El Paso Locomotive welcomes Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to Southwest University Park, a venue where in the all-time series between the two sides, Locomotive has yet to lose.
MATCH DETAILS: USL Championship Regular Season Game #6; vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC; 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff
VENUE/WEATHER: Southwest University Park; El Paso, Texas; 108F degrees and bright sunny skies
TICKETS: Click Here!
WATCH: ESPN+ | El Paso – Las Cruces CW
RECORDS/STANDINGS: Locomotive: 3-0-2 (11 points, MTN-2); Switchbacks FC: 1-2-1 (4 points, MTN-7)
PREVIOUS MEETING: In the last outing between these two teams, Locomotive traveled to Colorado Springs, playing to an even 0 – 0 draw to walk out of Weidner Field with a clean sheet and a point in hand.
THE SWITCHBACKS BANE
Locomotive is the bane of Switchbacks FC’s existence. In six games over two years, the Switchbacks have yet to walk away with all three points. Coming away with scoreless draws twice is the closest the team from Colorado Springs has come to a full result against Los Locos. Needless to say, it will be an uphill challenge for the Switchbacks, who visit Southwest University Park, a venue where they have yet to come away with a point in hand.
A RECORD BEST START
Locomotive is in the middle of a franchise history record best-start after five games. With a record of 3-0-2 (11 points) to kick off the season, El Paso has put itself in a stronger position than in its previous two campaigns at the same time. In both the 2019 and 2020 regular season, Locomotive opened both seasons with 1-2-2 (5 points), in the first five games. With momentum squarely on the side of El Paso, the club is set to keep the franchise best opening going against Switchbacks FC on Saturday.
JUGGERNAUTS OF THE WEST
Speaking of records, El Paso Locomotive has established itself as a juggernaut in the Western Conference, standing as the lone team left unbeaten this side of the conference divide. Holding a home record of 12-games unbeaten and a home-away unbeaten streak that dates back to the 4-2 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on August 8, 2020. El Paso is undeniably one the of the hardest teams to play, and the squad continues to prove it with each game.
SWITCHBACKS ROUGH START
While it’s certainly not the worst start in the league in the 2021 USL Championship season, Colorado Springs has not had the best of the start in its first four games played. Opening the season on the road, the Switchbacks fell 3-0 to San Antonio FC, before turning around with a 4-0 run over Sporting Kansas City II. Since then, Switchbacks have fallen 3-1 to New Mexico United before most recently recording a 1-1 draw with San Antonio. Now sitting at the bottom of the Mountain Division, Switchbacks FC will be putting themselves to the test against a second place El Paso side that seems like an unstoppable force.
CLOSING A TIGHT SCHEDULE
Saturday’s game will be Locomotive’s fourth game within a two-week streak. On such a tight schedule with quick turnarounds, the Locomotive squad may end looking very different than what was seen against Indy Eleven on Wednesday. Head Coach Mark Lowry has done well to build quality depth on the bench with a smaller roster, and he has turned towards that depth in recent weeks to keep legs fresh. It’s not hard to imagine that Coach Lowry will look to do some rotation on the Starting XI for Saturday’s game.