El Paso Locomotive (9-7-6, 33 points, West-5) fell to a 4-0 scoreline against Oakland Roots SC at Laney College Football Stadium on Saturday night. The Locos saw two new debutants with Midfielder Edison Azcona and Defender Miles Lyons entering the match as second half substitutes.
Through the opening 20 minutes, Locomotive controlled the tempo of the match with a majority of possession. The momentum shifted dramatically in the 21st minute with Ottar Karlsson finding his first goal of the match. Locos nearly equalized within a minute going the other way, but Oakland would continue to find goals through the first half. Karlsson doubled the Roots lead by converting a penalty kick opportunity just minutes before Dariusz Formella earned an Oakland third. Despite the Locos best efforts to begin pulling the score line back, Oakland would extend their lead to four with a goal just before the end of the first half through Jose Hernandez.
Roots continued its aggression going into the second half, immediately testing Goalkeeper Evan Newton who made big saves to keep Oakland from extending their lead. The matched tightened up however, as Locomotive began limited the Roots attack, but was unable to find space going the other direction to put one on the scoreboard. The Locomotive play cleaned up and revitalized with substitutes, including the Locomotive debuts of Lyons and Azcona, but the Locos were ultimately unable to find the back of the net throughout 90 minutes.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive hosts San Antonio FC in a match with critical Copa Tejas implications. The match is schedule for Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. MT at Southwest University Park and will have a post-match firework show for fans in attendance. Tickets are available online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or by calling 915-235-GOAL.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
OAK: Ottar Karlsson (Edgardo Rito), 21st minute: Oakland Roots switched the play to the right side from a cross that found Rito. Rito looked up to find Karlsson in the middle of the box, passing a low ball across the turf into Karlsson’s run. With his first touch, Karlsson swept his leg to redirect the shot to the near post for the Oakland goal.
OAK: Ottar Karlsson (Penalty Kick), 32nd minute: After Nick Hinds cleaned a tackle against a Roots defender inside the box, the center referee pointed to the spot. Karlsson stepped up to the plate and sent the ball just to the right to double the Oakland lead.
OAK: Dariusz Formella, 34th minute: Just a moment later, Formella put a header in from six-yards right into Evan Newton. The deflected ball landed back in front of Formella, who took his shot again, this time finding the back of the net.
OAK: Jose Hernandez, 40th minute: A poor pass along the backline from Locomotive resulted in Hernandez coming away with the ball at the top of the penalty area. Hernandez ran in to the box before taking his shot in towards the near post to add another goal to Oakland Roots.
NOTES:
– Midfielder Edison Azcona made his Locomotive debut as a substitute in the 61st minute.
– Defender Miles Lyons made his Locomotive debut as a substitute in the 84th minute.
– The 10-game undefeated streak for El Paso Locomotive came to an end in Oakland, giving the Locos an opportunity to reset as it prepares for its final stretch of games.
– El Paso Locomotive extended its undefeated streak to 10 matches. The streak is the current longest running undefeated streak in the USL Championship.
Match: El Paso Locomotive at Oakland Roots SC
Date: July 16, 2022
Venue: Laney College Football Stadium; Oakland, California
Weather: 65F and clear skies
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 0 0 0
Oakland Roots 4 0 4
OAK – Ottar Karlsson (Edgardo Rito), 21’
OAK – Ottar Karlsson (PK), 32’
OAK – Dariusz Formella, 34’
OAK – Jose Hernandez, 40’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-3-3): Evan Newton; Eder Borelli (Emmanuel Sonupe, 45’), Andrew Fox, Matt Bahner, Ricardo Zacarias (Miles Lyons, 84’), Eric Calvillo, Sebastian Velasquez (Edison Azcona, 61’), Dylan Mares (Joel Maldonado, 79’), Nick Hinds, Christiano Francois, Aaron Gomez (Noe Coutino, 80’)
Subs not used: Philipp Beigl; Martin Payares
Oakland Roots SC (3-4-3): Paul Blanchette; Tarek Morad, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Emrah Klimenta, Edgardo Rito, Jose Hernandez, Matias Fissore (Charlie Dennis, 68’), Dariusz Formella (Jesus Enriquez, 76’), Mikael Johnsen (Memo Diaz, 45’), Juan Azocar (Javier Mariona, 77’), Ottar Karlsson (Jonathan Rodriguez, 77’)
Subs not used: Taylor Bailey, Daniel Barbir
Stats Summary: ELP | OAK
Shots: 6 | 14
Shots on Goal: 8 | 1
Saves: 4 | 1
Corner Kicks: 6 | 5
Fouls: 15 | 14
Offside: 1 | 6
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Andrew Fox (Caution), 69’
OAK – Charlie Dennis (Caution), 86’
ELP – Edison Azcona (Caution), 91’