Match Preview: Republic FC at El Paso Locomotive FC
USL Sacramento Republic FC

Match Preview: Republic FC at El Paso Locomotive FC

Published on August 22, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


Know Your Club - Republic FC

It's a double-road week for the Indomitable Club, as Republic FC heads to the Lone Star State to face El Paso Locomotive FC for another Western Conference showdown.

After a scoreless 90 minutes against Loudoun United FC, the Boys in Old Glory Red went to their first penalty shootout of the tournament. Goalkeeper Jared Mazzola finished regulation with his fourth clean sheet - leading all goalkeepers in tournament play. Loudoun held the edge after the first round of the shootout, but from there Mazzola made back-to-back saves to put the pressure on the hosts. Nick Ross, AJ Edwards, and Michel Benitez converted the next three kicks from the spot for Sacramento, and finally Cristian Parano stepped up to secure Republic FC's spot in the Semifinals.

"We've got a really good togetherness, and it's showing at a good point in the season where we need to stick together, because we have a lot of games. We have a lot of traveling,"

Republic FC midfielder Nick Ross said.

"We've got a big semifinal coming up and we've got a big game on Saturday, so we need everyone in the squad to step up,"

Wednesday's exciting victory makes eight-straight undefeated matches for Neill Collins's squad - a streak dating back to the beginning of July. With the thrills of the California State Fair in the background, Republic FC delivered a 3-0 over El Paso and claimed the first match in the season series.

Know Your Opponent - El Paso Locomotive FC

Southwest University Park is the stage for this weekend's match-up against Republic FC. Los Locos will be looking to walk away with three points after drawing Monterey Bay FC last Saturday 2-2 as a result of an extra time equalizer.

Monterey scored first with a finish from midfielder Adrian Rebollar in the 21st minute. However, Los Locos had an immediate response. Just a few minutes after the opening goal, a yellow card on Monterey's Carlos Guzman set up a dangerous free kick opportunity for newly signed El Paso forward Christian Sorto. His curling effort to the top corner equalized the match and rippled the back of the net.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Los Locos capitalized on costly Monterey turnover in the final third. Sorto smashed home his second goal of the night from the top of the 18 with a kiss off the post. The brace from Sorto in his first regular season start for El Paso both doubled the team's lead and earned the forward a spot on USL's Team of the Week.

With victory in sight, chaos struck in the 94th minute. A service into El Paso's box found Monterey substitute Anton Søjberg who tapped the ball into the lower right corner, denying Los Locos all three points. The late equalizer was the sixth time El Paso allowed an opposition substitute to score. The score also was the ninth goal allowed in the last 15 minutes of the second half - the top mark for late scores across the league.

Head-to-head

Saturday will mark the 12th overall meeting and complete the season series between the two Western sides. The last match-up was held at Heart Health Park earlier this July, where Republic FC came out of the face-off with a 3-0 victory and Head coach Neill Collins added his name to the league's 100-win club.

Overview: SAC @ ELP

Date: Saturday, August 23

Kickoff: 6:00 p.m.

Venue: Southwest University Park

Watch: FOX40+ Smart TV App, FOX40.com, FOX40 Mobile App, ESPN+, Antenna 40.2

Check out the Sacramento Republic FC Statistics

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



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 22, 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