EL PASO, TEXAS – April 10, 2026 – El Paso Locomotive FC head to Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 11, at 5 p.m. MT to take on Hartford Athletic at Trinity Health Stadium, marking their first matchup against an Eastern Conference opponent in the 2026 season. Riding a 5-0-1 start across all competitions, the Locos look to carry their early-season momentum on the road as they continue a travel-heavy opening stretch and aim to remain unbeaten.
Watch: ESPN+
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.
KEY STORYLINES
FULL STEAM AHEAD
El Paso Locomotive FC hits the road for the fifth time in 2026 with a matchup against Hartford Athletic on Saturday, April 11, at 5:00 p.m. MT at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Conn. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Los Locos enter the contest unbeaten through six matches across all competitions (5-0-1) and will look to carry that momentum into their first test against an Eastern Conference opponent. Saturday’s match marks El Paso’s fifth road contest of the 2026 season compared to just two matches played at home.
BY THE NUMBERS (REGULAR SEASON COMPETITION)
- Record: 3-0-1 (10 points)
- Goals: 10 scored, 3 conceded
- Shots: 33 total, 20 on target (60.6%)
- Rubio Rubín & Amando Moreno: 8 combined goals (80%)
- Fouls: 61 drawn, 62 committed
- Discipline: 10 yellow cards, 1 red card
LOOKING BACK
El Paso Locomotive FC secured a 3-2 victory over Las Vegas Lights FC at Southwest University Park. Los Locos opened the scoring in the 7th minute through Amando Moreno before Las Vegas equalized in the 23rd minute, but El Paso responded with a Rubio Rubín goal in the 34th minute to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. Moreno added his second goal in the 48th minute to extend the advantage to 3-1, while Las Vegas pulled one back in the 60th minute to set up a competitive finish. Los Locos held on for all three points behind Moreno’s brace and continued scoring form from Rubín.
STRONG START IN LEAGUE PLAY
El Paso Locomotive FC has opened USL Championship play with a 3-0-1 record, earning 10 points through four matches and positioning themselves 3rd in Western Conference standings. Los Locos have outscored opponents 10-3 (+7 goal differential) while remaining unbeaten in league play.
HISTORIC UNBEATEN RUN
El Paso Locomotive FC has reached a milestone stretch, going unbeaten in six consecutive matches for the first time to open a season in club history. The only comparable run came in 2021, when Los Locos put together a seven-match unbeaten streak (4-0-3), marking the longest opening stretch in club history.
UNBEATEN FORM AMONG ELITE COMPANY
Through the opening weeks of the season, El Paso remains one of three unbeaten teams in the USL Championship – Locomotive, Tampa Bay Rowdies, and this week’s opponent, Hartford Athletic, reinforcing its position as an early contender in both the Western Conference and league-wide standings.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS HARTFORD ATHLETIC
El Paso Locomotive FC holds a 2-1-1 record all-time against Hartford Athletic, including a 2-0-0 mark on the road at Trinity Health Stadium. Los Locos have outscored Hartford 5-3 across four meetings and have outscored Hartford 4-1 in those matches at Trinity Health Stadium. Los Locos are 0-1-1 at home against Hartford. Despite controlling possession in both matches (62% in 2022, 64% in 2024), El Paso has scored just one goal in two home matches against Hartford.
LAST TIME OUT VS HARTFORD ATHLETIC
El Paso Locomotive FC earned a 2-1 road victory over Hartford Athletic on March 29, 2025, at Trinity Health Stadium, securing their first win of the 2025 season behind a late winner from Wahab Ackwei in the 86th minute after capitalizing on a loose ball in the box. Beto Avila opened the scoring in the 10th minute as Los Locos came out with early pressure and controlled 53% of possession. Locomotive’s defense limited Hartford to just two shots (one on target) before a Gabi Torres corner led to Ackwei’s decisive goal. Locomotive finished with seven shots (three on goal) and five corners while improving to 2-0-0 all-time in Hartford.
ATTACKING LEADERSHIP
Los Locos’ attack has been powered by Rubio Rubín and Amando Moreno, who have each scored four goals in four USL Championship matches, combining for eight of the team’s 10 league goals (80%). Rubín has added one assist with six shots and five on target, while Moreno has recorded seven shots with five on target and drawn six fouls, emphasizing his ability to create opportunities in the final third.
MORENO GETS THE BRACE
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, when he did so against San Antonio FC on October 25, 2025.
RUBÍN STAYS HOT
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, 2022.
RUBÍN LEADS THE ATTACK
Forward Rubio Rubín has been a key attacking figure for El Paso Locomotive FC in 2026, recording 6 goals across all competitions, including 4 goals in USL Championship play and 2 in the U.S. Open Cup.
He opened league play with a two-goal performance vs. Colorado Springs (March 7) and followed with a goal and assist in a 3-0 road win at Monterey Bay (March 14). Rubín has totaled seven shots with five on target in league play, and has contributed in five of the club’s six matches across all competitions.
MÉNDEZ MAKES HIS MARK
Alex Méndez has scored three goals across all competitions in 2026, with all three coming on set pieces – a free kick, a penalty, and a second-half dead-ball finish in U.S. Open Cup play. He also added an assist in the season opener, giving him four goal contributions, which ranks among the team leaders early in the season.
ATTACKING EFFICIENCY
El Paso has produced 10 goals in four matches (2.5 per match) while generating 33 total shots with 20 on target, good for a 60.6% shots-on-target rate. The Locos have maximized their chances in front of goal, turning limited volume into high-quality production.
PUTTING ON THE PRESSURE
El Paso Locomotive FC has established itself as one of the top attacking teams in the USL Championship, ranking 2nd in the league in total goals (10) through the opening stretch of the 2026 season, trailing only Louisville City FC with 11. This places the Locos ahead of multiple Western Conference contenders and tied or ahead of clubs like Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Las Vegas Lights FC, both with eight goals.
DEFENSE VS USL OPPONENTS
Defensively, El Paso Locomotive has allowed just three goals in four league matches (0.75 per match), placing them among the more organized defensive units in the USL Championship. Their ability to limit opponents to low goal totals complements their attacking production, creating one of the better goal differentials in the league.
Players such as Kofi Twumasi and Ricky Ruiz have logged heavy minutes, contributing to consistency along the back line and limiting sustained pressure from opponents.
LEAGUE RECOGNITION
El Paso Locomotive FC has earned multiple league honors early in the 2026 USL Championship season, highlighted by forward Amando Moreno being named USL Championship Player of the Week while also earning a spot in the Starting XI for Week 5. Moreno becomes the second Locomotive player to earn Player of the Week honors this season, joining Rubio Rubín, who received the award in Week 1. Midfielder Alex Méndez has also been recognized for his consistent performances, earning Starting XI honors twice (Week 2 and Week 4), while goalkeeper Sebastian Mora-Mora was voted USL Championship Save of the Week in Week 4 by fans.
MORE MORENO
The latest Player of the Week honor for Amando Moreno marks the third time he has received league recognition since joining El Paso Locomotive FC. Moreno was previously named USL Championship Player of the Week in Week 2 of the 2025 season and Week 1 of the 2024 season. In addition to his Player of the Week honors, Moreno has been named to the USL Championship Starting XI five other times, including four selections in 2025 and one in 2024, underscoring his consistent performance and importance to the Locos’ attack.
RECENT LOCOMOTIVE QUOTES
HC Junior Gonzalez on what has made the team successful:
“Rotating the roster and getting more guys minutes in preseason games helped, along with their buy-in to what we’re teaching. We’ve set up a training environment that’s intense but also focused on teaching our philosophy at the same time, and the group has developed a strong understanding of each other and is clicking at the right moments.
You never know how things are going to play out, but I think sticking to the daily process and having goal-oriented principles each day – breaking the big picture into smaller segments – has made the learning environment more effective. We’re seeing the fruits of that. At the same time, you can do all those things and still not get the results if the ball doesn’t bounce your way. It comes down to the mentality of the group when they’re competing.
We’ve learned the importance of managing player load throughout the week, knowing that travel adds fatigue and that overtraining can be a risk. On the road, you’re together most of the time, which can actually help. Sometimes home games are a bit more challenging in that sense because there’s less time together – we just show up on gameday.
Like any team, there’s added pressure to win at home with fans and family watching. I don’t see a huge difference between home and away, but our travel is tough – especially with the Open Cup – so we have to be smart about managing workloads and keeping players fresh. We just gave the group two days off, which is rare for us given the schedule, but it was important.
We’ve hit our goals so far, which is great, and the group is in a good place. They’re seeing the results of their work, which leads to points. Now we just have to keep that going.”
D Ricky Ruiz on the biggest takeaway from the start of the season:
“I believe I mentioned this before, but I think as a group, the technical side of it, everyone has bought in. During the preseason, things probably weren’t clicking as much, which is normal. But I think now is the time when it’s starting to click, and obviously we know what we have to do. Everything is coming naturally. There are still some things we need to fix and work on, but for the most part, everyone has bought in. The mentality of the group going into every game is what stands out. I think that mentality is going to help us keep pushing forward and bouncing back from those situations.”
F Amando Moreno on what the team has learned about themselves:
“There was how resilient we can be. You could tell some of the guys have been tired from these last couple of games, and you could tell fatigue was setting in. But you could tell, everybody’s locked into what we need to do, and it’s been showing.”