EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC (1-3-0, 3 points, West-7) beat the odds Saturday afternoon when they shocked Louisville City FC 0-3 in front of a record Louisville home opener crowd at Lynn Family Stadium.
“I wanted a clean sheet, I wanted a victory,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “That’s what these boys did, and they delivered.”
The match was evenly contested between both sides up until the 39th minute, when defender Marc Navarro found space outside the penalty box to whip the ball into the goal towards the far post.
Just minutes before the end of the first half, goalkeeper Benny Diaz would send a ball deep into Louisville’s side of the field to find forward Ricardo Zacarias. Zacarias brought the ball down and struck it past the hands of Louisville’s goalkeeper as the ball ricocheted off the post and into the net to double El Paso’s lead.
In the second half, a bad back pass from Louisville would find the feet of midfielder Petar Petrovic, who ran the ball into the box and shot it into the net underneath a sliding Louisville defender.
Louisville would put the pressure in their attack in hopes that one goal could turn things around for them but a strong and disciplined Locomotive backline, coupled with great saves from goalkeeper Benny Diaz, ensured that Locomotive would return to El Paso tomorrow with their first three points and clean sheet of the season.
FORECAST: Cloudy, 27 MPH Winds, 62ºF
TEAM NOTES
- With this win, Locomotive pick up their first three points and clean sheet of the 2023 season. This is also the first win in Brian Clarhaut’s tenure since taking over.
- Captain and defender Yuma made his 100th appearance in all competitions for Locomotive.
- Defender Marc Navarro and midfielder Petar Petrovic scored their first Locomotive goals.
- El Paso Locomotive FC is the first team to beat Louisville City in a home opener since Pittsburgh Riverhounds did so on July 12, 2020 (1-3 win, Pittsburgh).
- Goalkeeper Benny Diaz is the first goalkeeper in Locomotive history and the 19th goalkeeper in USL Championship regular season history to record an assist.
SCORING SUMMARY
- ELP 1 – Marc Navarro (Eric Calvillo) 39’
- ELP 2 – Ricardo Zacarias (Benny Diaz) 45’
- ELP 3 – Petar Petrovic 57’
LINEUPS
ELP – Benny Diaz, Bence Pavkovics, Yuma – C, Eder Borelli, Marc Navarro, Eric Calvillo, Liam Rose, Petar Petrovic (Aaron Gomez), Denys Kostyshyn (Miles Lyons), Ricardo Zacarias (Louis Herrera), Luis Solignac
Subs Not Used: Chris Garcia, Nick Hinds, Emmanuel Sonupe, Javier Garcia
LOU – Kyle Morton, Amadou Dia, Ramzi Qawasmy (Oscar Jimenez), Sean Totsch, Manny Perez, Paolo DelPiccolo – C (Niall McCabe), Carlos Mogul, Rasmus Thellufsen, Enoch Mushagalusa (Tyler Gibson), Cameron Lancaster, Elijah Wynder (Jorge Gonzalez)(Colin Elder)
Subs Not Used: Oliver Semmle, Travis Smith
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Liam Rose (Yellow Card) 23’, Luis Solignac (Yellow Card) 52’
- LOU – Carlos Moguel (Yellow Card) 41’, Tyler Gibson (Yellow Card) 90+1’
MATCH STATS: ELP | LOU
GOALS: 3|0
ASSISTS: 2|0
SHOTS: 8|12
SHOTS ON GOAL: 6|2
SAVES: 2|3
FOULS: 16|18
OFFSIDES: 2|5
CORNER KICKS: 1|4
UP NEXT: 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 celebrate at the Official El Paso Locomotive FC Pub Club Watch Party at The Palomino Tavern (205 Cincinnati Ave) beginning at 7 p.m. MT!
ON THE HORIZON: Wednesday, April 5 at Union Omaha. Kickoff 6 p.m. MT @ Morrison Stadium. Los Locos make the trip to Omaha, Nebraska for a second-round matchup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, looking to get their first-ever victory in the historic tournament.
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.