El Paso Locomotive (8-6-5, 29 points, West-4) took its first point away from H-E-B Park as a nine-man Locomotive side held Rio Grande Valley FC to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night. GoalkeeperEvan Newton made four saves to earn back-to-back clean sheets.
A quiet opening 15 minutes gave way to a goalkeeping spectacle between El Paso Locomotive FC and Rio Grande Valley FC. Newton made his first big save in the 20th minute, stopping a ball shot through traffic giving way to put Locomotive on an attack. Newton’s heroics continued through the first half, coming up big with diving saves and quick stops. On the other side of the field, RGV goalkeeper Javier Garcia came up big when asked by MidfielderDylan Mares who took a left-footed shot through the legs of an RGV defender and into Garcia’s hands.
Locomotive took control straight out of the break, making threats in the final third though not quite finding a threatening shot towards goal. The intense back and forth resumed as RGV began picking its offensive once more, sending shots wide of the crossbar. Following an injury with no subs remaining and a red card in the 83rd minute, the Locos closed out the match down two men against a full-strength Rio Grande Valley FC. The Locos dug deep, keeping RGV without a shot while nearly stealing the game in stoppage time as Forward Aaron Gomez took a header off the crossbar and MidfielderSebastian Velasquez fired a shot from the center of the box that was saved by Garcia. The goalkeeping heroics on both ends of the field leaves the two teams sharing the points on Wednesday night.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive remains on the road as it heads east to Kennesaw, Georgia to take on Atlanta United II for the first time in franchise history. Kickoff from Fifth Third Bank Stadium is set for 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, July 2 and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
N/A
NOTES:
– For the first time in franchise history, El Paso Locomotive FC took a point away from H-E-B Park.
– Goalkeeper Evan Newton made four saves to earn his seventh clean sheet of the 2022 USL Championship and back-to-back clean sheets following the 5-0 win over New York Red Bulls II.
– El Paso Locomotive FC is now eight games undefeated with five of those last eight being clean sheets.
Match: El Paso Locomotive at Rio Grande Valley FC
Date: June 29, 2022
Venue: H-E-B Park; Edinburg, Texas
Weather: 88F and clear skies
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 0 0 0
Rio Grande Valley FC 0 0 0
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-3-3): Evan Newton; Nick Hinds, Andrew Fox, Yuma, Matt Bahner (Shavon John-Brown, 73’), Richie Ryan, Eric Calvillo, Dylan Mares (Sebastian Velasquez, 65’), Emmanuel Sonupe (Aaron Gomez, 61’), Christiano Francois (Ricardo Zacarias, 61’), Lucho Solignac (Noe Coutino, 73’)
Subs not used: Philipp Beigl, Eder Borelli
Rio Grande Valley FC (3-4-3): Javier Garcia; Erik Pimentel, Juan Cabezas, Wahab Ackwei, Stefan Mueller, Emilio Ycaza, Jose Torres (Juan Pablo Torres, 59’), Jonathan Ricketts, Ricky Ruiz (Dylan Borczak, 65’), Frank Gaviria (Adolfo Hernandez, 59’), Isidro Martinez (Robert Coronado, 75’)
Subs not used: Tyler Deric, Jesus Vazquez, Luka Malesevic
Stats Summary: ELP | RGV
Shots: 8 | 16
Shots on Goal: 4 | 4
Saves: 4 | 4
Corner Kicks: 4 | 5
Fouls: 13 | 16
Offside: 2 | 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Emmanuel Sonupe (Caution), 32’
ELP – Yuma (Caution), 61’
RGV – Adolfo Hernandez (Caution), 83’
ELP – Yuma (2nd Caution; Ejection), 83’
ELP – Sebastian Velasquez (Caution), 90’