El Paso Locomotive FC ends level, 2-2, with Orange County SC
(Courtesy: El Paso Locomotive FC)
El Paso Locomotive (12-2-6, 42 points) earned a point on the road with a 2-2 draw against Orange County SC at Championship Soccer Stadium on Friday night.
MidfielderNick Ross opened the scoring in the 20th minute while forward Leandro Carrijo closed out the game in the 90th minute to take the point.
El Paso dominated the opening moments of the match, controlling possession and the tempo of the game.
Within the first ten minutes, forward Lucho Soliganc picked a lobbed pass forward that midfielderDiego Luna was able to pick out with a half volley to test the OC keeper and set the tone for the first half.
While Luna would take another chance and defender Macca King would create meaningful chances, it would be Ross that opened the scoring in the 20th minute with nothing but time and space to coolly provide Locomotive a lead going into the halftime break.
In a complete reversal from the first half, Orange County controlled the second 45 minutes putting El Paso Locomotive on the backfoot, testing the best defense in the USL Championship. In the end, Orange County had the answers finding two goals within minutes of each other through Ronaldo Damus in the 61st and Sean Okoli in the 67th.
Not to be undone, head coach Mark Lowry made tactical changes to the field to swing momentum back into Locomotive control, affording a capitalized opportunity through Carrijo to earn the equalizer and steal a point from Championship Soccer Stadium.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive returns home for another inter-division matchup against Sacramento Republic FC of the Pacific Division.
The contest is scheduled for Saturday, September 11 with kickoff from Southwest University Park set for 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or by calling 915-235-GOAL.
