PATRIOTS TAKE TWO!
El Paso Beats Houston Twice to Move Atop the Mid-South Division
Photo by Victor Ramirez, El Diario de El Paso
Patriots F Ben Everson pivots to fire for El Paso’s first goal of the weekend Friday night as the Patriots beat Houston Leones in both matches at Patriot Stadium Friday and Saturday, outscoring their opponents, 3-0.
The El Paso Patriots made a clean sweep of the Houston Leones with a 1-0 win in front of 1,107 at Patriot Stadium Saturday.
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Saturday’s win coupled with Friday’s 2-0 victory vaults the Patriots (2-1-2, 8 points) to the top of the Mid-South Division table while Houston (1-3-0, 3 points) drops into a tie with Baton Rouge for fifth place in the rugged Mid-South.
With their backs against the wall Saturday, credit goes to Leones, which fought like their namesake. Though Patriots head coach Miguel Murillo threw his entire bench into the mix to jumpstart El Paso’s offense, Houston stood its ground for all but a 30-second stretch five minutes into the second half.
Trying to control a deflection by the Patriots defense after a Houston corner, Leones allowed El Paso midfielder António Barrera to take a chop at the ball near midfield. The bounce found forward Richard Abrego, who turned and found a wide open path straight to goal.
Abrego launched himself into open space, leaving the defense behind him. As Houston keeper Vladimir Jauregui came off his line to challenge, Abrego nudged his shot under the goalie’s left arm and into the back of the net for the only goal of the night in the 50th minute.
Abrego, who plays collegiately at UNLV, tallied his first goal of the young Premier Development League season, becoming the fourth Patriot to score through El Paso’s five matches.
Patriots goalkeeper Sebastián Narvaéz earned his second and third clean sheets of the season, tying him with Laredo’s Ryan Cooper atop the PDL’s goalkeeper standings.
El Paso forward Ben Everson and midfielder Mário García scored their first goals of the season in Friday night’s win. Everson scored on a gorgeous shot from the right corner of the Leones’ area, freezing Jauregui from 22 yards out. García tallied on a penalty kick after Jauregui was ruled to have tripped Everson at the six-yard box.
El Paso will enjoy an off week before resuming their season May 17 for their third straight match against Houston, this one at Soccer World Center in Richmond, TX.
The Patriots will provide archived video replays of all Patriots home games, in addition to live video webcasts. Live or archived, click on the links provided at www.elpaso-patriots.com. KLAQ/KROD’s and MetroSports Southwest’s Duke Keith calls the action.
Fans can check up-to-date scores, standings and stats at http://pdl.uslsoccer.com, as well as check up on the Patriots at the team’s website, www.elpaso-patriots.com.
Also, check out the El Paso Times Soccer Mania section for the latest Patriots news, features and game stories at www.elpasotimes.com/soccermania.
Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre, El Diario de El Paso
Patriots F Trevor Eastman positions for the ball Saturday.
