El Paso Locomotive FC ended their fourth match of the season gaining an important 3 points in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Switchbacks. The Locomotive’s minimize their deficit to two points in Group C, trailing New Mexico, after the United loss to Phoenix Saturday. Homegrown kid Chapa Herrera scored his first professional goals with a brace in the second half. Fellow El Paso native Aaron Gomez was first to notch a goal, earning his third in as many games. Midfielder Dylan Mares answered with the first free kick goal in Locomotive history. Switchbacks rebounded in the final 15 minutes of the game, scoring two goals, and nearly a third before the final whistle was blown.
“The brace feels amazing,” Herrera said in a post-match press conference. “I wasn’t expecting this at all. The most important thing is that we had a good game here as a team. There’s a lot of talent here in El Paso. You saw the four local players on the pitch (himself, Selgado, Gomez, and Diaz), so hopefully we get more people motivated to join Locomotive.”
El Paso capitalized on leading possession, and breaking through the Switchbacks defense in the first half gaining their biggest lead in a game in club history. The team has averaged a solid number of shots on goal this season but until Saturday had missed the mark to gain crucial points to lead their group. The added pressure placed on Colorado came through, despite losing concentration in the final minutes of the game that nearly cost them the win.
Head coach Mark Lowry has made several changes to the Locomotive roster in recent weeks, releasing both forward Marios Lomis and defender Fabrice Fokobo, replacing them with defender Matt Bahner from Ohio, and Brazilian forward Leandro Carrijó. Carrijó is the second transfer from sister team, Juarez Bravos, having scored 73 goals in 102 appearances in Liga MX. Both were missing from the roster Saturday, awaiting their debut on the pitch in El Paso due to paperwork.
“The players executed the plan and did everything right,” Lowry said following the match. “It eats me up that it wasn’t 4-0. I felt for 75 minutes that’s what the performance deserved. We have to clean some things up in the last 15 minutes, learn from it so that we can see the games better. I’m looking forward to this week of training to work on the things we need to clean up and come back better.”
