USL El Paso Locomotive FC

El Paso Locomotive FC Host Phoenix Rising FC

Published on June 14, 2024 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
El Paso Locomotive FC News Release


EL PASO, Texas - El Paso Locomotive FC are back at Southwest University Park this weekend, hosting Phoenix Rising FC as the Locos look set to capture their first home win of the 2024 season under new Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera.

HOW TO WATCH EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC VS PHOENIX RISING FC - SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2024 @ 7 P.M. MT - SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY PARK

Watch: ESPN+; locally on El Paso-Las Cruces CW

Tickets: eplocomotivefc.com/tickets

Be sure to follow @eplocomotivefc on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates of the match. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team's official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.

ALL-TIME SERIES

El Paso and Phoenix are set to face off for the eighth time, with Rising holding a 4-2-2 record in favor. El Paso will look to redeem itself this weekend from its 2023 matchups with Phoenix when the sides face off in El Paso for the fourth time. Last year, the Locos were handed a heavy 5-0 defeat on the road then took a hard blow at home when Rising scored a stoppage time equalizer to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw.

Both teams will arrive this weekend fresh off statement wins, but El Paso has an extra chip on its shoulder as a result of last season's matches. With the motivation to end an eight-match winless home streak and Cabrera asking the team to be more physical off the ball, it will be no surprise if Locomotive gets feisty in search of its first win against Phoenix since 2022.

EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC

In the first of two Copa Tejas meetings this year, El Paso returned from Toyota Field last week with three points in the bag following a 1-0 win against San Antonio FC. With some key players missing in the lineup for both sides due to international call ups and injury (more so for San Antonio), the Locos needed to capitalize on that opportunity to win. El Paso held up well defensively to deny San Antonio threats at goal and the deadlock would break in the 65' thanks to a free kick from Brandan Craig that would prove to be the game winner.

Once again, the Locos were injected with some much needed confidence as Cabrera looks to turn this team around with the halfway point of the season rapidly approaching. As he stated in a post-training interview, Cabrera was happy with the way the Locos showed up and battled it out on the pitch against San Antonio and hopes that the players realize that they need to be just as physical against Phoenix if they are to finally win at home.

"I hope that helped us understand that we need to be physical at home, we need to fight to make sure that teams don't come here and control games against us," Cabrera said. "If we want to win, first we need to fight for every ball, tackle the ball and not allow [opponents] to go easily. Then, we need to make sure we have proper game performance and attitude with the ball to try and win the game. San Antonio is the most physical team in the USL

and we showed that we can be physical too to compete. Our focus now is Saturday at home."

With Jahmali Waite out after being named to Jamaica's Copa America roster, one player to keep an eye on will be goalkeeper Ramon Pasquel. The FC Juárez loanee registered a clean sheet in his first league appearance against San Antonio and has previously shown fans his high-level goalkeeping ability when he registered six saves against Union Omaha in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup earlier this year. Now playing his first league match at home, Pasquel will look to play his part and attempt to keep out the Rising attack in front of the Locomotive faithful.

PHOENIX RISING FC

Phoenix return to El Paso fresh off a dramatic 2-1 win against Orange County SC, which saw striker Dariusz Formella secure a game-winning brace in the final minutes of the match, an incredible performance from the Polish native in his return to the pitch following a month-long absence due to the birth of his daughter. As a result of his heroics, Formella was named the USL Championship's Player of the Week and will be fueled with confidence as Phoenix looks to snap a three-match road winless streak.

ADDITIONAL INFO

El Paso Locomotive FC single-match tickets for all 2024 regular season matches are on sale now and are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets. El Paso's USL Championship schedule can be found at eplocomotivefc.com/schedule.

For the best prices and priority seating for every Locomotive home match in 2024, become a Season Ticket Member today! Season Ticket Memberships for the 2024 Season are available now and can be secured online at eplocomotivefc.com/seasontickets, calling (915) 235-GOAL or texting (915) 666-2005.

Check out the El Paso Locomotive FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 14, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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