Longtime Locomotive central defender Richie Ryan has surpassed another milestone in his illustrious career: 100 regular season appearances in the USL Championship. It was a milestone that came as a surprise to Richie and bit of a shock to a few of his teammates in the Locomotive locker room.
“I had no clue,” said Richie. “I don’t really keep an eye on things like that if I’m being honest. It is nice to reach a milestone like that, but it is what it is.”
With a laugh, Richie mentioned some of the teammates remarking they thought he had more than 100 appearances in the USL Championship adding, “That’s how long I’ve been around for. There is no hiding the fact I’m old. Nothing I can do about that.”
As a starter against Rio Grande Valley FC, Richie Ryan helped the team through 90 minutes of play to the scoreless draw that earned Locomotive its first point on the road to H-E-B Park. The locker room leader even took over the captain’s armband following Yuma’s red card to lead the nine-man Locomotive side to a hard fought draw.
Since coming to the USL Championship in 2018, the Irish veteran has seen almost nothing but success with only two teams in the league. First joining FC Cincinnati, Richie operated from the defensive midfield through 15 regular season appearances. With an assist and five clean sheets to show for his work rate, Richie raised the USL Championship Regular Season Title high after finishing first in the league.
The remaining 85 appearances was in Loco Blue, where he has been a fan favorite and a leader in the locker room.
With El Paso Locomotive, Richie’s success continued. In the first two years of play, Richie cemented in his usual defensive mid position, helping secure 18 clean sheets to put Locomotive in position reach the Western Conference Final in two straight years.
In his third year with Locomotive, El Paso Locomotive FC, Richie led the club to new heights. Locomotive held 10 clean sheets in matches Richie appeared in and went on a club historic 25 matches unbeaten at Southwest University Park. During the unbeaten run, it was the longest actively running home unbeaten streak in North American professional soccer.
Of course, Richie’s career spans beyond his time with El Paso Locomotive and FC Cincinnati. The accoladed defensive mid has played in some of the top leagues world-wide including the English Premier League, the Scottish Premier League and the League of Ireland. He has won the FAI Cup and the League of Ireland Cup twice and was named as the PFAI Players’ Player of the Year of before making his way to North America. Richie continued claiming honors by winning the NASL Fall Championship and being named to the NASL Best XI twice.
Richie Ryan and El Paso Locomotive FC will return to the pitch for more on Saturday, July 2 against Atlanta United II. Kickoff from Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia is set for 5:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Locomotive will return to Southwest University Park next Saturday, July 9 to take on Western Conference foe, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets are available online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or by calling 915-235-GOAL.