EL PASO, Texas (March 9, 2024) – El Paso Locomotive FC is back for its sixth season in the USL Championship and will kick off the 2024 campaign on Saturday, March 9 at Southwest University Park against Hartford Athletic.
El Paso’s 2024 Home Opener is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. MT, available to watch on ESPN+ and locally on kvia.com and the KVIA News App. Gates at Southwest University Park open at 5:30 p.m. MT.
HOW TO WATCH EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC VS HARTFORD ATHLETIC – SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2024 @ 7 P.M. MT – SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY PARK
Watch on: ESPN+; Locally on kvia.com and the KVIA News App
Tickets: eplocomotivefc.com/tickets
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.
ALL-TIME SERIES
This will be the third time that El Paso meets Hartford Athletic in league play and will look to hold on to its undefeated record against the revamped Eastern Conference side.
Both sides met for the first time in 2022 at Southwest University Park, with then-16-year-old Diego Abarca blasting a top-corner rocket for El Paso in a 1-1 draw. Locomotive recorded its first win against Hartford last season, with Petar Petrovic and Aaron Gomez finding the back of the net for the 2-0 victory.
EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC
After leading El Paso back into the playoffs in 2023, Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut’s offseason acquisitions show that Locomotive means business ahead of his second stint in charge.
Amando Moreno and Justin Dhillon, signed from rivals New Mexico United and San Antonio FC respectively, could prove dangerous up top whereas experienced veterans such as Bolu Akinyode and Tony Alfaro will heavily solidify Locomotive’s defensive play.
Jamaican international goalkeeper Jahmali Waite and United States Youth international Brandan Craig are two other big names to have joined a squad that will play out of the back much more consistently, take greater ownership of the midfield and trigger faster transitions up top to gifted ball carriers and clinical goal scorers.
HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Optimism and ambition are high in Hartford after a busy offseason that saw Athletic bring in 2021 Championship Coach of the Year finalist Brendan Burke, as well as 2022 Championship Young Player of the Year Michee Ngalina and experienced vets like Marcus Epps, Joe Farrell and Romario Williams, to name a few.
After finishing last season with just 18 points (the lowest across the league in 2023) and the worst goal-differential (40 goals for, 79 goals against), this revamped Hartford side will first have to face a tough Locomotive side before paving a potential path towards their first playoff berth since 2020, still the only playoff berth in the club’s history.
PLAYER NOTES
Should they make an appearance tonight, defenders Yuma and Nick Hinds could register their 100th and 150th USL Championship appearances, respectively. All 99 of Yuma’s regular season appearances have been in El Paso whereas Hinds has registered 56 league games for Locomotive.
ADDITIONAL INFO
El Paso Locomotive FC single-match tickets for all 2024 regular season matches are on sale now and are available for purchase online at eplocomotivefc.com/tickets. El Paso’s 34-match USL Championship schedule can be found at eplocomotivefc.com/schedule.
For the best prices and priority seating for every Locomotive home match in 2024, become a Season Ticket Member today! Season Ticket Memberships for the 2024 Season are available now and can be secured online at eplocomotivefc.com/seasontickets, calling (915) 235-GOAL or texting (915) 666-2005.