El Paso Locomotive (18-4-10, 64 points) fell for only the fourth time in the 2021 USL Championship regular season with a 1-4 scoreline against Rio Grande Valley FC. Midfielder Chapa Herrera scored his first of the lone Locomotive goal. The result means Locomotive finishes second in the Western Conference, just behind Phoenix Rising FC.
Rio Grande Valley FC got off to a start that set the tempo of the game, converting a penalty in the seventh minute that just got past Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer. Locomotive fought for an equalizer, ultimately finding one through Forward Leandro Carrijo, who rounded RGV goalkeeper Tyler Deric to get to the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. While Locomotive aimed to make one count, RGVFC doubled the lead just before the halftime whistle, with Kyle Edwards finding his first of the night.
Locomotive put themselves back into the fight earning the first second-half goal with a decisive play between Midfielder Diego Luna and Herrera, who took the one-touch to get past the RGV goalkeeper. Despite pulling one back on the scoreboard, RGV took in the second half, as Edwards earned his second of the night. El Paso Locomotive was put on the backfoot throughout the remainder of the match, as RGV never let off the gas, finding the nail in the coffin in the 79th minute with Emilio Ycaza earning the fourth Toros goal to contribute to the scoring.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive kicks off its Track to the Trophy with a home match for the Western Conference Quarterfinal at Southwest University Park. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT on Friday, November 5. Tickets are available at https://www.eplocomotivefc.com/tickets, by phone at 915-235-GOAL, or through the official El Paso Locomotive App. The opponent is to be determined between Oakland Roots and LA Galaxy II
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
RGV: Rodrigo Lopez (Penalty), 7th minute: After being brought down in the box by a late tackle from Carrijo prompted the referee to point to the spot. Lopez stepped up, taking the kick well to the left. While Logan Ketterer guessed the direction correctly, it wasn’t enough to put a stop to the ball and provided RGV with an early lead.
RGV: Kyle Edwards, 49th minute: In stoppage time of the first half, a strong pass forward ended with just a miss-timed clearance from the Locomotive backline, opening up Edwards to take a shot towards goal that ended in the back of the net.
ELP: Chapa Herrera (Diego Luna), 52nd minute: In a decisive play, Luna played a through ball forward that both Leandro Carrijo and Herrera got to the end of. Herrera ultimately took the shot, ending in the back of the net to breathe some life into the Locomotive game.
RGV: Kyle Edwards (Juan Azocar), 59th minute: Down the right-hand side, Azocar was able to break past the Locomotive defense, putting a ball in forward which Edwards broke past to get to. With one touch, Edwards put the goal into the back of the net to further the Rio Grande Valley lead.
RGV: Emilio Ycaza, 79th minute: In a 50/50 duel, Ycaza got the better of the El Paso Locomotive FC defense, creating a one-on-one situation with Logan Ketterer. Ycaza took the shot quickly finding the bottom corner of the near post to put the nail in the coffin for the night.
NOTES:
– Midfielder Chapa Herrera scored his first Locomotive goal of the season, scoring in the 52nd minute.
– Locomotive ends the 2021 USL Championship Regular Season with one of the best records in the league, having only lost four times in the 32-game season.
– El Paso Locomotive is set to host the opening round of the 2021 USL Championship playoffs, taking on either LA Galaxy II, Oakland Roots, or Tacoma Defiance.
Match: El Paso Locomotive at Rio Grande Valley FC
Date: October 30, 2021
Venue: H-E-B Park; Edinburg, Texas
Weather: 76F and clear skies
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 0 1 1
Rio Grande Valley FC 2 2 4
RGV – Rodrigo Lopez (Penalty), 7’
RGV – Kyle Edwards, 45’+4
ELP – Chapa Herrera (Diego Luna), 52’
RGV – Kyle Edwards (Juan Azocar), 59’
RGV – Emilio Ycaza, 79’
Lineups:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Logan Ketterer; Eder Borelli, Andrew Fox (Cole Turner, 45’), Mechack Jerome (Ricardo Zacarias, 61’), Matt Bahner, Richie Ryan (Chapa Herrera, 45’), Nick Ross (Jose Aguinaga, 61’), Dylan Mares (Aaron Gomez, 73’), Lucho Solignac, Diego Luna (Brooklyn Raines, 80’), Leandro Carrijo
Subs not used: Ben Beaury
Rio Grande Valley FC (4-4-2): Tyler Deric (Colin Miller, 65’); Erik Pimentel, Carter Manley, Baboucarr Njie, Juan Azocar, Rodrigo Lopez (Vicente Sanchez, 87’), Andres Flores (Adrian Vera, 87’), Emilio Ycaza, Kyle Edwards (Juan Cabezas, 65’), Jonas Fjeldberg, Christian Sorto (Elvis Amoh, 87’)
Subs not used: Adrian Diz Pe, Frank Lopez
Stats Summary: ELP | RGV
Shots: 7 | 12
Shots on Goal: 2 | 6
Saves: 2 | 1
Corner Kicks: 3 | 4
Fouls: 5 | 13
Offside: 5 | 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RGV – Emilio Ycaza (Caution), 12’
ELP – Eder Borelli (Caution), 45’
RGV – Juan Azocar (Caution), 45’+2
RGV – Kyle Edwards (Caution), 45’+4
RGV – Adrian Vera (Caution), 90’+1