Club News

On Thursday, El Paso Locomotive played through a possession-oriented game to break down the Austin Bold numbers and claim a 1-0 victory at Bold Stadium. Throughout the match, a variety of Locomotive came up big with defensive stops and offensive plays, however, Defender Macca King’s box-to-box performance earned him a nod on the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 7 – marking the second straight week a Locomotive player has been featured.

In the night, Macca led the team in passes and successful passes, completing 67 out of 78 passes to keep the ball moving for Locomotive. Defensively, Macca won 5 of 8 duels and completing 2 of 3 tackles. Paired with his two interceptions and four clearances, Macca’s work on the right side of the field helped keep Austin Bold to only one shot on goal.

Macca’s game involves him in the attack, moving up the right flank with dangerous crosses into the center of the box when the opportunity calls for it. That game paid off with an assist to Diego Luna’s first professional goal and completed an overall performance worthy of a Team of the Week nod.

The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.

See the full USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 7 below:

USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 7

GK – Alec Kann, Atlanta United 2: Alec Kann recorded a seven-save shutout including a late penalty kick save to deny Louisville City FC’s Niall McCabe as Atlanta took a 1-0 victory on Sunday night, its first against LouCity in its history.

D – Robert Coronado, OKC Energy FC: Robert Coronado provided the assist for Energy FC’s game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw against Indy Eleven, and went a perfect 11 of 11 in duels while completing 3 of 3 dribbles and making four interceptions.

D – Kaveh Rad, Sporting Kansas City II: Kaveh Rad scored his first goal in the professional ranks and completed 62 of 71 passes while winning 8 of 9 duels and recording seven clearances and 14 recoveries defensively.

D – Aiden McFadden, Atlanta United 2: Aiden McFadden scored the only goal as Atlanta United 2 defeated Louisville City FC 1-0 on Sunday night while also winning 11 duels and six aerial duels defensively.

D – Macauley King, El Paso Locomotive FC: Macauley King provided the assist on Locomotive FC’s goal in its 1-0 win against Austin Bold FC on Thursday night, and completed 67 of 78 passes while winning 2 of 3 tackles and 5 of 8 duels.

M – Arturo Rodriguez, Phoenix Rising FC: Arturo Rodriguez helped spark Phoenix Rising FC’s late two-goal comeback, recording seven key passes in 18 minutes and the assist on Joey Calistri’s equalizer in the side’s 2-2 draw with San Diego Loyal SC.

M – Laurent Kissiedou, Memphis 901 FC: Laurent Kissiedou recorded one assist and two key passes, completed 27 of 31 passes overall, and won 7 of 10 duels as 901 FC claimed a 2-1 victory on the road against Indy Eleven on Saturday night.

M – Danny Barrera, Hartford Athletic: Danny Barrera posted a career-high single-game individual mark with three assists and also notched a goal as Hartford took a 7-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II for the largest victory in club history.

F – Elvis Amoh, Rio Grande Valley FC: Elvis Amoh scored the second hat trick in Toros history to lead a second-half comeback for the visitors in a 4-2 win against Miami FC, while finishing the night with five shots.

F – Neco Brett, Birmingham Legion FC: Neco Brett bagged his first two-goal game of the season and recorded three shots on target overall while winning 5 of 6 duels and 3 of 3 aerial duels in Legion FC’s 2-1 win against FC Tulsa.

F – Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Hartford Athletic: Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. scored twice on three shots overall, recorded two key passes, and won 4 of 7 duels before being substituted 10 minutes into the second half of Hartford’s 7-0 win against the Red Bulls II.

Bench: Evan Louro (TBR), Caleb Wiley (ATL), Gabriel Torres (HFD), Bryce Duke (LV), Ronaldo Damus (OC), Preston Tabort Etaka (HFD), Cal Jennings (LV)

El Paso Locomotive FC claimed all three points on the road with a 1-0 win over Austin Bold at Bold Stadium on Thursday. Midfielder Diego Luna recorded his first professional goal in his first career start while Goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas saved the one Austin Bold shot on target to keep his third clean sheet in a row.

Playing on a wet surface after days of rain in Austin, Texas, the match got off to a quiet start with both teams getting a feel for the field and one another. Locomotive dominated possession with a passing game through the opening 15 minutes, finding the most threatening chance in the 23rd through Midfielder Bryam Rebellon, who connected a header from a corner that went just wide. As Bold began providing more of a threat in the first half, the Locomotive defense did what it does best and kept Austin to only one shot on goal.

The match opened in the second half, with Locomotive still dominating possession in the game. Locomotive broke the stalemate with Luna finding his first professional goal, connecting a headed effort to the far post after Defender Macca King lobbed the cross into the box. Bold started its counter, however, a late-game Zendejas save kept Austin off the board, securing not only the full three points on the road but the third clean sheet in a row for El Paso Locomotive.

UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive returns for another midweek game when it hosts 2019 Eastern Conference finalist Indy Eleven at Southwest University Park. The match is set for Wednesday, June 9 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT. Tickets are available at online at https://www.eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or by calling 915-235-GOAL.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

ELP: Diego Luna (Macca King), 56th minute: In a play that started in the midfield, Lucho Solignac sent a ball forward to find King on the right wing. King sent the cross to the far post where a running Luna connected the headed effort low. The ball took the bounce off the ground out of reach of the Bold Goalkeeper, finding the game-winner just before the hour mark.

NOTES:

– Three Locos earn their first starts in a Locomotive jersey. Forward Aidan Apodaca, Midfielder Diego Luna, and Defender Matt Bahner earned their first starts. For Diego Luna, it was his first professional start in his career.

– There were five changes in the Locomotive lineup from the scoreless draw against Sporting Kansas City II. Aidan Apodaca, Diego Luna, Chapa Herrera, Bryam Rebellon, and Matt Bahner featured in the Starting XI for Aaron Gomez, Dylan Mares, Nick Ross, Jose Aguinaga, and Mechack Jerome, respectively.

– Diego Luna recorded his first professional career, putting away a headed effort to the far post just before the hour mark.

– Goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas recorded his third clean sheet in his third game with Locomotive, keeping El Paso undefeated in the 2021 USL Championship season after four games.

Match: El Paso Locomotive FC at Austin Bold FC
Date: June 3, 2021
Venue: Bold Stadium; Austin, Texas
Weather: 68F; Mostly Clear

Scoring Summary              1          2          F

El Paso Locomotive FC      0          1          1

Austin Bold FC                     0          0          0

ELP – Diego Luna (Macca King), 56’

Lineups:

El Paso Locomotive FC (4-4-2): Adrian Zendejas; Eder Borelli, Yuma, Matt Bahner, Macca King, Richie Ryan, Chapa Herrera (Nick Ross, 63’), Bryam Rebellon (Ricardo Zacarias, 85’), Diego Luna (Leandro Carrijo, 68’), Lucho Solignac, Aidan Apodaca (Dylan Mares, 63’)

Subs not used: Ben Beaury, Niall Logue, Jose Aguinaga,

Austin Bold FC (3-4-3): Elliot Panicco; Amobi Okugo (Jason Johnson, 54’), Fabien Garcia, Gustavo Rissi, Emilio Ycaza (Jorge Troncoso, 45’), Juan Torres, Xavier Báez (Omar Ciss 76’), Nicholas Hinds (Kofi Sarkodie, 65’), Owayne Gordon, Stéfano Pinho (Collin Fernandez, 65’), Sean Okoli

Subs not used: Jermaine Taylor, Hugo Fauroux

Stats Summary: ELP | ATX

Shots:5 | 6
Shots on Goal: 1 | 1
Saves: 1 | 0
Corner Kicks: 5 | 7
Fouls: 14 | 11
Offside: 1 | 1

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:

ATX – Emilio Ycaza (Caution), 10’
ATX – Fabien Garcia (Caution), 30’
ELP – Yuma (Caution), 39’
ELP – Bryam Rebellon (Caution), 51’
ATX – Nicholas Hinds (Caution), 57’
ATX – Xavier Báez (Caution), 71’
ELP – Adrian Zendejas (Caution), 81’
ATX – Sean Okoli (Caution), 87’
ELP – Lucho Solignac (Caution), 90’+2

After just a few weeks away in the Pacific Northwest, El Paso Locomotive goalkeeper Logan Ketterer has returned to the Borderland and is ready to get back between the pipes for Locomotive. While he won’t be traveling for the Copa Tejas match against Austin Bold FC tomorrow, Logan will likely make his homecoming at Southwest University Park in front of the Locomotive faithful on June 9 against Indy Eleven.

“It all happened really quick,” started Logan in an interview after returning. “It was an incredible experience from start to end. Mark [Lowry] and the Portland organization put in so much work to make sure the paperwork got done in time. Mark was fantastic to allow me to take the opportunity because really it wasn’t easy for him. He had to go through a lot of hoops and hurdles in finding other players. It was a lot of work for me to take a chance to go play some games. It an incredible experience and I couldn’t be happier with everyone for making it happen.”

On May 13, to an outpour of love and support from the friends, family, 8th Notch, and the El Paso community, Logan Ketterer made the surprise move on loan to Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers FC. With three of their four goalkeepers unavailable due to an unfortunate string of injuries, the 2020 MLS is Back champions turned to El Paso and Logan to fill a void.

Just days after touching down in Portland, Logan made his appearance on the Starting XI against San Jose Earthquakes. The Timbers defense made it a relatively easy debut, keeping San Jose off the mark, however, Logan made two massive saves including a penalty kick save against the All-Time MLS leading goal scorer, Chris Wondolowski. Ahead of the game, Logan admitted the experience was nerve-wracking at first. Joining a new team in a new city with a lot of expectations is enough to put anyone on edge, but once the opening whistle blew, it all went away.

“It sounds silly, and obviously there is pressure, but once the gloves came on, it was just here is the same routine I’ve been doing for the last two years,” said the Locomotive goalkeeper. “It’s just a different stadium with a different colored jersey. That was the biggest difference and I felt comfortable. Luckily, I was given a chance early on, catching a cross on a corner that was kind of a difficult ball to deal with. It was a great way to get brought into the game and from there I was completely comfortable.”

That level of comfort put Logan on track to organize the team that defended well against San Jose to earn the shutout victory. A week later, Logan recorded a second clean sheet at Providence Park against LA Galaxy before falling in his last MLS game against a strong Philadelphia Union side.

Logan’s performance at the MLS level as an “unknown variable” – a moniker he hopes to have shed within the last three games – has proven something that those familiar with El Paso soccer has known for a while: There is MLS-level talent in the USL Championship. More importantly, there is MLS-level talent in El Paso.

“We have the players here,” Logan exclaimed. “Going from El Paso to Portland, you could throw a number of these players onto the team at Portland and just change the logo. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them and some of these players. These players belong at MLS; you just don’t always get the opportunity. That’s one thing that I hopefully showed, and that the world starts to realize pretty soon. There are a lot of extremely talented players in USL that deserve chances. Just because they are a league lower doesn’t mean the competitiveness and the skill isn’t there.”

After a dreamlike experience and watching his Locomotive family play on TV 1,630 miles away, the mainstay goalkeeper is glad to be back in El Paso and eager to continue doing what he set out to do.

“I’m excited to be back and get to play next week. I want to win games and I want to win championships and that’s what we are here to do.“

El Paso Locomotive will make its National TV debut as USL Championship’s Game of the Week against Texas rival, Austin Bold FC.

MATCH DETAILS: USL Championship Regular Season Game #4; at Austin Bold FC; Kickoff at 7:00 p.m. MT

VENUE/WEATHER: Bold Stadium; Austin, Texas; 79 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms

WATCH: ESPN Deportes (Spanish), ESPN+

RECORDS/STANDINGS: Locomotive: 1-0-2 (4 points, MTN-4); Austin Bold FC: 1-1-1 (4 points, MTN-5)

PREVIOUS MEETING: Locomotive and Austin Bold FC have not played one another since their shared inaugural 2019 season. In mid-October of 2019, the two met at Southwest University Park, splitting the points on a 1-1 draw following a penalty conversion by Sebastian Velasquez for Locomotive and the equalizer by André Lima for Bold.

UNDEFEATED IN THREE

After three games to open the 2021 USL Championship season, El Paso Locomotive is left as one of four teams undefeated with a record of 1-0-2. Starting with a 1-1 draw against their heated New Mexico United rival, Locomotive went on to claim a 1-0 win over Rio Grande Valley to snap their three-game win streak before securing a point on the road in a clean sheet against Sporting Kansas City II. Now with three games under their belt, the boys in blue travel to Austin to resume the Copa Tejas competition.

LONG LOST RIVALS

El Paso and Austin have not faced one another since 2019 when both entered the league as the newest expansion teams. In their first season, the two played to a scoreless draw at Bold Stadium in late April before they split the points again on a 1-1 draw in mid-October. With the league opting to do Group play in a condensed 2020 season, Locomotive and Bold didn’t see each other on the pitch after being placed in different groups.

TEAM OF THE WEEK CALIBER

Contributing to the second clean sheet in three games, Locomotive Defender Yuma was selected for the USL Championship’s Team of the Week for Week 6. Yuma’s stellar performance against Sporting KC II (94/99 passes completed, 5/6 duals won, and 10 times possession gained), makes him a player to watch going into the match against Austin Bold. As Locomotive begins to find more of its regular-season rhythm, expect more players to start highlighting the weekly accolade.

BOLD’S FIRST WIN

In the last week, Austin Bold secured its first win in its third game of the season. Bold kicked off the season in a 3-1 loss to New Mexico United before playing back-to-back games against the 2019 USL Championship title winners Real Monarchs. In Utah, the two played to a 1-1 draw before Austin downed the title winners in a 2-0 victory. Bold will now test its momentum against a Locomotive squad that has yet to drop all three points in the 2021 season.

LINEUP SHAKEUP

Locomotive is playing a tight schedule, having played against Sporting KC II on Sunday, the squad will play against Austin this Thursday before playing again less than a week later against 2019 Eastern Conference finalists Indy Eleven. With such a quick turnaround of games, look to Head Coach Mark Lowry to consider using the quality on the bench, rotating players through the Starting XI to keep legs fresh.

El Paso Locomotive Youth Soccer Club announced today that Academy teams for both boys and girls will be formed for the 2021 – 2022 youth soccer year. These elite Academy teams will provide additional benefits to youth soccer players in the Borderplex region Locomotive Youth Soccer will be holding open tryouts for players on June 7, 9, and 10.

“Locomotive will form an elite boys’ team in each of next year’s age groups, Under-13 to Under-17,” explained Bob Bigney, Director of Youth Soccer for Locomotive FC. “These Academy Teams will represent the very top level of youth soccer in the region. Locomotive Academy Teams will play in regional and national leagues as well as other elite-level competitions throughout the year. This is for the best of the best in the El Paso area.”

The addition of the first Girl’s Teams for Locomotive Youth Soccer provides a big step for girls in the Borderplex region hoping to take a path-to-pro in the world’s game.

“We are excited to offer the same high level of coaching and programming for female players as we do with our boys’ teams,” said Bigney. “The plan is to form Girls’ Club Teams in the 2011 (Under-11) and 2010 (Under-12) age groups alongside Girls’ Academy Teams in the 2019 (U-13) and 2008 (U-14) age groups.”

Locomotive Youth Soccer will be conducting open tryouts for these Academy Teams, as well as its other Locomotive Club teams. Interested players can register for the free and open tryouts by Friday, June 4 by visiting the El Paso Locomotive Youth Soccer website.

Locomotive youth teams will be formed after tryouts, with invitations to families of selected players sent at the end of June. Teams will begin practices at the beginning of August and the youth soccer year will go from August 2021 – June 2022.

“With the success our teams had this past year and in this past weekend at elite level tournaments, forming these Academy Teams and playing in national competitions is the next step for Locomotive FC,” concluded Bigney.

More information about Locomotive Youth Soccer can be found on its website at www.eplocomotiveyouthsoccer.com.

El Paso Locomotive FC will go back on the road to take on its Texas rival Austin Bold FC in a midweek game on Thursday, June 3. Kickoff from Bold Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN Deportes as USL Championship’s highlighted Game of the Week.

After three matches, El Paso Locomotive remains as one of four teams left undefeated in the 2021 USL Championship season. Opening the 2021 regular season with a record of 1-0-2 (5 points), Locomotive takes on its next challenge against Austin Bold FC in a midweek contest. The two sides have not met since their shared inaugural 2019 season, where they split the points home and away on a scoreless draw at Bold Stadium and a 1-1 draw at Southwest University Park. With an all-time series deadlock of 0-0-2, both sides will be looking to turn the tides and get an edge in the Copa Tejas rivalry.

Hot off the heels of a scoreless draw against Sporting Kansas City II last Sunday, Locomotive is eager to get three points on the road when it visits Bold Stadium this Thursday. Having yet to lose a game and with games in hand over teams in Mountain Division, Locomotive is in a prime position to climb the standings early in the season. Meanwhile, Austin Bold FC recently earned its first win of the 2021 USL Championship season over Real Monarchs on a 2-0 score line. With some a bit of rest following the postponement of its match with Tacoma Defiance following inclement weather.

Follow El Paso Locomotive FC at Austin Bold FC – Thurs., June 1, 2021

·         Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT;
·         Watch: ESPN Deportes (Spanish), ESPN+
·         Social Media: @EPLocomotiveFC & #AUSvELP on Twitter
·         Additional Content: Official El Paso Locomotive FC App (iOS / Android)