El Paso Locomotive (0-4-0, 0 points, West-13) fell 2-3 in its first meeting with San Diego Loyal on Sunday at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California. Defender Harry Brockbank recorded his second goal in as many games for the Locos while Forward Aaron Gomeztallied his first of the season.
Locomotive put on display its defensive work early in the game, keeping an aggressive San Diego Loyal side off the board. For 20 minutes, El Paso kept Loyal without a goal before conceding one in the 21st minute to Kyle Vassell. The San Diego lead did not last long, however, as Locomotive responded perfectly, taking the attack to the other half. Brockbank leveled the game in the 26th minute, cleaning up a deflected shot to keep Locomotive in the fight. The back and forth ahead of the break landed in Loyal’s favor as Tumi Moshobane cleanly found a goal in the 40th minute.
Locomotive once again dominated the stat sheet in the second half, making nine shots and holding 62.7% of possession behind an 86.9% passing accuracy. A series of those shots came just under the hour mark with Midfielders Nick Hinds andEmmanuel Sonupetested the San Diego Loyal defense with successive shots. Despite the Locomotive control, Loyal’s Thomas Amang furthered San Diego’s lead in the 66th minute. Locomotive never stopped fighting, pushing to salvage a point on the road until the final whistle. In the 87th minute, Forward Lucho Solignac paired with Gomez to pull back a goal to end the game 2-3.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive returns to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action, taking on Central Valley Fuego FC of USL League One on Tuesday, April 5. The match in Fresno, Calif. kicks off at 8:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Locomotive continues its USL Championship campaign by hosting Monterey Bay FC on Saturday, April 9 at Southwest University Park. Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
SD: Kyle Vassell (Nicholas Moon), 21st minute: San Diego Loyal found the net first with a cut across the goal to break the Locomotive defense. Vassell was perfectly placed to redirect the ball in for a go-ahead goal.
ELP: Harry Brockbank, 26th minute: With a high press, Nick Hinds crossed the ball in to find Lucho Solignac perfectly in front goal. Lucho’s shot deflected off the San Diego keeper but Brockbank’s urgency and follow-through cleaned up to level the game back at one.
SD: Tumi Moshobane (Evan Conway), 40th minute: Moshobane beautifully found a half volley goal with a clean low shot at the end of Conway’s cross to place the ball into the bottom left corner to put San Diego back in the lead.
SD: Thomas Amang, 66th minute: Off a near-impossible angle, San Diego Loyal recorded their third goal of the night through Amang. Amang kept the shot low to skip across the pitch and into the far netting to cushion Loyal’s lead.
ELP: Aaron Gomez, 87th minute: Gomez rifled a shot home, redirecting a pass from Lucho that took a small deflection off the Loyal defense. Gomez rifled the shot in towards the middle of goal, bouncing the ball off a Loyal defender and into the open netting.
NOTES:
– Locomotive had three changes from the Starting XI against Las Vegas Lights FC as Nick Hinds, Diego Luna, and Yuma started in place of Christiano Francois, Ander Egiluz, and Locomotive USL Academy player Diego Abarca.
– This was the first time San Diego Loyal and El Paso Locomotive clashed since Loyal’s entry to the league in 2020. Both teams found themselves in different groups and divisions in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
– Defender Harry Brockbank scored his second goal in as many games, having earned a goal against Las Vegas Lights FC and now against San Diego Loyal.
– Forward Aaron Gomez recorded his first goal of the season, finding the back of the net in the 87th minute.
Match: El Paso Locomotive at San Diego Loyal SC
Date: April 3, 2022
Venue: Torero Stadium
Weather: 60F and Overcast
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 1 1 2
San Diego Loyal 2 1 3
SD – Kyle Vassel (Nicholas Moon), 21’
ELP – Harry Brockbank, 26’
SD – Tumi Moshobane (Evan Conway), 40’
SD – Thomas Amang, 66’
ELP – Aaron Gomez, 87’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-3-3): Evan Newton; Andrew Fox, Yuma, Matt Bahner (Eder Borelli, 45’), Harry Brockbank (Shavon John-Brown, 71’), Richie Ryan (Eric Calvillo, 71’), Diego Luna, Dylan Mares, Nick Hinds (Christiano Francois, 59’), Emmanuel Sonupe, Lucho Solignac (Aaron Gomez, 71’)
Subs not used: Philipp Beigl
San Diego Loyal (4-4-2): Koke; Elijah Martin, Kyle Adams, Grant Stoneman, Nicholas Moon, Evan Conway (Andrew Carleton, 64’), Alejandro Guido (Nikko Boxall, 81’), Collin Martin (Camden Riley, 81’), Itumeleng Moshobane (Morgan Hackworth, 80’), Kyle Vassell, Thomas Amang (Jack Blake, 68’)
Subs not used: Austin Guerrero, Calvin Fodrey
Stats Summary: ELP | SD
Shots: 15 | 10
Shots on Goal: 4 | 4
Saves: 1 | 2
Corner Kicks: 2 | 5
Fouls: 18 | 20
Offside: 1 | 2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Diego Luna (Caution), 19’
ELP – Emmanuel Sonupe (Caution), 31’
SD – Kyle Adams (Caution), 47’
ELP – Harry Brockbank (Caution), 56’
SD – Collin Martin (Caution), 69’
SD – Jack Blake (Caution), 79’
ELP – Yuma (Caution), 84’
SD – Morgan Hackworth (Caution), 80’
ELP – Eder Borelli (Caution), 90’+5