EL PASO, TEXAS – August 21, 2026 – The Locos head to Colorado Springs on Saturday, August 22, to take on the Switchbacks. Locomotive will look to carry its recent momentum into the road matchup and secure three important points as the team continues its push up the Western Conference standings.
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.
FULL STEAM AHEAD
El Paso Locomotive FC is back on the road on Saturday, August 22, to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The match can be watched live on ESPN+ with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. MT.
BY THE NUMBERS (USL Championship)
Record: 9-7-4
Goals: 32 scored, 27 conceded (+5 GD)
Shots: 259 total, 94 on target (36.3%)
Clean Sheets: 6
Fouls: 272 drawn, 281 committed
Discipline: 44 yellow cards, 5 red cards
LAST TIME OUT
USL Championship
El Paso Locomotive FC defeated San Antonio FC 3-0 on the road on Saturday. Alex Méndez opened the scoring with a long range blast, before completing his brace after capitalizing on a mistake from San Antonio at the back. Locomotive took a 3-0 lead into the halftime break and were able to keep the clean sheet through the second half for a third straight shutout victory.
LAST TIME OUT VS COLORADO SPRINGS
El Paso saw Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC earlier this season in the Prinx Tires USL Cup, losing 2-1 on the road. The Locos found themselves behind early after Ricky Ruiz was shown a straight red card in the 25th minute, reducing his team to 10 men. Colorado Springs scored first, at the 38 minute mark, but Tony Alfaro found the back of the net in stoppage time to tie the match heading into the break. The Switchbacks found the game winner in the 70th minute to take the 2-1 victory.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS COLORADO SPRINGS
El Paso Locomotive FC holds a 7-5-10 record against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, including a 2-2-6 record on the road. Locomotive’s last win over Colorado Springs came on May 5, 2023, at Weidner Field, where El Paso secured a 3-2 victory behind goals from Luis Solignac, Petar Petrovic, and Emmanuel Sonupe. Over their last five meetings, Locomotive have recorded two losses and three draws, scoring six goals while conceding eight.
GOAL-SCORING TRIO
Locomotive is the only team in the USL Championship with two players ranked in the Top 10 for goals. Rubio Rubín leads the team with 10 goals, putting him tied for fourth in the Golden Boot race. Alex Méndez is the other Loco in the Top 10, with eight goals, which has him tied for eighth. Amando Moreno rounds out the Loco attack with six goals in the USL Championship this season.
WINNING WAYS
El Paso is riding its second-longest win streak of the season, having won three straight matches. Earlier this season, Locomotive put together a six-game win streak, defeating Monterey Bay FC, Laredo Heat SC, Sacramento Republic FC, New Mexico United, Las Vegas Lights FC, and Hartford Athletic.
NOTABLE QUOTES
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez on winning the Copa Tejas…
“It’s tradition, right. It’s been going on since 2019, and I don’t want to disregard that competition and the rivalry part of it. But, to be honest with you, there’s one trophy that we have our eye on. There’s one trophy that we are going to continue to focus towards winning.
It’s great for the guys. We had a little fun in the locker room afterwards; they were dancing around the trophy, and everything, but our mindset is on the championship. Our mindset is get as high as possible in the standings so we put ourselves in a good position in playoffs. That’s always been our goal.”
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez on how the upcoming match can help accomplish the week-to-week goals…
“Just not getting too high and not getting too low. We’ve gone through a spell where we delt with adversity, and we try to stay even keel and continue working knowing that we’ll get through it, and sam enow. We are on a good run. We’ve gotten a lot of points in the last two weeks. Not getting overconfident, staying humble, and keeping the work ethic high every day. Then we’ll reap the dividends of that type of mentality of our daily work.
Like I said, the players deserve everything. They’re the ones that have had to guide themselves and stay mentally strong during some tough parts, and also stay humble during the moments like now, where we beat our rivals 3-0 on the road.
Road wins are important. We’ve always been pretty good on the road. As we all know, our home performance needed to improve. We’ve now got ourselves some momentum there. Six home games moving forward, four on the road. Our goal is to make sure that our fans are pround of us and we’re getting as many points as we can at home, and staying competitive on the road and trying to get points on the road. At the end of the day, our performances will dictate what we earn.”