(SUN BOWL STADIUM, El Paso, TX) - Laurenco Andrade and Michael Griego tallied their fourth goals of the season to lead the El Paso Patriots to a 2-1 win over A-League Central Division rivals Milwaukee Wave United Friday night.
The Patriots improve to 6-5-2, earning their 20th point and solidifying their hold on second place in the Central, while Wave United drops to 4-4-0, staying at 12 points and in third place.
El Paso finished the match two men short as Pablo Cabrera and David de la Torre received their second cautions two minutes apart, in the 80th and 82nd minutes, respectively.
The Patriots' defense held, though Milwaukee had its opportunities. Second-half sub Josh Timbers missed the best opportunity for Wave United, shooting the ball far post in the 84th minute only to have it carom off the right post.
El Paso dominated the match early, testing the Milwaukee defense with solid ball possession and movement through the midfield.
The Patriots' payoff came in the 20th minute, as left winger Junro Narita found plenty of room to challenge the Wave United defense up his wing. Narita's cross found its way to the head of Andrade who, with two teammates on either side of him, had Milwaukee goalkeeper Jim Larkin dead to rights.
The easy header went into the net virtually unchallenged.
Wave United head coach Art Kramer went to his bench early to find his spark, subbing forward Greg Howes for forward Anthony Maher in just the 34th minute.
Howes proved Kramer right just nine minutes later, taking a long pass from midfield in the 43rd to turn and fire on El Paso's Scott Alexander from the left side of the box. Alexander dove but the pass had him back on his line leaving too much open net. With no defender to help Alexander, Howes tucked the hard shot just inside the left post for the tying goal.
The Patriots regrouped nicely to begin the second half, though, once again taking the game to Milwaukee. This time it only took three minutes for El Paso to find the back of the net.
Fending off the heavy traffic, halftime sub Ahmed Figueroa lifted a perfect cross from the right wing into the box. Forward Michael Griego ended a goal-scoring drought of more than a month by one-timing a right-footed rocket past a sprawling Larkin in the 48th for the match-winner.
It was a contentious match, as referee Ramon Hernandez handed out eight cautions - five for El Paso, three for Milwaukee
The win was the Patriots' first in three matches here in El Paso, as the team lost to Portland and tied Seattle to start their seven-match homestand.
The Patriots and Wave United will tangle again Sunday in the Sun Bowl, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. MDT.
EL PASO 2, MILWAUKEE 1
El Paso 1- 1 -2
Milwaukee 1- 0 -1
MILWAUKEE: Jim Larkin, Chad Dombrowski (45, Josh Timbers), Jeremy Aldrich, Steve Lawrence, Troy Dusosky, Joe Hammes, John Ball, Matt Schmidt (64, Steve Bernal), Dino Delevski, Anthony Maher (34, Greg Howes), Todd Dusosky (74, Nick Walls).
EL PASO: Scott Alexander, Sidnei dos Santos, David de la Torre (82, ejection), Hamlet Diaz, Pablo Cabrera (80, ejection), Freddy Juárez, Enrique Cervantes (45, Ahmed Figueroa), Junro Narita (61, Omar Mora), Laurenco Andrade, Michael Griego (83, Guillermo McFarlane), Tim Pierce (71, Victor Arreola).
Shots: M 1-9-10, E 6-7-13. Saves: M 2-5-7, E 0-5-5. Fouls: M 10-13-23, E 11-9-20. Offsides: M 2-1-3, ELP 1-2-3. Corner Kicks: M 1-4-5, E 4-6-10. Cautions: E De la Torre (4), M Ball (27), E Juárez (31), M Hammes (34), M Dombrowski (37), E Cabrera (42), E Cabrera (80), E De la Torre (82). Ejections: E Cabrera (80, 2nd caution), E De la Torre (82, 2nd caution). Attendance: 522. Officials: Ramon Hernandez, Harold Zavalney, Gary Owen, Anthony J. Herrera.
