EL PASO, Texas – No. 3 seed El Paso Locomotive FC FC squares off with No. 6 seed San Antonio FC on Friday night in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs as the Copa Tejas rivals meet for the first time in the postseason having split their regular season series this year. Kickoff at Southwest University Park is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
El Paso Locomotive FC (15-10-5, 50pts) – El Paso Locomotive earned its highest finish in the Western Conference since 2021 as it narrowly missed out on top spot on the final day of the regular season. Newly-appointed Head Coach Junior Gonzalez led the side to a five-win increase in his first campaign, with new additions Rubio Rubín and Alex Méndez both making a major impact in the attacking third. Rubín finished second in the regular season with 16 goals while Mendéz added nine goals and four assists to make a strong three-man attack alongside veteran Amando Moreno as the side ranked second in the Western Conference with 48 goals. Now Locomotive will try to claim its first postseason win since advancing to the Western Conference Final in 2020 after opening round eliminations in each of its past three playoff visits.
San Antonio FC (11-7-12, 45pts) – San Antonio FC earned a second consecutive trip to the postseason under Head Coach Carlos Llamosa as the side put together a strong run defensively down the final stretch of the season after an injury to attacking playmaker Jorge Hernández. SAFC conceded only 30 goals in 30 regular season contests as local product Joey Batrouni shone between the sticks, recording 10 shutouts and 70 saves on a 72.9% save percentage while logging a -5.06 Goals Prevented mark. That helped make up for an attack that scored only 32 goals in the regular season, including only three goals in the final five games after Hernández was sidelined. After a bright final outing of the season in a 2-1 win against Orange County SC sealed the side’s playoff berth, though, the 2022 title-winners will head to face their rival hopeful of springing an upset…