EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC has signed forward Justin Dhillon from in-state rivals San Antonio FC ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season, the club announced today. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.
“We are happy to welcome Justin to the Locomotive family and the city of El Paso,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “Justin is a player whom I have followed since he was 16 and I’ve tracked his progress into professional football since, watching him win two championships in his career. Justin is a high character forward who checks all boxes for us, providing goals and assists as well as working extremely hard on both sides of the ball. He has the size to be a target man but is also intelligent in his off the ball movement to stretch the game for us. Like many of our other signings, he does the little things right to help teams succeed and our fans will notice that from day one.”
The 28-year-old arrives after three seasons with San Antonio FC, recording 16 goals and 16 assists (the most by a single player in San Antonio’s history) in 83 total appearances. His 2022 USL Championship season, in which he recorded six goals and nine assists, helped pave SAFC’s path to lifting their first USL Championship trophy and Players’ Shield.
“El Paso has always been a strong team in the West and I’m excited to be joining this side,” Dhillon said. “I know what it takes to win a championship and the level of commitment that is required. As a striker with my experience, I hope to bring goals and to lead with a level of intensity from the front to cultivate a culture that will bring a trophy to El Paso. Between the coaching, the talent and the club’s support, I feel like this group can achieve something special.”
Before his time with San Antonio, the California native was on the roster for Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC, bolstering the squad’s attack on the club’s eventual run to its second MLS Cup in 2019.
Dhillon spent most of his time under the Sounders organization starring for Tacoma Defiance in the USL Championship between 2019 and 2020, making 26 league appearances with 13 goals and two assists under his name. The 2019 season saw him lead Tacoma as their top scorer with 12 goals and establish the league record for fastest goal, scoring in the ninth second during a home match against Reno 1868 FC.
Dhillon got his professional start with LA Galaxy II in 2017. As a rookie, he had 13 starts in 21 games, putting up six goals and two assists. The following season, he had three goals in 18 appearances (seven starts).
Prior to joining LA Galaxy II, Dhillon appeared in 73 games across four seasons at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, registering 15 goals and 12 assists.
Future roster transactions will be announced as Locomotive prepares for its sixth season in the USL Championship.
El Paso Locomotive FC’s 2024 roster as it currently stands is listed below, alphabetically by position.
Goalkeepers (1): Javier Garcia
Defenders (4): Noah Dollenmayer, Nick Hinds, Miles Lyons, Elijah Martin
Midfielders (8): Diego Abarca, Bolu Akinyode, Arun Basuljevic, Eric Calvillo, Chris Garcia, Luis Moreno, Petar Petrovic, Liam Rose
Forwards (3): Justin Dhillon, Amando Moreno, Joaquin Rivas