EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC exited the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the second round following a 2-0 defeat to USL League One side Union Omaha at Morrison Stadium on Wednesday night.
Locomotive started off well to begin the match, bringing the ball into the opposition’s half and applying pressure on Omaha’s backline. However, Omaha would find its footing and begin to turn things around for themselves as the match progressed.
After an evenly contested first half, The Owls recorded the first goal of the match in the 58th minute off a rebounded effort. A header inside the box would double Omaha’s lead over El Paso in the 75th minute.
Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut would make several changes throughout the second half in order to pull out a result. Amongst those changes were defender Finnley O’Brien and midfielder Luis “Lalito” Moreno, both making their official Locomotive debuts. O’Brien, 16, signed with Locomotive under a USL Academy contract last month, whereas Moreno, 17, joined the club in late February as the club’s youngest ever signing.
Unfortunately, El Paso’s attempts at goal were unable to find the net and Locomotive remain without a win in the storied tournament, now 0-3-0 against USL1 teams.
All focus for Clarhaut and Los Locos will now shift to Saturday, April 8 when El Paso welcome Orange County SC at Southwest University Park for the return of USL Championship league play. That match will be available to watch on ESPN+, KTSM.com and Estrella TV 9.2 with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT.
FORECAST: 44ºF, Clear skies, windy
TEAM NOTES
- Four Locomotive players made their official club debuts tonight: goalkeeper Javier Garcia, defender Erik McCue, defender Finnley O’Brien, and midfielder Luis Moreno.
- Defender Artem Kholod made his 2023 debut with his appearance in the match.
- Four players recorded their first starts of 2023 and played the full match: goalkeeper Javier Garcia, defender Erik McCue, midfielder Louis Herrera and midfielder Diego Abarca.
SCORING SUMMARY
- OMA 1 – Junior Palacios (Steevan Dos Santos), 58’
- OMA 2 – Steevan Dos Santos (Joe Brito), 75’
LINEUPS
ELP – Javier Garcia, Erik McCue, Yuma – C (Finnley O’Brien), Nick Hinds, Miles Lyons (Artem Kholod), Louis Herrera, Liam Rose (Luis Moreno), Petar Petrovic (Chris Garcia, Eder Borelli), Diego Abarca, Emmanuel Sonupe, Aaron Gomez (Ricardo Zacarias)
Subs Not Used: Benny Diaz
OMA – Rashid Nuhu, Stefan Mueller, Alexis Souahy, Junior Palacios, Shaft Brewer Jr., JP Scearce, Conor Doyle – C, Luis Gil (Pedro Dolabella), Joe Gallardo (Joe Brito), Steevan Dos Santos (Chavany Willis), Noe Meza (Alex Steinwascher)
Subs Not Used: Ian McGrane, Luca Mastrantonio, Marco Milanese,
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Aaron Gomez (Yellow Card) 22’, Louis Herrera (Yellow Card) 48’, Ricardo Zacarias (Yellow Card) 72’, Eder Borelli (Yellow Card) 83’
- OMA – Joe Gallardo (Yellow Card) 11’, Stefan Mueller (Yellow Card) 87’
UP NEXT: Saturday, April 8 vs Orange County SC. Kickoff 7:30 p.m. MT @ Southwest University Park, gates open at 6:30 p.m. MT. Purchase tickets here. Locomotive return home for USL Championship action after a three-game road trip and will be giving away bucket hats to the first 1,500 fans who enter the stadium!
ON THE HORIZON: Saturday, April 22 vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Kickoff 7:30 p.m. MT @ Southwest University Park, gates open at 6:30 p.m. MT. Purchase tickets here. Pittsburgh Riverhounds makes their first trip to El Paso and Locomotive will search to get their first ever win against the Eastern Conference side. Additionally, Locomotive invites fans to come celebrate Earth Day, which will feature a night of spotlighting sustainability practices!
ADDITIONAL INFO
The full 2023 match schedule can be found HERE.
All El Paso Locomotive FC Saturday home matches in 2023 will be simulcast on KTSM.com and Estrella TV El Paso 9.2 All USL Championship regular season and playoff games will be available to stream on ESPN+ in 2023.
All tickets for 2023, including Individual Match, Season Tickets and Pick Six Membership are on sale now and are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or within the official mobile app.
Fans who would like to secure full season tickets for the 2023 season can lock in their season ticket membership online by clicking HERE, calling (915) 235-GOAL or texting (915) 666-2005. You can also call (915) 235-GOAL for more information on Group Outings and Premium Suites. El Paso Locomotive FC does offer military discounts, which can be purchased HERE.
To check out the full 2023 promotional schedule, click HERE.