El Paso Locomotive (12-1-5, 41 points) secured the full three points over Rio Grande Valley FC on a 3-1 victory at Southwest University Park on Saturday night. Forward Lucho Solignac extended his club leading goal count, Midfielder Sebastian Velasquez found his first goal since his return to El Paso, and Midfielder Dylan Mares rounded out the scoring in stoppage time.
“We want to win everything. Every game. Every trophy that’s available, even the Copa Tejas,” said Head Coach and Technical Director Mark Lowry. “It’s one that’s really important to the fans more than anything, it’s a pride thing for them. So, it would be great to bring that back home to them, but the job’s not done yet. We’re a team now where whatever we do, we want to win. We wanted the Open Cup this season because we thought we were going to win it. Whatever is on the table where it’s a competition, a tournament, a trophy, we want to go and win it.”
Rio Grande Valley FC controlled the match through most of the opening 30 minutes, finding the best chances as Juan Azocar took a shot in towards goal early that Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer was able to step in front of and deflect. The RGV offensive continued, ending any potential Locomotive attack early, however, the Locos defense stood strong with impressive tackles from Defenders Andrew Fox, Yuma, and Mechack Jerome. Despite the Locos attack coming alive with chances from Forward Aaron Gomez and Velasquez, it would be RGV that broke the deadlock first with a counter through Elvis Amoh to beat Ketterer in the 38th minute.
It was El Paso that comes out of the gate quickly in the second half, immediately testing the Toros defense as Gomez nearly found the side netting on a tight angle. The action remained in the RGV half up until another break-away run nearly found RGV a second goal, chipping Ketterer only to be cleared on the goal line by Jerome. The Boys in Blue rallied as Lucho backheeled a ball out of the air to equalize in the 67th minute. Velasquez put Locomotive in the lead with a low shot through a defender in the 88th minute before Mares coolly chipped the RGV goalkeeper in second-half stoppage time guarantee the Locomotive win.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive continues its crusade to claim Texas for El Paso when it travels to take on San Antonio next Saturday. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, August 28 at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. The match will be broadcast live digitally on ESPN+.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
RGV: Elvis Amoh (James Murphy), 38th minute: Murphy sent a long ball forward from the 18-yard line to set Amoh up on a counterattack that got him just on the other side of the Locomotive defense. In a 1-on-1 situation against Logan Ketterer, Amoh was able to keep the shot low and controlled to find the side netting for the first goal of the evening.
ELP: Lucho Solignac (Andrew Fox), 67th minute: Locomotive’s second-half pressure paid off with a run that reached the RGV end line, allowing Sebastian Velasquez to find Aaron Gomez who in turn passed back toward Fox. Fox lifted the ball up to find Lucho who leaped through the air and backheeled the ball to equalize just past the hour.
ELP: Sebastian Velasquez (Leandro Carrijo), 89th minute: Just shy of the end of 90 minutes, Sebastian Velasquez found the ball in the box after picking it up behind Carrijo. Out dribbling his opponent, Velasquez took his shot between the defender’s legs to find the go-ahead Locomotive goal.
ELP: Dylan Mares (Lucho Solignac), 96th minute: Lucho pushed the ball to Mares in space between the RGV backline, giving him time and space to make a run 1-on-1 with the RGV goalkeeper. As the keeper rushed out to stop Mares, he took the opportunity to chip the ball over, floating it into the back of the net.
NOTES:
– After 10 games since losing to Rio Grande Valley FC, El Paso Locomotive comes full circle with the win over the Toros. The win extends their undefeated streak since the loss to 10-games (8-0-2)
– The win at Southwest University Park extends the home undefeated streak to 19-games including playoffs, further pushing the one calendar year undefeated at home.
– Forward Lucho Solignac found his seventh goal of the season to tie up the game, adding to his 2021 club leading goal count.
– Midfielder Sebastian Velasquez recorded his first goal of the season, marking his first since his return to El Paso
– El Paso Locomotive moved back to the top of the USL Championship, three points above Phoenix Rising FC and Louisville City FC in the same amount of games played.
Match: El Paso Locomotive vs Las Vegas Lights FC
Date: August 21, 2021
Venue: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas
Weather: 86F and partly cloudy
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive FC 0 3 3
Rio Grande Valley FC 1 0 1
RGV – Elvis Amoh (James Murphy), 38’
ELP – Lucho Solignac (Andrew Fox), 67’
ELP – Sebastian Velasquez ( Leandro Carrijo), 89’
ELP – Dylan Mares (Lucho Solignac), 96’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Logan Ketterer; Andrew Fox, Yuma, Mechack Jerome, Macca King, Richie Ryan, Chapa Herrera (Dylan Mares, 56’), Bryam Rebellon (Nick Ross, 56’), Sebastian Velasquez (Matt Bahner, 92’), Lucho Solignac, Aaron Gomez (Leandro Carrijo, 77’)
Subs not used: Ben Beaury, Eder Borelli, Jose Aguinaga
Rio Grande Valley FC (3-2-3-2): Colin Miller; Adrian Diz Pe, Roberto Alburquerque, Erik Pimentel, Carter Manely (John Sanchez, 93’), Camden Riley, James Murphy, Juan Azocar (Baboucarr Njie, 84’), Rodrigo Lopez (Vicente Sanchez, 93’), Elvis Amoh, Christian Sorto (Ronald Cerritos, 84’)
Subs not used: Edvin Quero, Tyler Deric, Diego Rocha
Stats Summary: ELP | RGV
Shots: 13 | 7
Shots on Goal: 7 | 2
Saves: 1 | 4
Corner Kicks: 9 | 5
Fouls: 12 | 12
Offside: 0 | 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Bryam Rebellon (Caution), 7’
RGV – James Murphy (Caution), 24’
RGV – Erik Pimentel (Caution), 82’