EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC face a quick and challenging turnaround after opening the 2023 season with a 1-0 home loss to Sacramento last Saturday.
First, El Paso welcome Colorado Springs Switchbacks to Southwest University Park on Wednesday, March 15. Following that, Locomotive close out the March homestand on Saturday against Detroit City FC, who will make their first ever trip to El Paso.
Following Saturday’s loss, El Paso will be looking for a positive result against Colorado Springs. Unlike the Switchbacks – who open their 2023 campaign in El Paso – Locomotive have had an opportunity to see its squad play in official competition.
Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut will fine-tune pieces in the squad to ensure Locomotive not only continue to maintain control of the match (as it did against Sacramento) but also capitalize on scoring opportunities in the box.
After being left out of the 18-man roster for Saturday’s season opener as a precaution, it’s likely that Luis “Lucho” Solignac and Petar Petrovic make an appearance for one of, or both, games in Week Two.
Solignac is clinical in front of goal for Los Locos, finishing as the club’s top scorer the past two seasons. Petrovic lit up the offense during pre-season, dribbling through players to create scoring opportunities for the team and himself.
Should El Paso repeat its pitch dominance from Saturday and couple that with possible appearances from Lucho and Petrovic, the Switchbacks defense could certainly face an uphill battle.
Kickoff for Wednesday’s midweek showdown at Southwest University Park is slated for 7 p.m. and can be seen on Estrella TV (Channel 9.2), ktsm.com and ESPN+.
