EL PASO, TEXAS – April 4, 2026 – El Paso Locomotive FC held off a late push to defeat Las Vegas Lights FC 3–2 at Southwest University Park and remain unbeaten on the season.
Locomotive struck early and set the tone just seven minutes in when Amando Moreno opened the scoring with a finish inside the box. Las Vegas responded in the 23rd minute through Christian Pinzón, but El Paso Locomotive FC answered before halftime as Rubio Rubín powered home a header in the 34th minute to restore the advantage and send the hosts into the break with a 2–1 lead.
Out of halftime, El Paso wasted little time extending the lead. Moreno found the back of the net again in the 48th minute, finishing off a well-delivered cross from Ricky Ruiz to give Los Locos breathing room at 3–1. The two-goal cushion proved crucial as Las Vegas continued to press, eventually pulling one back in the 60th minute on a close-range header from Jonathan Rodriguez following a corner.
With the victory, El Paso extends its unbeaten run and carries momentum into a road matchup against Hartford Athletic on Saturday, April 11 at 5 p.m. MT, followed by a trip to face MLS opponent Houston Dynamo FC on April 15 as part of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
GAME NOTES
- Los Locos improve to 5-0-1 in 2026, including a 3-0-1 mark in league play, earning 10 points and moving into second place in the Western Conference. The six-match unbeaten run across all competitions is the second-best start in club history, trailing only the 2021 season when the Locomotive went 4-0-3 through their first seven matches.
- Amando Moreno found the net in the 7th and 48th minutes to record his fourth brace in a Locomotive jersey. His last brace came on October 1, 2025, against Oakland Roots SC. It also marked the second time Moreno scored in the 7th minute of a match against San Antonio FC on October 25, 2025.
- Rubio Rubín stayed red-hot, scoring his sixth goal in as many matches and his fifth in league play. He becomes the first player in Locomotive history to open a season with six goals across six matches and just the third to reach that mark at any point in a season. Jerome Kiesewetter tallied nine goals in six matches from May 4 to June 8, 2019, while Luis Solignac recorded eight goals in six matches from June 22 to September 18 in 2022.
ELP 3, LV2
Southwest University Park
ATTENDANCE: 5,432
SCORING SUMMARY
- ELP – Amando Moreno 7’ (Robert Coronado), Rubio Rubín 34’, Amando Moreno 48’ (Ricky Ruiz)
- LV – Christian Pinzon 23’, Johnathan Rodriguez 60’ (Themi Antonoglou)
LINEUPS
ELP – (4-5-1) Abraham Romero, Kenneth Hoban (Palermo Ortiz 45’), Ricky Ruiz, Tofi Twamsi, Tony Alfaro, Alex Méndez (Gabi Torres 45’), Álvaro Quezada, Daniel Gómez, Robert Coronado (Diego Abitia 66’), Amando Moreno (Omar Mora 81’), Rubio Rubín (Carl Sainté 66’)
Subs Not Used: Sebastian Mora-Mora, Joseluis Villagomez, Jimmy Farkarlun
LV – (4-3-3) Jared Mazzola, Shawn Smart (Elias Gartig 73’), Themi Antonoglou (Nighte Pickering 73’), Nate Jones, Aaron Guillen, Carson Locker, Marc Ybarra, Patrick Leal (Edison Azcona 73’), Johnny Rodriguez, Ben Mines, Christian Pinzon
Subs Not Used: JahLane Forbes, Charlie Lanphier, Giorgio Probo, Abraham Okyere
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- ELP – Gabi Torres 80’
- LV – Marc Ybarra 38’, HC Devin Rensing 90’+2’
MATCH STATS: ELP | LV
GOALS: 3|2
ASSISTS: 2|1
POSSESSION: 42| 58
SHOTS: 9|8
SHOTS ON GOAL: 5|4
SAVES: 2|2
FOULS: 15|15
OFFSIDES: 2|2
CORNERS: 1|8