 to the Montreal Impact but attracted a sellout crowd of 10,387 people.[4] The signing of Mexican players caused a language barrier that hindered on-field chemistry during its preseason matches against MLS teams, losing all three, but the team's players worked through the language gap.[22] The team signed former MLS teenage prodigy Freddy Adu, who debuted in a preseason match against his first club, D.C. United.[23]