LEXINGTON, KY — Lexington Sporting Club’s USL Championship Men’s Team delivered a spirited performance on the road, showing resilience in a narrow 2-1 result against El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday night.
The visitors nearly opened the scoring early in the 11th minute when defender #24 Kieran Sargeant powered a header toward goal, only for a Locomotive defender to clear it off the line. Just minutes later, #8 Nick Firmino attempted an ambitious overhead kick off a corner, connecting well but sending the ball just wide.
El Paso capitalized on a set piece in the 22nd minute when #16 Gabriel Torres served a pinpoint corner to #25 Palermo Ortiz, who headed home the opening goal. The hosts doubled their lead in the 41st minute as #6 Eric Calvillo slid a perfectly weighted ball through to #13 Andy Cabrera, who finished calmly to make it 2-0.
Lexington responded with urgency after the break. In the 52nd minute, #6 Joe Hafferty delivered a dangerous cross to #10 Sofiane Djeffal, whose first-time strike was met with a solid save by the El Paso keeper.
The breakthrough came in the 68th minute, as veteran striker #99 Corey Burke found space in the box, thanks to a swift assist from #37 Eliot Goldthorp, and slotted home a composed finish to pull one back for Lexington. The goal sparked momentum for the visitors, who pushed forward in search of an equalizer throughout the final stretch.
Lexington Sporting Club returns home next week to take on Las Vegas Lights FC, looking to build on the strong second-half performance and continue their positive progression in their inaugural USL Championship season.
About Lexington Sporting Club
Lexington Sporting Club is a U.S. Soccer professional soccer club competing in the USL Championship (U.S. Soccer Second Division men’s professional soccer), and in USL Super League (U.S. Soccer First Division women’s professional soccer). The two professional teams are the pinnacle of the soccer ecosystem in Lexington that features more than 1,000 players within its youth and academy systems. Lexington SC has recently opened a 7500-seat, state-of-the-art stadium, indoor facilities and training fields.