EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC (West-1, 9-3-3, 30 points) once again showed its ability to overcome adversity, rallying to a 1-1 draw against Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of its biggest crowd in 2023 (8,121 in attendance) to set a new club record for longest undefeated streak in a single regular season (12 matches).
“Fantastic testament to this group on the record,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said in the post-match press conference. “I was really happy with our first half. We played our style, how I wanted to play. I thought we could’ve been more aggressive when we broke their midfield line and lured them in. I think we had very good quality chances, so we were a bit unlucky. [On] a different day, we bury those but I still thought it was a fantastic performance.”
Locomotive dominated the first half, maintaining 63% possession and registering three shots at goal in the box, which included two strikes that just missed the target from defenders Marc Navarro and Nick Hinds in the 4′ and 25′, respectively.
The Rowdies would open the scoring eight minutes into the second half, capitalizing on a rebound inside the box that followed after a save from El Paso goalkeeper Benny Diaz.
Midfielder Denys Kostyshyn, however, would provide Locomotive with the crucial equalizer. A beautiful precision strike from outside the box, the ball would fly into the bottom corner past the outstretched hands of the diving keeper. His fourth goal of the season, Kostyshyn’s goal helped Locomotive rescue a point to keep them in top spot of the Western Conference.
On the 2023 record attendance, Clarhaut had nothing but love to share to the fans.
“I really enjoy the love from the people here and the fans,” Clarhaut said. “It’s fantastic to see the support [from] the fans game in, game out. They’ve become like a little family to us. They push us over the edge and it’s fantastic to be a part of something special and positive for the team, the community and the city. I hope El Paso is proud of us.”
FORECAST: 94ºF, partly cloudy
TEAM NOTES
- Locomotive are now undefeated in 12 regular season matches (9W-2D), which is a club best for longest undefeated streak in a single regular season.
- Locomotive has extended its home undefeated streak to five matches (4W-1D).
- Diaz recorded five saves against the Rowdies, a season high. This is the second game in a row that he has made five saves, the third time he’s done so this season.
- Kostyshyn scored his fourth goal of the season. This is the second game in a row in which he has contributed to a scoring opportunity (goal vs Tampa Bay, assist vs Las Vegas).
SCORING SUMMARY
- TBR 1 – Jake LaCava 53′
- ELP 1 – Denys Kostyshyn 63′
LINEUPS
ELP – (4-4-2) Benny Diaz, Bence Pavkovics, Erik McCue, Eder Borelli – C, Marc Navarro (Miles Lyons), Nick Hinds (Chris Garcia), Eric Calvillo, Liam Rose (Louis Herrera), Aaron Gomez, Denys Kostyshyn (Emmanuel Sonupe), Luis Solignac (Ricardo Zacarias)
Subs Not Used: Javier Garcia, Diego Abarca
TBR – (4-4-2) Connor Sparrow, Conner Antley, Forrest Lasso, Aaron Guillen – C, Jordan Doherty, Yann Ekra (Jake Areman), Sebastian Dalgaard, Charlie Dennis, Jake LaCava, Ryan Spaulding, Jerome Williams
Subs Not Used: Phil Breno, Freddy Kleemann, Tate Johnson, Caleb Jennings
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Eder Borelli (Yellow Card) 19′, Aaron Gomez (Yellow Card) 75′
- TBR – N/A
MATCH STATS: ELP | TBR
GOALS: 1|1
ASSISTS: 0|0
POSS. %: 00|00
SHOTS: 14|10
SHOTS ON GOAL: 6|6
SAVES: 5|5
FOULS: 11|11
OFFSIDES: 2|1
CORNERS: 6|1
UP NEXT: Saturday, July 1 vs New Mexico United. Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. MT at Southwest University Park. El Paso Locomotive play host to its biggest rival, New Mexico United, on Fourth of July weekend and will look to extend its current two-game win streak against the Black and Yellow!