Locomotive prepares for mid-week match in U.S. Open Cup

El Paso Locomotive FC takes a break from the regular season to compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Southwest University Park.

The Locomotive just drew 2-2 with New Mexico United FC Sunday and also have a match this coming Saturday against Sacramento Republic FC. So, that’s three matches at home in a span of less than a week for the team.

That means they may have to make some roster adjustments Wednesday to keep players fresh.

“We’ll make changes, but the changes will be to win that game, obviously,” said head coach Mark Lowry. There’ll be a team on the field on Wednesday that I expect to win the game, that I expect to put on a performance similar to [Sunday]. We don’t have a huge squad so there can’t be that many changes. We still have a couple of injuries, obviously.”

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup features teams from different divisions competing in a single tournament.

Wednesday’s match pits the Locomotive against Forward Madison FC, which plays in a league considered to be one tier below that of the Locomotive.

If El Paso can win that match, they would advance to round three of the tournament against an opponent to be named later this month. Round three pairings are based on geographical proximity.

If the team continues to win, they could find themselves eventually meeting an MLS team. Last year, MLS and USL teams first clashed in the fourth round.

In fact, in last year’s U.S. Open Cup, one of the eight quarterfinalists was from the United Soccer League. Louisville City FC would end up falling against Chicago Fire of MLS, 4-0.

Despite the tough stretch coming up, the Locomotive do have plenty to feel good about at the moment. Specifically, they appear to be improving at a rapid pace.

After finding themselves buried near the bottom of the standings in the USL Championship earlier this year, they are now unbeaten in their last four contests. They have recorded two wins and two draws in their past four games and have surrendered just two goals over that span.