Midfielder Diego Abarca and Forward Noe Coutino Earn Professional Debuts
On Wednesday night at Southwest University Park, El Paso Locomotive FC made club history when it unveiled its Starting XI for the match against Las Vegas Lights FC. For the first time since its launch in 2020, A Locomotive USL Academy player made an appearance on the Starting XI for the first team. On the same night, another Locomotive USL Academy Player made his first team debut as a second-half substitute that helped change the pace of the game.
At the age of 16 years, 9 months, and 4 days, Midfielder Diego Abarca earned his start on the professional level, playing along with Locomotive professionals such as Midfielder Dylan Mares, Forward Lucho Solignac, and Midfielder Richie Ryan. Additionally, at 18 years, 5 months, and 21 days old, Forward Noe Coutino subbed into the game for Abarca in the 58th minute, playing for 32 minutes.
Throughout the night on Wednesday, Abarca played 58 minutes, completing 84% of his passes to help the team dominate in possession and the midfield. Meanwhile, Coutino entered the match in the 58th minute, immediately making an impact by nearly finding a goal on one of his first touches of the game. Coutino’s shot on goal spilled the ball and cleared a defender that opened Midfielder Nick Hinds for the first Locomotive goal of the game.
“They deserve it. The young boys don’t get in for free and the senior boys don’t get in for free as well,” said Head Coach and Technical John Hutchinson, after the Wednesday night game. “Abarca has been doing really well in training. He is a good kid. You see him starting cramping about the 48th-minute mark. I thought he had a good game for his first game. And he is only 16 years old. I don’t know what most of us were doing at 16 years old, but the boy is running around for a pro-football team trying to do his thing. I’m so super proud of what he has done.
Coutino has been in and around the first team for a long time. It’s just a bag of energy from the both of them.”
The two have been reveling in the opportunities they found with the Locomotive USL Academy, training alongside the first team every morning, improving their game and level of professionalism on and off the pitch. Their work ethic has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff, with Coutino appearing on the Locomotive bench for every match so far this season, making his debut in his third appearance.
“For them, I’m very happy,” shared Lucho Solignac. “They train with us every day and they’re starting to feel our values. I think they did great. They brought the energy. Noe almost scored one minute after he came in and Diego wanted the ball.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time we have seen a player from the Locomotive USL Academy make an appearance for the first team, as Midfielder Diego Garcia subbed into the match against LA Galaxy II in October 2021 on his birthday as he turned 15-years-old. Players such as Midfielder Joel Maldonado and Goalkeeper Rommel Tarin have made appearances on the Locomotive bench in the past. It is a testament to the local talent that is growing here in El Paso.
Both Abarca and Coutino are born and raised in the Borderland, attending Canutillo and Franklin High Schools. The El Paso natives have had their dreams come true in recent months, not only having made their professional debuts in front of a hometown club but also traveled Massachusetts to play top-caliber players in New England Revolution.
As their careers continue to grow, these boys have shown they will rise to the challenge and make the most of their opportunities and their careers.
“It’s not easy,” continued Solignac. “Especially for them both, it was their first start. It’s not easy. They did wonderful and hopefully, they can build from this performance.”