EL PASO, Texas (March 15, 2024) – After picking up its first point of the 2024 season on Wednesday, El Paso Locomotive FC faces yet another quick turnaround and returns to Southwest University Park on Saturday, March 16 for a marquee matchup against Louisville City FC in the club’s first-ever day game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT and will be available to watch on ESPN+ and locally on kvia.com and the KVIA News App.
Additionally, El Paso Locomotive FC will be giving out free sun hats to the first 1,500 ticketed fans through the gates at Southwest University Park, which open at 12 p.m. MT. Purchase your tickets now via eplocomotivefc.com/tickets.
HOW TO WATCH EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC VS LOUISVILLE CITY FC – SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2024 @ 1 P.M. MT – SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY PARK
Watch: 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
El Paso took the league by storm last season when it handed Louisville City FC a 3-0 defeat on the road to spark an eventual 12-match unbeaten run. Now, the Eastern Conference Finalists open their season at Southwest University Park and look to get one back on Los Locos to kickstart their 2024 campaign whereas El Paso will want to build off the positives of its first two matches to chalk up its first three points at home.
The sides first met in El Paso during the 2022 season, a tightly contested match that finished 1-0 in favor of LouCity. Both recently met in preseason action last month, with Louisville picking up a 2-0 win over Los Locos in Tucson, Arizona for the 2024 Desert Friendlies Showcase.
EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC
Though the draw against Monterey Bay was not the desired result, one of the positives of the match came from forward Amando Moreno, who scored his first Locomotive goal four minutes into the match, an early display of his intention to be a difference-maker up top for El Paso in 2024. Yet, he made sure to credit the work his teammates are doing on the field to compliment what he does best and if the team can clean up a few things, the potential for 2024 can be high.
“The connection we’ve built with so little time, I think it’s there,” Moreno said. “Sometimes we create these plays where I’m like ‘Wow, you don’t get this until midseason!’ We have to close out these games, we have to keep those leads… those are just little details we have to fix.”
One major factor going against El Paso ahead of the match against Louisville is fatigue. Three games in one week is a challenge for any team and although the start of the 2024 season has kicked off to a better start points-wise than the past two seasons, El Paso will be the only team to have started the campaign with three games under their belt whereas Louisville will be fresh for their first game of the year.
When asked by local media what the focus for players would be in the days between Wednesday and Saturday, Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut answered immediately with two words: “Just recover.”
LOUISVILLE CITY FC
Year in and year out, LouCity demonstrates why they’ve been as successful as they are. Despite finishing 2023 with the fewest points total since its inaugural 2015 season and not having a player score double-digit goals for the first time, Louisville still managed to reach the Eastern Conference Final for a ninth consecutive time.
In response to the “down season” they had, LouCity turned over a new leaf with the departure of club legends Cameron Lancaster and Paolo DelPiccolo as well as key pieces Oliver Semmle and Manny Perez. In to replace them? The reigning USL Championship Defender of the Year Arturo Ordóñez, reigning MLS NEXT Pro Goalkeeper of the Year Damian Las and All-League First Team midfielder Taylor Davila, as well as Adrien Perez and Sam Gleadle.
However, LouCity did take a massive hit when it was announced on Tuesday that star forward and all-time assist leader Brian Ownby was set to undergo leg surgery. Although the timeline on his return is unclear, it’s expected he’ll be absent for a long time. Joining LouCity in 2017, Ownby was set to captain the side for the club’s 10th season but without him now on the frontlines, Louisville will be without a big-time player with 69 goal contributions (32 goals, 37 assists) under his name.
PLAYER NOTES
- El Paso Locomotive FC announced that it had acquired defensive midfielder Jeremy Garay on loan from D.C. United of Major League Soccer, who will be available for selection against Louisville. Read more here.
- Amando Moreno opened the scoring account for El Paso Locomotive on Wednesday against Monterey Bay F.C., and Justin Dhillon chalked his name down as the first player to bag an assist.
- Jahmali Waite registered three saves in the match against Monterey Bay, posting a 7.11 goals prevented (GP) score in his first 180 minutes as a Locomotive goalkeeper, the most of any keeper in the the same time frame in club history.
- Louisville midfielder Dylan Mares returns to El Paso for the first time since his departure to Louisville ahead of the 2023 season. In his three seasons with El Paso, Mares became El Paso’s all-time leading assister with 17 across all comps and top-third goalscorer with 19 to his name across all comps.
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.