EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC (0-3-0, 0 points, West-12) closed out its March Homestand with a 1-3 loss to Detroit City FC Saturday night at Southwest University Park.
“We need to limit these chances and be better defensively,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “It’s not like a team is on the firing range at us and taking control; it’s these split moments where they are capitalizing and we’re not. We got to look at our set up offensively and learn from this quick.”
Locomotive conceded first in the ninth minute after Detroit’s Connor Rutz found space in the box to take a shot, which unfortunately deflected off the leg of defender and captain Yuma into the net.
However, Locomotive were not going to let an own goal deter their spirit. Running the ball down the right flank, forward Aaron Gomez found himself in a position to send a cross into the box. Detroit’s defense managed to deflect the cross but to their misfortune, the ball fell perfectly for midfielder Denys Kostyshyn, who charged into the top of the 18-yard box to send a powerful header down into the bottom right corner. Kostyshyn’s equalizing goal was his first as Loco and he made sure to celebrate accordingly, sending a heart to the fans who’ve supported him since his arrival to El Paso from Ukraine.
The rest of the first half saw a few more dangerous opportunities from Los Locos, including a shot just outside the six-yard box from midfielder Chris Garcia and a thundering strike from forward Luis “Lucho” Solignac that was denied by the post.
For the entire match, Locomotive dominated the attack, leading in possession, shots and final third entries. However, two second half goals in open play from Detroit would give them the win and leave Locomotive looking for their first points next week as they hit the road to face off against 2022 league runner-up, Louisville City FC.
TEAM NOTES
- Denys Kostyshyn notched his first goal for Locomotive.
- Luis “Lucho” Solignac played his first full 90’ of 2023 since returning to play on Wednesday against Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
- Midfielder Petar Petrovic made his Locomotive debut tonight, coming in as a second half substitute for Kostyshyn.
SCORING SUMMARY
- DET 1 – Yuma (Own Goal) 9’
- ELP 1 – Denys Kostyshyn 17’
- DET 2 – Yazeed Matthews (Skage Simonsen) 60’
- DET 3 – Maxi Rodriguez 78’
LINEUPS
ELP – Benny Diaz, Nick Hinds (Eder Borelli), Yuma, Bence Pavkovics, Marc Navarro (Miles Lyons), Eric Calvillo, Liam Rose (Louis Herrera), Denys Kostyshyn (Petar Petrovic), Chris Garcia (Ricardo Zacarias), Aaron Gomez, Luis Solignac
Subs Not Used: Emmanuel Sonupe, Javier Garcia
DET – Nathan Steinwascher, Rhys Williams, Stephen Carroll, Tommy McCabe, Skage Simonsen (Dominic Gasso), Connor Rutz, Michael Bryant, Matt Lewis, Maxi Rodriguez, Richard Ballard (Adrian Billhardt), Yazeed Matthews
Subs Not Used: Jalen Robinson, Abdoulaye Diop, Ryan Shellow, Cy Goddard, Devon Amoo-Mensah
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Eric Calvillo (Yellow Card) 52’, Eder Borelli (Yellow Card) 79’
- DET – Yazeed Matthews (Yellow Card) 57’
MATCH STATS: ELP | DET
GOALS: 1|3
ASSISTS: 0|1
SHOTS: 22|17
SHOTS ON GOAL: 7|5
SAVES: 3|6
FOULS: 15|8
OFFSIDES: 1|2
CORNER KICKS: 6|5
UP NEXT: Saturday, March 25 at Louisville City FC. Kickoff 1 p.m. MT @ Lynn Family Stadium. Locomotive hit the road for their first away game of the 2023 season against the league runner-up and Eastern Conference champions, Louisville City FC.
Fans are invited to join and cheer on Locomotive at its official watch party, which will be held at Union Draft House Sunland (730 Sunland Park Dr. Ste. A) beginning at 1 p.m. MT!
ON THE HORIZON: Friday, March 31 at FC Tulsa. Kickoff 7 p.m. MT @ ONEOK Field. Locomotive closes out March with an away trip to FC Tulsa.
Fans are invited to join and cheer on Locomotive at its official watch party, which will be held at The Palomino Tavern (205 Cincinnati Ave) beginning at 7 p.m. MT!
ADDITIONAL INFO
The full 2023 match schedule can be found HERE.
All El Paso Locomotive FC Saturday home matches in 2023 will be simulcast on KTSM.com and Estrella TV El Paso 9.2 All USL Championship regular season and playoff games will be available to stream on ESPN+ in 2023.
All tickets for 2023, including Individual Match, Season Tickets and Pick Six Membership are on sale now and are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or within the official mobile app.
Fans who would like to secure full season tickets for the 2023 season can lock in their season ticket membership online by clicking HERE, calling (915) 235-GOAL or texting (915) 666-2005. You can also call (915) 235-GOAL for more information on Group Outings and Premium Suites. El Paso Locomotive FC does offer military discounts, which can be purchased HERE.
To check out the full 2023 promotional schedule, click HERE.