HARTFORD, Conn. – Eric Calvillo, Tony Alfaro and Diego Abitia all scored first-half goal as El Paso Locomotive FC swept to a 4-0 victory against Hartford Athletic on Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium to earn the visitors their fourth consecutive victory and end Athletic’s undefeated start to the league campaign.
The visitors took the lead in just the 11th minute when Calvillo stepped up well in midfield to steal possession and the fired a shot from 25 yards that took a wicked deflection that took it into the bottom-right corner, wrongfooting Hartford’s Antony Siaha. Locomotive doubled their lead in the 24th minute after Amando Moreno was brought down in the penalty area, allowing Alfaro to convert from the spot with a low finish to the left corner.
El Paso added a third just past the half-hour mark when Abitia controlled Kofi Twumasi’s knockdown of a corner from the left and fired home from close range. The visitors continued on in the second half as Gabi Torres added a fourth in the 64th minute, converting off the rebound after Moreno’s initial effort to the bottom-left corner was only parried, and that wrapped up all three points for the visitors as they continued to surge in the Western Conference.
Takeaways
Hartford Athletic – Hartford’s five-game unbeaten streak to start the league campaign came to an end with a bump as the hosts were knocked off course with El Paso’s first-half display that saw Athletic record only two shots as Locomotive struck three times.
El Paso Locomotive FC – Locomotive set the tempo early and capitalized on their chances despite the absence of Rubio Rubín from the front line to continue a strong run of form with Gabi Torres and Amando Moreno each winning the majority of their duels as the side proved more than a match for its hosts.