Griego Scores Again, Narvaez Nabs Fourth Shutout As Patriots Jump Into Third Place


There was only one first for the Patriots in last night’s 1-0 El Paso win over the DFW Tornados, and that was a good thing.

Interim coach Javier McDonald earned his first win as head coach of the Premier Development League Patriots, but the other things El Paso accomplished were continuations of success from earlier this season.

For the second straight game Michael Griego scored a goal, making him responsible for both Patriot tallies on the weekend. Even more notable is that Griego becomes the first player this season to score more than one goal.

Goalkeeper Sebastián Narvaéz posted his fourth shutout of the season, too, knocking down huge save after huge save for a game Tornados team that pressed to earn points in spite of the hard desert heat.

DFW was without solid defensive midfielder Aaron Chibli, not to mention head coach Paul Robinson, after both were ejected in Friday’s 1-1 draw. Video archives of both Friday’s and Saturday’s games can be seen by following this link.

Perhaps most important is that – after a win (Saturday) and a tie (Friday) – El Paso leaps the Tornados and is now tied with the New Orleans Shell Shockers and the Baton Rouge Capitals in third place at 12 points (3-4-3 record) in the tough Mid-South Division.

Though that was in doubt much of the contest against a Tornados team that proved to be harder to handle Saturday than Friday. Though DFW tired after dealing with temperatures in the 90’s throughout the game, the Tornados had to press most of the game for an equalizer after Griego’s 15th minute goal.

But Narvaez and some stellar defensive work from John Crawley and the El Paso back line kept DFW out of the net and made Griego’s goal stick.

Though both teams had their opportunities, it was Jair Olivares’ perfectly-placed pass from midfield and Griego’s first-time volley that created the game’s only goal.

The Patriots have a huge opportunity this Friday and Saturday as defending PDL champion Laredo comes to Patriot Stadium. With two wins El Paso could tie Laredo for second place in the division. Now that he’s familiar with his team, McDonald will truly have an opportunity to make his mark.

There was one other first indirectly related to the Patriots. For the first time in the 18-year history of the franchise, junior assistant referee Martha Rivas became the first female to officiate a PDL match in El Paso. Rivas is a longtime member of the Soccer Referees Association of El Paso and frequent center referee for girls’ and women’s soccer matches throughout the area.

Despite its small size, the SRAEP has produced three Major League Soccer officials, and member Jaír Marrufo became the first FIFA certified official in the organization’s history.