EDINBURG, Texas (Wednesday, June 30, 2021) – Rio Grande Valley FC (6-3-2) hands El Paso Locomotive FC (4-1-3) its first loss this season with a convincing 3-2 win on Wednesday night at H-E-B Park. With the win, the Toros continues to lead the Mountain Division, followed by El Paso.

Carter Manley opened the score board for the Toros in the 5th minute following a corner kick play. Wan Kuzain sent the corner pass to Rodrigo Lopez who was able to send a cross inside the box, connecting with Manley who put the ball away 1-0. The goal marked the fastest goal thus far for RGV FC.

In the 32nd minute El Paso equalized after Jose Aguinaga was able to deflect a set piece shot to the back of the net, 1-1.

The second half consisted of three total goals. In the 61st minute Lopez took a shot which was deflected but Kuzain was able to drive into the box and finish off to give the Toros a 2-1 lead. Juan Carlos Azocar drove the ball off of a counterattack in the 73rd minute where he was able to send a cross to Lopez who sent the ball to the back post to score his first goal of the season, 3-1.

In the 82nd minute El Paso managed to score their second goal of the match after Luis Solignac managed to take on the Toros defense and send a shot past Tyler Deric, 3-2, which wasn’t enough to save their 18-game winning streak as a club.

The first half was slightly dominated by the Locomotive as they held 54.8% of the possession. In the 13th minute Aaron Gomez managed to go into the box but Erik Pimentel was able to block the attempt. One minute later, Deric was once again tested where he was forced to come out and make a dangerous save.

In the 27th minute Christian Sorto received a through ball being able to take on the Locomotives defense and take dangerous shot but hit the left post taking the ball out.

RGV FC came out in the second half with Alexis Cerritos took a dangerous shot in the 47th minute but missed to the left. In the 54th minute Kuzain was able to take on the defending line where Manley sent a shot over the crossbar. Three minutes later Aguinaga was inside the box and managed to pop the ball over Deric but missed the attempt. Azocar from off the bench was dangerous on the pitch. In the 80th minute he was able to take a shot but missed out wide.

RGV FC will be hosting Copa Independencia as they take on Club de Fútbol Monterrey on Sunday, July 4th at 7:00 pm CST.