Lights fall 3-2 at El Paso despite possession and corners edge

Lights 3-2 loss stung because Las Vegas controlled possession and piled up corners, but El Paso held on. The Lights dropped to 1-1-3 after five matches.

by
Mark Hebert
April 5, 2026

Las Vegas Lights FC had the ball, had the corners and had a real chase in the second half. El Paso Locomotive FC still walked off with the points Saturday night, holding on for a 3-2 win at Southwest University Park.

El Paso improved to 3-1-0 and 10 points. Las Vegas dropped to 1-1-3 and 4 points through five matches.

Moreno strikes early, makes it a climb

El Paso turned the match uphill in the seventh minute when Amando Moreno opened the scoring. The Lights steadied after the early hit and started to win territory, which showed up later in the set-piece count.

Las Vegas leveled it in the 23rd minute when Christian Pinzon finished to make it 1-1. For a stretch, the match felt like it was turning toward a possession game, and the Lights looked comfortable playing through midfield.

Rubín restores the lead before halftime

El Paso did not let the equalizer linger. Rubio Rubín scored in the 34th minute, and the Locomotive carried a 2-1 lead into the break despite spending less time on the ball.

Another restart, another problem

The second half opened with the decisive swing. Moreno struck again in the 48th minute, his second of the night, to push El Paso ahead 3-1 and leave Las Vegas chasing two.

The Lights responded with urgency and numbers. Johnny Rodriguez pulled one back in the 60th minute to make it 3-2 and set up a long final half-hour.

Eight corners, no equalizer

Las Vegas controlled 57.7% of possession and won the corner count 8-1, but it could not find the tying goal. El Paso finished with a slight edge in shots, 9-8, and a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, then managed the closing minutes without conceding again.

Both teams finished with one yellow card. Marc Ybarra was booked in the 38th minute for Las Vegas, and Gabriel Torres picked up El Paso’s yellow in the 80th. Attendance was 5,432.