EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC (2-3-1, 7 points, West-7) put on an exhilarating display in front of fans on Saturday night when they beat Orange County SC 1-0 to record its first win at Southwest University Park in 2023.
“What has happened at home, to look back at [recent] history and secure the victory [tonight], I think it’s encouragement for us to look up and keep playing. The boys did a good job,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said.
The first half saw Locomotive dominate the field of play on OCSC’s half, maintaining almost 60% of possession with 8 shots and 27 final third entries.
Forward Luis “Lucho” Solignac scored the opening goal of the match in the 19th minute, controlling a Yuma volley to strike the ball into the bottom corner towards the far post. This is Lucho’s second consecutive regular season game in which he scored, and he now sits equal with forward Aaron Gomez as Locomotive’s leading goal scorer across all competitions with 29 goals.
Immediately after a big save from goalkeeper Benny Diaz in the 38th minute, midfielder Eric Calvillo would make an even bigger save: a headed goal-line clearance to prevent an OCSC equalizer. The big time play from both Diaz and Calvillo ensured El Paso would go into the break with the lead.
Locomotive looked to increase their lead, recording 12 shots in the final 45 minutes, with shots hitting the post, going just over the bar or gliding inches wide from goal.
Locomotive’s defense would deny Orange County SC any opportunity of stealing points away in the second half . El Paso were determined to walk away with their first win at home in front of a loud and energetic crowd and battled until the final whistle to secure another three points this season.
Additionally, after the match, defender Yuma and forward Aaron Gomez were honored for their milestone accomplishments with Locomotive, 100 appearances in all competitions and 100 regular season appearances, respectively.
FORECAST: 74ºF, Clear skies
TEAM NOTES
- Luis Solignac now sits equal with Aaron Gomez as Locomotive’s all-time goal scorer in all competitions with 29 goals.
- This is the second consecutive regular season match that Solignac has scored in. He currently sits atop Locomotive’s goalscoring leaderboard this season with three goals to his name.
- This is El Paso’s first home win in 2023.
- El Paso remain undefeated against Orange County SC at Southwest University Park (3-0-0).
- Defender Erik McCue made his regular season debut, coming onto the field in the game’s final minute for midfielder Denys Kostyshyn.
- El Paso Locomotive have scored in 5 of their 6 games, no team has done so more often in the USL Championship this season.
- The assist from Yuma was his third ever for Locomotive in his five years with the club.
SCORING SUMMARY
- ELP 1 – Luis Solignac (Yuma) 19’
LINEUPS
ELP – Benny Diaz, Bence Pavkovics, Yuma – C, Eder Borelli, Miles Lyons, Eric Calvillo, Liam Rose, Petar Petrovic (Emmanuel Sonupe), Denys Kostyshyn (Erik McCue), Luis Solignac, Ricardo Zacarias (Aaron Gomez)
Subs Not Used: Javier Garcia, Nick Hinds, Luis Moreno, Louis Herrera
OC – Cody Cropper, Ryan Doghman, Andrew Fox, Daniel Pederson – C (Joseph Buckley), Brent Richards, Ashish Chattha (Nicholas Ruiz), Milan Iloski, Bryce Jamison, Kevin Partida, Alex Villanueva (Korede Osundina), Emil Nielsen (Brian Iloski)
Subs Not Used: Mark Hyan, Ashton Miles
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Miles Lyons (Yellow Card) 4’, Bence Pavkovics (Yellow Card) 6’, Ricardo Zacarias (Yellow Card) 44’, Denys Kostyshyn (Yellow Card) 74’
- OC – Andrew Fox (Yellow Card) 57’
UP NEXT: 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. Locomotive invites fans to come celebrate Earth Day for its match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and enjoy a fun and educational night spotlighting sustainability practices!
ON THE HORIZON: Saturday, April 29 at San Diego Loyal SC. Kickoff 8 p.m. MT @ Torero Stadium. Locomotive make their way to SoCal as they seek out their first ever win against San Diego Loyal SC. El Paso Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut is set to be reunited with Loyal’s Ronaldo Damus and Joe Corona, players under his leadership in Sweden at GIF Sundsvall.
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.