EL PASO, TEXAS– July 17, 2026 – El Paso Locomotive FC travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, July 18, to face FC Tulsa in a regular-season matchup. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MT and can be watched live on ESPN+.
BY THE NUMBERS (USL Championship)
Record: 5-5-4
Goals: 25 scored, 24 conceded (+1 GD)
Shots: 159 total, 59 on target (37.1%)
Clean Sheets: 2
Fouls: 198 drawn, 196 committed
Discipline: 31 yellow cards, 5 red cards
LAST TIME OUT
USL Championship
El Paso earned a 2-1 road victory over Las Vegas Lights FC on July 4, securing its first regular-season win since a 4-0 triumph over Hartford Athletic. Alex Méndez opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finishing a perfectly placed one-touch pass from Rubio Rubín. Las Vegas equalized in first-half stoppage time, sending the match into halftime level at 1-1. Álvaro Quezada netted the game-winner in the 52nd minute off an assist from Méndez, lifting Locomotive to all three points.
LAST TIME OUT VS FC TULSA
Locomotive last faced FC Tulsa on April 29 at Southwest University Park, falling 4-1. El Paso was reduced to 10 men just 11 minutes into the match after Gabi Torres was shown a straight red card. Tulsa broke the deadlock just before halftime to take a 1-0 lead into the break. Alex Méndez converted a penalty in the 57th minute to level the match, but Tulsa responded just one minute later to regain the lead. The visitors added two late goals before the final whistle to secure a 4-1 victory.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS FC TULSA
El Paso Locomotive FC holds a 4-2-5 all-time record against FC Tulsa. Locomotive enters the match on a three-game winless streak against Tulsa, with its last victory coming on Oct. 5, 2024, when Robert Coronado scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win. Every meeting between the clubs has come in the regular season except for their 2020 matchup.
RELEVANT QUOTES
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez on only having regular season matches remaining:
“Very good. Obviously we still want to be in the Prinx Cup, and we want to win every championship, but I think the cards didn’t fall our way in having to play a game a man down in Colorado. That probably hurt our chances with that result. This was a good opportunity against New Mexico to play some players and start some players that haven’t started much. See some players in different positions.
Like I said, I was really happy with how we played, but again it’s about results, so we just gotta make sure we’re sharper, more concentrated all the way through the 90 minutes, plus injury time, and finish opportunities that give us a leg up in the game.”
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez on getting players back healthy:
“It’s great. It’s great to see even at training. Rotating a full group that are fighting to start, fighting to get minutes, is what you want as a coach.
Amando immediately came in and was close to making an impact. You could see that our attack was more dynamic when he got on. We got Jimmy that gives us something a little bit different from the winger position. Cristo got in, got to get the feel of being in a professional match, and had some good actions.
We’re really excited. The interiors are all fighting. Carl, Danny getting in, is all important for me to see going into the stretch and we’re going to need everyone. There’s no guarentees that we’re the same group all the way through the season. Everyone knowing that they can contribute, everyone getting confidence and getting a rythmn is important.”
Forward Diego Abitia on playing well on the road, but not as well at home:
“I think soccer is sometimes like that. I don’t have and explination for that. We just have to keep focusing game by game, day by day, and we have to go to Tulsa to win. We are doing good on the road, so now we also have to focus on the home wins. It’s important to make home strong. It’s time for us to start winning at home.