Four days after debuting with a loss in the 2023 United Soccer League season, El Paso Locomotive returns today in front of its fans to face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks starting at 7:00 pm at Southwest University Park.
This will be the second of three consecutive games that the Locos will hold at home, as this Saturday they will host Detroit City FC.
Of all the rivals that the El Paso machine has faced in its history, Colorado Springs is one of the best known. El Paso and Colorado Springs have met 13 times in all competitions, seven of them at Southwest University Park. The border team leads the all-time record (6-1-6) and the last meeting between the two resulted in a loss for El Paso, the first time they lost to the Switchbacks and it was by a score of 4-1 on the 5th October of last year in the house of the Fools.
At home, Locomotive is 5-1-1 against their opponent tonight.
Coming off Saturday’s loss, El Paso will look to pick up its first win this season against Colorado Springs.
Unlike the Switchbacks, who open their 2023 campaign in El Paso, Locomotive has had the opportunity to see their team play in official competition and coach Brian Clarhaut is expected to refine the necessary pieces to ensure that Locomotive not only continues to maintain control of the game (as they did against Sacramento), but also take advantage of scoring opportunities in the box.
After being left out of the 18-man roster for Saturday’s season opener as a precaution, Luis ‘Lucho’ Solignac and Petar Petrovic are likely to appear in one or both of the games in Week 2. .
Lucho is the key forward in El Paso, after having finished as the club’s top scorer in the last two seasons. Petrovic ignited the offense during preseason, dribbling past players to create scoring chances for himself and the team.
