Opponent: El Paso Locomotive FC
Match Date: September 21
Location: Southwest University Park
Kickoff: 7pm MT
How to Listen: XTRA Sports 1300am with the Voices of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman and Roland Vargish – coverage starts at 6:30pm MT.
Coach Chambers’ Comments: “I think for us [in the 2-0 win over Charleston at Weidner Field] it was a completely different type of performance [from games] over the last number of weeks. I don’t feel like we were particularly great with the ball – we could have been a little bit better and probably created more opportunities for ourselves in the game. But the reality is that we didn’t give anything away defensively and we worked extremely hard for one another and won second balls. We fought in every single moment that we needed to fight and that’s what was most pleasing. It wasn’t an electric attacking performance – it was more of a team win that was focused on all 16 players, including the subs. They all really worked as hard as they possibly could to make sure that we got the three points.”
Look at the Locomotive: “[El Paso have had a] coaching change and brought in a lot more personnel since we’ve last seen them. They’re fighting for their lives and they’re a little bit off the playoff line, so they obviously know how important their home games are. This is one of them that they’re probably earmarking to take three points off [of] us. We’ve got to make sure that we’re aware of the threats they pose. They have some really good players in attack [and] we’re aware of what we’re facing. [El Paso are] defensively solid – they’ve obviously conceded three [goals] last weekend against Indy [Eleven], but prior to that they had three clean sheets in a row. That [defensive structure] is something that Wilmer [Cabrera, El Paso Locomotive’s Head Coach] really prides himself on and we’ve got to make sure that we’re at our best on Saturday night. “[El Paso] is a really nice environment to play in. The fans are good [and] it’s a cool city, but we are there for a job. They have a lot of attacking threats that they can throw at us and we just have to make sure that we’re focused on ourselves as we go down there, and make sure that we put on a performance.”
Vargish’s View: Four consecutive wins has the Switchbacks surging and the hottest team in the USL Championship. The Locomotive’s struggles in 2024 have been well documented, with El Paso flying in the face of convention by registering four wins on their travels and just one in the familiar surroundings of Southwest University Park in Far West Texas. The Switchbacks’ last two trips away from Weidner Field have produced a total of six goals, and on Saturday night they will look to score multiple goals in their fifth consecutive match.
