El Paso Locomotive FC came out on top 2-0 in its preseason friendly against the 2022 USL Championship regular season and league champions, San Antonio FC, Saturday morning at the Westside Soccer Complex.

“It’s always good to end up on the positive side of the scoreline and for us to bring that winning mentality,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “We battled against the defending champions and it was a physical contest, not an easy game. It was important to put in a strong lineup and see what these guys could do. I talked to the boys about being a hard team to beat and that’s what we need to be.”

Locomotive dominated possession of the ball but found it difficult to break past the midfield of San Antonio’s defense for a majority of the match. However, forward Aaron Gomez would come in to make the difference for Los Locos. Intercepting a San Antonio header to their goalkeeper, Gomez would capitalize on the defensive error to give El Paso the lead.

A few minutes later, defender Artem Kholod found his way into the six-yard box and sent a short pass to an incoming Gomez, who’d tap it in to secure a brace under his name.

Open to season ticket members, the match provided fans a first look at the 2023 Locomotive squad that will look to turnaround last season’s results and make a return to the playoffs for its milestone fifth season.

Scoring Summary                  1             2              F

El Paso Locomotive                 0             2              2

San Antonio FC                        0             0              0

ELP – Aaron Gomez

ELP – Aaron Gomez (Artem Kholod)

Lineup: Benny Diaz, Nick Hinds (Artem Kholod), Yuma (Erik McCue), Bence Pavkovics (Ander Egiluz), Marc Navarro (Miles Lyons), Liam Rose (Louis “Chapa” Herrera), Eric Calvillo (Joel Maldonado), Denys Kostyshyn (Diego Abarca), Petar Petrovic (Aaron Gomez), Emmanuel Sonupe (Chris Garcia), Luis “Lucho” Solignac (Ricardo Zacarias)

Two weeks remain before Locomotive return to the field to kick off its fifth season in the USL Championship at home on March 11 vs Sacramento Republic! Tickets for 2023 are on sale now and are available for purchase online at www.eplocomotivefc.com/tickets.