El Paso Locomotive FC Look to Secure Home Playoff Match against San Antonio FC
USL El Paso Locomotive FC

El Paso Locomotive FC Look to Secure Home Playoff Match against San Antonio FC

Published on October 24, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
El Paso Locomotive FC News Release


EL PASO, Texas - El Paso Locomotive FC finish off the regular season with a Copa Tejas clash against San Antonio FC at Toyota Field on Saturday, October 25 at 6:30 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

HOW TO WATCH EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC VS SAN ANTONIO FC - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2025 @ 6:30 P.M. MT - TOYOTA FIELD - SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Watch: ESPN+

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.

KEY STORYLINES

El Paso Locomotive FC settled for a 1-1 draw against first-place FC Tulsa on Saturday night at Southwest University Park meaning that their quest to host a playoff match will extend to this week.

Gabi Torres was the man on the scoresheet for Los Locos, his fourth of the season, off a set piece 24 minutes in. Tulsa created some threatening chances from set pieces of their own, but Jahmali Waite helped the hosts keep the advantage heading to the break. Things got chippy in the second half with both teams getting physical and after each other on both sides of the field. In the end, it was a well-taken free kick from the visitors that rescued them a point and set the stakes for the final week of the regular season.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

El Paso have booked their ticket to the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs and are looking to host their first playoff match since 2021. Locomotive currently are the four seed in the Western Conference with the lowest they can fall being five. Los Locos can secure a home playoff match this weekend in the following scenarios:

Win

Draw

Loss AND Phoenix draw/loss

Below are the possible playoff opponents for Locomotive if they were to host a playoff match at Southwest University Park:

FIVE SEED IF...

Phoenix Win/draw

Colorado Springs Win AND Phoenix loss

San Antonio Win AND Phoenix loss AND COS draw/loss

Lexington Win AND Phoenix loss AND COS draw/loss AND SA draw/loss

Orange County Win AND Phoenix loss AND COS draw/loss AND SA draw/loss AND LEX draw/loss

If Los Locos fail to clinch a home playoff match this weekend, they will travel west to Phoenix next Saturday. The winner of any Locomotive first round playoff matchup would play the winner between FC Tulsa or the eight seed in the West.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

F Amando Moreno: Perhaps the most stable attacking option for Locomotive this season, Moreno has tallied nine goals and four assists in league play, good for second on the team in goal contributions behind Andy Cabrera (17) who has missed the last two matches due to injury. As the playoffs approach, his number will be called on to serve as the go-to man up top to create scoring chances not just for himself but for others.

M Frank Daroma: Daroma has been the midfield anchor for Los Locos this season as a primary ball distributor. He leads the USL Championship in passing accuracy overall (92.98%) and in the attacking half (90.28%). His presence will be key if Locomotive are to make a deep playoff run.

D Kofi Twumasi: Locomotive might not be in position to secure home playoff match this weekend if not for a spectacular goal line clearance from Twumasi at Lexington two weeks ago. An unsung hero for Los Locos this season, Twumasi is preparing to start his 17th consecutive match at center back for Locomotive after shuffling in and out of the lineup early in the season.

OPPONENT INFO: San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC leads the all-time series with El Paso, 4-6-4, but Los Locos are the current Copa Tejas holders. Last season, Locomotive left the Alamo City with a 1-0 victory in Wilmer Cabrera's third match at the helm. Brandan Craig turned in his lone goal for El Paso in the 65th minute to earn all three points on the road.

San Antonio sit in sixth place in the Western Conference and have yet to secure a playoff spot. A point would greatly help their chances as they can climb as high as five but also fall out completely with a loss and other league results. San Antonio are scoreless in their last five contests, the last four all on the road, but return home with much at stake. They will call on Jorge Hernandez to get back to his scoring ways while also looking to provide defensive support for Richard Sanchez in goal.

KEY LOCOMOTIVE STATISTICS

- Los Locos have won the most fouls (526) in the USL Championship this season.

- Ricky Ruiz ranks second in the league in interceptions (40).

- The 2025 Locomotive squad have set the single season club scoring record across all competitions with 60 goals (57-2022).

RECENT LOCOMOTIVE QUOTES

HC Wilmer Cabrera on five-match unbeaten streak:

"We've continued pushing and try to make sure that we are getting stronger every game. The results are a reflection ofof what we've been doing in October in comparison with September. It's totally different. We have a very tough rival coming up who needs to win to secure their playoff spot, and we need to win to secure fourth place to play at home the first game of the playoffs. It's gonna be a tough one, but we are well prepared playing well again, so we're going to continue pushing for that."

Cabrera on defensive improvements over course of season:

"It's the improvement and the progression that you want to see. When you are in a progression, it shows that the players are improving, understanding the concepts and fixing the problems. Right now, I see that the players feel more confident and are ready to face any team. We can fight against any team at any place."

Memo Diaz on potential to host playoff match:

"It gives us some extra motivation for sure. The goal was to make playoffs, but now that we have a chance to host, it's a bit of an extra push. Being able to bring playoff soccer back to El Paso after a bit of an absence would be nice and rewarding for us down the stretch."

Gabi Torres on team focus heading into postseason:

"We've been trying to shift to a low-risk mentality. We just need to keep fighting for everything on the field. If we can build up from the back, we're going to find ways to get the ball forward and create chances. We need to stay together and make sure the concentration level is as high as possible because from here to November, every match is a playoff match, and we still need results."

Check out the El Paso Locomotive FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 24, 2025


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.

OurSports Central