Preview: El Paso Locomotive FC vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – El Paso Locomotive FC (4-West, 9-6-5, 32 points) begin their three-game road trip with a visit to H-E-B Park for their last Copa Tejas match of 2023 against Rio Grande Valley FC.
The two teams met just two weeks ago in a 1-1 draw at Southwest University Park.
In their four meetings at H-E-B Park, El Paso is yet to win a match. A win for El Paso would not only put them back in the win column and end a four-game winless streak against RGV, but also a six-game winless streak this season.
“We know what we’re capable of doing, we’ve done it previously,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “We’re hitting a little bit of a bump in the road, which is natural during the season, but we need to get back on now and it starts against RGV this weekend.”
Last time around, forward Aaron Gomez proved to be the difference-maker as he helped El Paso rescue a point with his diving header in the 88’. He now has the second-highest number of overall minutes contested across all competitions with 8,153, surpassing former defender Richie Ryan’s 8,105 minutes, and will once again look to help El Paso up top to create chances.
RGV will be without two key players on Saturday against El Paso because of red card suspensions –defender Frank Nodarse and midfielder Robert Coronado.
Nodarse is RGV’s leader in defensive clearances (60), interceptions (37) and tackles (34) while Coronado has been a staple in central midfield, making an appearance in every regular season match as one of the club’s top passers as well as contributing two assists and a goal.
A win or draw for El Paso will also see their unbeaten streak on the road this season continue. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MT and you can watch the game on ESPN+.
