El Paso Locomotive (4-0-3, 15 points) earned a full three points on the road behind a 2-1 victory over Real Monarchs at Zions Bank Stadium on Friday. Forward Aaron Gomez found the goal in the first minute, continuing the Locomotive trend of scoring early while Defender Macca King recorded his second goal of the 2021 season to secure the win.
Gomez put Locomotive ahead with an explosive start heading into goal the headed pass from Midfielder Bryam Rebellon in the first minute for yet another early Locos goal. While Monarchs began to settle into the game throughout the half, they weren’t able to get a threatening chance on goal past the ever-stalwart Locomotive defense. Meanwhile, Midfielder Nick Ross pinged the cross bar and Forward Lucho Solignac forced Monarch’s ‘keeper Andrew Putna into a massive save close range.
The Monarchs game changed going into the second half, applying more pressure, however, King would go on to double the Locos lead. Earning a corner just before the 70th minute, Midfielder Diego Luna served in the ball where King took one touch at the far post to put it in the back of the net. Before the final whistle, however, Rebellon would see red after a kick to a Monarchs player leaving El Paso down a man. The ironclad defense held strong, leaving Monarchs off the board in open play, only conceding a goal through a freekick opportunity taken by Milan Iloski. The 2-1 score was enough to allow El Paso to walk away from Zions Bank Stadium with the full three points and their now 18-game regular season undefeated streak still intact.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive hits the road again for a match against Texas rival Rio Grande Valley FC. Kickoff from H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas is set for Wednesday, June 30 at 6:00 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
ELP: Aaron Gomez (Bryam Rebellon), 1st minute: Locomotive got off to an explosive start as Diego Luna switched the play to find Rebellon at the far post. With one headed effort, Rebellon redirected the ball back to the center where Gomez jumped in the air to meet it. The header for Gomez floated to the back of the net, recording his first goal of the 2021 season.
ELP: Macca King (Diego Luna), 70th minute: Earning a corner kick opportunity, Luna stepped up to serve it to the far post where Macca lay in wait unmarked. With one touch, Macca skipped the ball low across the net where he put Los Locos up by two.
SLC: Milan Iloski, 91st minute: With Locomotive down a man, the Monarchs turned up the pressure searching for the two goals needed to come away with a point. They found one with Iloski’s freekick that tucked neatly into the top left corner, just out of the reach of a diving Logan Ketterer.
NOTES:
– Midfielder Nick Ross makes his 50th appearance for the club across all competitions.
– This is the third game this season Locomotive has scored within the first two minutes this season. Lucho did it in the first minute against Rio Grande Valley FC, Nick Ross got one in the second minute against Indy Eleven, and now Aaron Gomez in the first minute against Real Monarchs.
– Aaron Gomez found his first goal of the 2021 season, scoring for the first time since El Paso last played Real Monarchs on October 4, 2020.
– Macca King recorded his second goal of the season, now having a major impact in five of the last seven Locomotive goals.
Match: El Paso Locomotive at Real Monarchs
Date: June 18, 2021
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah
Weather: 86F; Mostly Sunny
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive FC 1 1 2
Real Monarchs 0 1 1
ELP – Aaron Gomez (Bryam Rebellon), 1’
ELP – Macca King (Diego Luna), 70’
SLC – Milan Iloski, 90’+1
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Logan Ketterer; Yuma, Eder Borelli, Macca King, Mechack Jerome, Richie Ryan, Nick Ross, Diego Luna (Jose Aguinaga, 84’), Bryam Rebellon, Aaron Gomez (Chapa Herrera, 75’), Luis Solignac (Leandro Carrijo, 91’)
Subs not used: Ben Beaury; Matt Bahner, Aidan Apodaca
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Andrew Putna; Jaziel Orozco, Francisco Martinez (Aris Briggs, 84’), Daniel Flores (Josimar Quintero, 31’), Kyle Adams, Milan Iloski, Ibrahim Bance, Charles Wehan (Griffin Dillon, 84’), Sam Brown, Max Mata (Brayan Gomez, 45’), Jeizon Ramirez (Malik Johnson, 18’)
Subs not used: Christopher Garcia, Fernando Delgado
Stats Summary: ELP | SLC
Shots: 12 | 11
Shots on Goal: 5 | 3
Saves: 2 | 3
Corner Kicks: 2 | 6
Fouls: 7 | 13
Offside: 2 | 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Yuma (Caution), 59’
SLC – Sam Brown (Caution), 67’
ELP – Bryam Rebellon (Ejection), 79’
SLC – Ibrahim Bance (Caution), 80’
SLC – Josimar Quintero (Caution), 88’