El Paso Locotomob took all three points from Wadner Field on Saturday night, edging Colorado Springs 1-0 in a USL Championship Group Stage fixture. The result keeps the visitors top of the table while the home side remain in seventh place after 22 games. It was not a match to set pulses racing, but one decided by a single moment late in the second half.
There were no goals until the 85th minute when J. De Coteau turned the ball into his own net. Before that, the game had been a tight affair with both sides creating little and conceding less. Colorado Springs had one big chance created, while El Paso managed none. The visitors made do with less, and that was enough.
Yellow cards began to accumulate as the match wore on. T. Maples and A. Mendez both received cautions just before the break in the 45th minute plus two. A. Ortiz and J. Tejada followed in the 59th and 60th minutes. By then, substitutions were coming thick and fast. El Paso brought on K. Twumasi and B. Farkarlun in the 61st, while Colorado Springs responded with F. Daroma and B. Jamison around the 68th and 69th minutes. The managers were clearly looking for an answer.
The statistics tell you something about the nature of the encounter. Colorado Springs had 51 per cent possession and 77 attacks, but only five shots on target from 14 attempts. El Paso held 49 per cent and edged ahead in total attacks with 83. The home side created one big chance; the visitors created none. That is the reality of matches like this—possession means little when the final ball does not find its mark.
What this means for the table is worth noting. El Paso remain at the summit with 40 points from 23 games, four wins clear of the chasing pack. Colorado Springs sit in seventh with 31 points, matching their win-loss record from last season but failing to build momentum after a heavy 3-1 defeat to Phoenix Rising on Wednesday. The gap between them is now eight points, and that feels significant in a group stage.