PHOENIX, ARIZ. – September 19, 2026 – El Paso Locomotive FC defeated Phoenix Rising FC 3-1 on Saturday night. The victory extended the Locos’ win streak to a club-record eight games.
Locomotive opened the scoring, with Rubio Rubín recording his 15th goal of the regular season in the 11th minute. Amando Moreno provided the assist, slotting the ball into Rubín’s path for the finish.
Phoenix found the equalizer late in the first half. Rafael Czichos made a run at the back post, heading the ball into the back of the net.
Eric Calvillo restored El Paso’s lead shortly after halftime, firing a shot into the back of the net after a perfectly weighted layoff from Nicolás Cardona.
Goalkeeper Pedro Cruz came up with a huge save in the 67th minute to preserve El Paso’s lead, extending a hand to deny Phoenix’s leading scorer Ishan Sacko.
Rubín sealed the victory for the Locos deep into stoppage time, capitalizing on a collision between a Phoenix defender and the goalkeeper before calmly finding the open net.
The Locos will return home on Friday, September 25, as they host FC Tulsa for a third and final matchup this season. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
PHX 1, ELP 3
Phoenix Rising Stadium
Attendance: 7061
MATCH NOTES
- With his brace in tonight’s match, Rubio Rubín now sits alone atop the USL Golden Boot race with 16 regular-season goals. Rubín has now scored 18 goals across all competitions this season.
- El Paso Locomotive FC set a new club record for consecutive wins with eight straight victories. Last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Louisville City FC tied the previous record of seven, which was set during the 2023 season.
- Defenders Kenneth Hoban and Nicolás Cardona each recorded their first assists in the regular season with El Paso in tonight’s win. Hoban assisted on Rubín’s second goal of the night, while Cardona provided the assist on Eric Calvillo’s go-ahead goal.
SCORING SUMMARY
- PHX – 41’ Rafael Czichos (John Scearce)
- ELP – 11’ Rubio Rubín (Amando Moreno), 51’ Eric Calvillo (Nicolás Cardona), 90+6’ Rubio Rubín (Kenneth Hoban)
LINEUPS
PHX – (4-2-3-1) Patrick Rakovsky, Daniel Flores (76’ Tate Schmitt), Rafael Czichos (83’ Adrián Pelayo), Ascel Essengue, Luke Biasi, John Scearce, Jean Moursou, Damián Rivera (66’ Kelvin Arase), Diego Gómez (66’ Ihsan Sacko), Juan Torres, Dominique Badji (76’ Gunnar Studenhofft)
Subs Not Used: Pape Boye, Chituru Odunze, Noah Cross, Jaethan Irwin
ELP – (3-4-3) Pedro Cruz, Tony Alfaro, Carl Sainté (86’ Kenneth Hoban), Noah Dollenmayer, Gabi Torres, Eric Calvillo (90+2’ Ricky Ruiz), Robert Coronado (72’ Daniel Gomez), Nicolás Cardona, Amando Moreno (72’ Beto Avila), Rubio Rubín, Alex Méndez (72’ Jimmy Farkarlun)
Subs Not Used: Abraham Romero, Memo Diaz, Omar Mora
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
- PHX – 27’ Juan Torres, 48’ Jean Moursou, 78’ Luke Biasi, 80’ Luke Biasi (Second Yellow)
- ELP – 8’ Tony Alfaro, 23’ Noah Dollenmayer, 63’ Robert Coronado, 67’ Nicolás Cardona
MATCH STATS: PHX | ELP
GOALS: 1|3
ASSISTS: 1|3
POSSESSION: 53|47
SHOTS: 17|11
SHOTS ON GOAL: 4|5
SAVES: 1|4
FOULS: 17|22
OFFSIDES: 3|0
CORNERS: 6|3