EL PASO, Texas (March 28, 2025) – After scoring 11 goals in three games at home to start the season, El Paso Locomotive FC head east for a USL Championship clash as they face Hartford Athletic on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.
HOW TO WATCH EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC AT HARTFORD ATHLETIC – SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2025 @ 12 P.M. MT – TRINITY HEALTH STADIUM – HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
Watch: ESPN+
Be sure to follow @eplocomotivefc on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates of the match. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
KEY STORYLINES
In their road opener of the 2025 USL Championship campaign, El Paso Locomotive FC fell 1-0 to rivals New Mexico United at Isotopes Park. A strike from Greg Hurst in the 83rd minute sealed the victory for the hosts in a back-and-forth defensive affair. The Locos created more chances in the second half but could not find the back of the net.
Jahmali Waite and Noah Dollenmayer have returned from their international callups with Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, respectively, and will be available for Saturday’s match. Dollenmayer made a splash in his debut scoring his first career international goal in a 2-2 draw against Puerto Rico on March 21.
Locomotive defeated Harpos FC 5-1 on March 19 for the club’s first U.S. Open Cup victory. They now advance to the Second Round where they will face Ventura County FC on April 2 at 8:30 MT at Dignity Health Sports Park Track and Field Stadium in Carson, Ca.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
F Amando Moreno: Already halfway to his goal total from last season, Moreno has been on fire to start his 2025 campaign with three goals on the year, the most in the league. He stunned fans with a thrilling bicycle kick against Phoenix Rising FC to complete his brace in the 53rd minute which served as the highlight of the match for Los Locos.
F Beto Avila: Avila has fit in nicely with El Paso’s attack in his first games with the club. With two goals and an assist, he figures to be a key component for Locomotive moving forward based on his combination play with Moreno.
D Bryan Romero: After scoring two goals in his first career start for Los Locos, Romero excelled in his first USL Championship action getting the start on the back line and contributing key tackles and clearances to keep things level for most of the match. On loan from FC Juárez, he has begun to carve out a role for himself in the squad.
OPPONENT INFO: Hartford Athletic
The all-time series between these two clubs is all even at 1-1-1. Hartford took home a 1-0 victory at Southwest University Park in last year’s season opener for Los Locos. This is only the second match between the two teams at Trinity Health Stadium.
The last time these two clubs squared off in Hartford, Locomotive came out with 2-0 win on August 26, 2023. Aaron Gomez started the scoring for Los Locos in the 14th minute before Petar Petrovic doubled the lead off a free kick. The match also served as Noah Dollenmayer’s Locomotive debut.
RECENT LOCOMOTIVE QUOTES
HC Wilmer Cabrera on result from Matchday 3:
“We had a good defensive effort altogether. We sacrificed a bit of attacking firepower to focus defensively. We gave up space, and they only penetrated twice – one in the first half that Sebastian did a good job saving and the other one was the goal with nothing else after that. We should have scored, but that’s the game.”
Cabrera on defensive performance last week:
“There’s two ways to defend. One is creating a good shape defensively, and the other one is taking the ball away from your opponent. When you have the ball, they cannot attack you, so you’re defending while keeping the possession. We need to do more of that because we have the players and the team to do that. The question now is how can improve when we have the ball? We need to show more personality and desire to keep possession, so it’s something that we need to work on because that was the difference in the end.”
Cabrera on team mindset against Hartford Athletic:
“We want to be contenders within the league and the Western Conference, and to do that, we have to get points both at home and on the road. We have the team to win, we put in the work and we have the players to create options and have the ball. We need to be more ambitious and have more of an attacking mindset to win.”
Cabrera on upcoming match congestion:
“It cannot be an excuse for us. We are not going to say anything about the trip or fatigue or that it is from coast to coast. We have to get the results on the field. We have the ability and the responsibility not to keep losing more points the way we have lost.”
Gabi Torres on club’s recent performances:
“The past games have had a lot of positive things. We’ve shown our ability to score goals. Last game, we defended well, but then on a minor detail, we gave the match away, so we need to keep doing the positive things and adjusting the small details to be able to close the match in the end. I think we’re delivering strong performances, but we need to get the results.”
Torres on first Derby Del Camino Real experience:
“I think every player wants to play in that environment. Both clubs have some of the strongest and most passionate fan bases, so it’s good to represent this club and to represent the fans. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result, but when we play them back here at home, we need the support of everybody to be able to win.”
Torres on table position versus team confidence:
“I really believe in the team. I think we’ve shown a lot of quality and a lot of positive things. We keep the confidence because I think we’re giving the matches away in the details. We just need to trust ourselves because we have something really special going on here. There’s no lack of effort. We’re trying really hard to get the results, and hopefully, the points are going to come our way, and then we’ll be able to build momentum.”