El Paso Locomotive (14-2-8, 50 points) earned three points on a 1-0 win against Real Monarchs at Southwest University Park on Wednesday night.
Real Monarchs redirected a cross from Defender Eder Borelli into their own goal for the lone goal of the night. Meanwhile, Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer made one lone save for his seventh clean sheet of the season.
“The plan was almost perfect,” said Head Coach and Technical Director Mark Lowry. “We should have two-nil up after 30 minutes. That was the plan. Get the ball into the box to Aaron [Gomez] and Leandro [Carrijo], cross a lot of balls – we did that and we did it well. It just didn’t seem to go into the net. It’s nil-nil at halftime, which is going to make for a cagey second half no matter who you play against. Monarchs have probably given us more problems than any team in this group.”
Locomotive dominated the flow of the match, finding a quick chance with incredible passing from Defenders Mechack Jerome and Borelli to find Forward Aaron Gomez who flicked a header just wide.
Through the opening thirty minutes, Defender Andrew Fox would also take a headed effort that pinged the crossbar while Forward Leandro Carrijo’s chance forced Monarchs’ goalkeeper Jimmy Slayton into a massive save.
While the Monarchs switched on for a moment in the second half, testing Ketterer into a big save, Los Locos soon reclaimed control of the game, pressing the ball in the Monarchs half. The Monarchs’ defense had the answers to the Locomotive attack, however, keeping El Paso out of the net for the opening 15 minutes of the second half. The pressure paid off though as Borelli sent a low cross across the face of goal that ended deflected by Monarchs man Ibrahim Bance for an own goal.
That scoreline would hold until the end of the 90 minutes, gifting El Paso the 1-0 win and the three points.
Up next, El Paso Locomotive heads to Colorado Springs to take on Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
ELP: Ibrahim Bancé (Own Goal), 68th minute: During high pressure from El Paso Locomotive, Defender Eder Borelli sent a low cross across the face of goal where Bancé mistimed his clearance, redirecting the ball into his own net for an El Paso goal.
NOTES:
– El Paso extends their home undefeated streak to 21 games following the win over Real Monarchs.
– The 1-0 clean sheet is the seventh for Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer and the 11th overall for El Paso Locomotive in the 2021 season.
– Midfielder Cole Turner made his Locomotive debut, subbing into the match at the 62nd minute before finishing out the game.
– With the win and three points for El Paso, Locomotive has mathematically eliminated Real Monarchs from the Push to the Playoffs
Match: El Paso Locomotive vs Real Monarchs | Date: September 29, 2021 | Venue: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas
Weather: 79F and clear skies
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 0 1 1
Real Monarchs 0 0 0
ELP – Ibrahim Bancé (Own Goal), 68’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Logan Ketterer; Eder Borelli, Andrew Fox, Mechack Jerome, Macca King (Sebastian Velasquez, 45’), Nick Ross, Jose Aguinaga (Cole Turner, 62’), Bryam Rebellon (Matt Bahner, 88’), Diego Luna, Aaron Gomez (Ricardo Zacarias, 93’), Leandro Carrijo (Lucho Solignac, 62’)
Subs not used: Ben Beaury, Chapa Herrera,
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Jimmy Slayton; Kevin Saucedo (Oluwatimilehin Sobowale, 45’), Kyle Adams, Jaziel Orozco, Sam Brown, Bode Davis, Bret Halsey, Ibrahim Bancé (Seth Powder, 81’), Haroun Conteh (Leo Torres, 81’), Josimar Quintero (Christian Nydegger, 80’), Aris Briggs (Yekeson Subah, 80’)
Subs not used: Jeffrey Dewsnup, Charles Wehan
Stats Summary: ELP | SLC
Shots: 14 | 6
Shots on Goal: 2 | 1
Saves: 1 | 2
Corner Kicks: 4 | 5
Fouls: 8 | 5
Offside: 0 | 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC – Kevin Saucedo (Caution), 40’
SLC – Bode Davis (Caution), 59’
ELP – Sebastian Velasquez (Caution), 76’
ELP – Aaron Gomez (Caution), 90’+3
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