(DUDLEY FIELD, El Paso, TX) - In a fight for playoff positioning in the rough-and-tumble Central Division, the El Paso Patriots couldn't beat a packed Vancouver defense with a two-man advantage, notching a 1-1 tie against the Whitecaps here Wednesday night.
The draw brings El Paso's record to 8-12-3, and the team's 27 points is three behind second place Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the division.
The Patriots' league winless streak now stands at four.
Vancouver's point puts the Whitecaps (11-6-5) just three behind Pacific Division-leading Seattle with 38.
El Paso struck first off one of their two first half corner kicks. In the 15th minute, Mario Garcia's kick made its way around the horn from left to right, finding Michael Griego hemmed in hard at the right post.
Recovering nicely, Griego turned and fired a left-footed shot across the goalmouth to Enrique Cervantes standing alone at the left post. His point-blank chip gave the Patriots the early lead.
However, the advantage was short-lived. Vancouver would equalize just three minutes later, capitalizing on a Patriots' defensive miscue.
Hamlet Diaz was beaten by the Whitecaps' Jason Jordan, who stunned the defender with a spin-o-rama move along the left wing. Jordan earned position and came in hard to challenge El Paso goalkeeper Scott Alexander. But Diaz caught up, shoving Jordan off the ball and - unfortunately for the Patriots - off his feet.
Referee Adam Gardner pointed to the penalty spot and Oliver Heald converted to the middle and right of Alexander to tie the score in the 18th.
Vancouver's first sending off occurred in the 57th minute as Carlo Corrazin's slide tackle took down Cervantes in midfield. Not only was the tackle off the ball, Corrazin appeared to add a twist with Cervantes' legs wrapped up with his. Gardner wasted no time in showing the red.
Heald was also shown the yellow after protesting Gardner's call, a move that would haunt him 27 minutes later. After Gardner whistled a foul on the Whitecaps outside their own 18-yard box in the 84th, awarding El Paso a direct kick close in, Heald protested again and something in his wording made Gardner pull out the yellow, sending the midfielder off for the duration.
But Vancouver coach Tony Fonseca packed the back with the players he had left and the Caps' decided size advantage served them well as the Patriots looked helpless trying to squeeze the ball into scoring position.
Even playing 11-on-9, El Paso only managed four total shots - two each in the second half and first overtime - for the final 65 minutes of play.
The Patriots take a break over the next week and a half before resuming play on the road. El Paso takes on Central Division-leading Minnesota in a pair of key matches Thursday, August 14, and Saturday, August 16.
VANCOUVER 1, EL PASO 1
Scoring: EP Cervantes (15, Griego), V Heald (18, PK).
VANCOUVER: Mike Franks, Nick Dasovic, Geordie Lyall, Jeremie Piette, Tiarnan King (45, Alfredo Valente), Steve Kindel (45, Andrew Veer), Paul Dailly, Oliver Heald, Johnny Sulentic, Carlo Corrazin, Jason Jordan (65, Niall Thompson).
EL PASO: Scott Alexander, Joel Rios, Hamlet Diaz (105, Jose Abarca), Guillermo McFarlane, Ahmed Figueroa (86, Tim Pierce), Freddy Juárez, Mario Garcia, Enrique Cervantes (78, Victor Arreola), Omar Mora (73, Mauricio Rocha), Laurenco Andrade, Michael Griego.
Shots: V 9-2-0-0-11, EP 4-2-2-0-8. Saves: V 0-1-1-0-2, EP 2-0-0-0-2. Fouls: V 8-7-0-2-17, EP 4-10-1-2-17. Offsides: V 2-0-0-0-2, EP 0-1-0-0-1. Corner Kicks: V 5-1-2-0-8, EP 3-1-0-1-5. Cautions: V 5 (Heald 57, Piette 67, Franks 76, Heald 84, Thompson 90. EP 2 (Garcia 100, Andrade 103). Ejections: V 2 (Corrazin 57, Heald 84). EP 0. Officials: Adam Gardner, Gibby Widner, Kyle Borne, Josh Herrera. Attendance: 1,053.
