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El Paso Locomotive FC have released their inaugural 2019 season schedule which kicks off with a historic home opener against OKC Energy FC on March 9, at Southwest University Park.

El Paso Locomotive will play three home matches in March which will all be held on Saturdays — March 9, March 23, March 30. Locomotive FC will play 26 of their 34 games on Saturday in the 2019 inaugural season.

“I am beyond excited about the release of the schedule.” said General Manager, Business Operations Andrew Forrest, “Fans have been looking forward to this for months and now everyone will have a chance to experience and be a part of history during this inaugural season for El Paso Locomotive. With players from all over the globe and the high level of play in the USL, it will make for some exciting nights at Southwest University Park. I cannot wait for the fans in El Paso to experience this level of professional soccer for themselves!”

The 34-game schedule will see Locomotive FC playing a home-and-away match with each team within the Western Conference of the USL Championship, with regional and state rivalries already forming.

A heated matchup between El Paso Locomotive FC and New Mexico United (Albuquerque) has been scheduled for Sunday, May 12, at Southwest University Park, with the away matchup set for Wednesday, July 31 in Albuquerque.

Texas has four USL Championship teams; El Paso Locomotive FC, Rio Grande Valley FC, Austin Bold FC, and San Antonio FC. All teams will play each other in a home-and-away series for the bragging rights of the best team in the state of Texas at stake.

El Paso Locomotive FC will also be playing matches against three MLS II squads this season, starting with an away match against Portland Timbers 2 on May 25.

El Pasoans will see the first home match against an MLS II squad on June 8, against LA Galaxy II.

The USL Championship season will run 33 weeks starting March 9 and will conclude on October 20.

TAMPA – The 2019 USL Championship season will open with a landmark opening day on Saturday, March 9 thanks to a 17-game slate of action – the most on a single day in the league’s history – that kicks off the regular season.

The Championship’s home openers were revealed in full on Friday as fans of the league’s 36 clubs got their first glimpse of the 2019 campaign, with an opening day of games that includes inaugural home matches for four expansion franchises across the country.

Birmingham Legion FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, Memphis 901 FC and New Mexico United will all open their inaugural seasons on home turf, with Memphis welcoming the Tampa Bay Rowdies to AutoZone Park for its first regular-season home game and Birmingham facing 2018 USL Cup Playoffs side Bethlehem Steel FC in its opener at BBVA Compass Field.

Locomotive FC will begin its inaugural season at Southwest University Park with a visit from OKC Energy FC, while New Mexico United will play host to Fresno FC in its inaugural home opener at Isotopes Park.

Other notable games on the opening day of the season include high-profile games in each conference with two-time defending USL Cup champion Louisville City FC opening its season on the road against North Carolina FC and a rematch of the 2016 USL Cup as the New York Red Bulls II play host to the Swope Park Rangers highlighting the slate in the Eastern Conference.

Defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Rising FC also opens its campaign on the road as it visits San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, while Reno 1868 FC plays host to Orange County SC at Greater Nevada Field in a rematch from the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.

Sacramento Republic FC welcomes Real Monarchs SLC to Papa Murphy’s Park for a battle of two consistent playoffs contenders in recent seasons.

Beyond the opening weekend of the season, the Championship will see the opening of a pair of soccer-specific venues over the course of its opening weeks, with Austin Bold FC playing host to Texas rival San Antonio FC on Saturday, March 30 for the first regular-season contest in Bold Stadium history.

The spotlight will then fall on Hartford Athletic on Saturday, May 4 as it hosts its inaugural home opener at historic Dillon Stadium with a visit from the Charlotte Independence.

2019 USL Championship Home Openers  Home Teams Listed First

Saturday, March 9

ATL UTD 2 vs. Hartford Athletic
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC
Charleston Battery vs. Ottawa Fury FC
El Paso Locomotive FC vs. OKC Energy FC
LA Galaxy II vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Austin Bold FC
Memphis 901 FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
Nashville SC vs. Loudoun United FC

New Mexico United vs. Fresno FC

New York Red Bulls II vs. Swope Park Rangers
North Carolina FC vs. Louisville City FC
Reno 1868 FC vs. Orange County SC
Sacramento Republic FC vs. Real Monarchs SLC
Saint Louis FC vs. Indy Eleven
San Antonio FC vs. Phoenix Rising FC

Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Portland Timbers 2

Friday, March 15

Charlotte Independence vs. Indy Eleven

Saturday, March 16

Bethlehem Steel FC vs. North Carolina FC

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. Sacramento Republic FC

OKC Energy FC vs. Las Vegas Lights FC

Orange County SC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC

Phoenix Rising FC vs. New Mexico United

Real Monarchs SLC vs. El Paso Locomotive FC

Rio Grande Valley FC vs. Fresno FC
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Saturday, March 23

Fresno FC vs. Reno 1868 FC

Louisville City FC vs. Hartford Athletic
Portland Timbers 2 vs. Las Vegas Lights FC

Swope Park Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Saturday, March 30

Austin Bold FC vs. San Antonio FC
Indy Eleven vs. Hartford Athletic

Saturday, April 6

Ottawa Fury FC vs. Nashville SC

Saturday, April 13

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Hartford Athletic

Friday, May 3

Loudoun United FC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC

Saturday, May 4

Hartford Athletic vs. Charlotte Independence

El Paso Locomotive FC has signed Joshua Castellanos (United States) and Chiro N’toko (Belgium), bringing a wealth of soccer experience to the new club.

According to club officials, Castellanos will find his place in the midfield and comes to El Paso from Jacksonville Armada, the former Club of El Paso Locomotive FC Head Coach, Mark Lowry and forward, Derek Gebhard who was signed earlier this year.

During the 2018 season, Castellanos saw ten starts in 12 games played and netted four goals and one assist. Chiro N’toko, center back, has spent the majority of his professional career in the Eerste Divisie and the Eredivisie which is the highest level of professional soccer in the Netherlands.

N’toko will be an integral component of the defense and is coming from the Fortuna Liga in Slovakia, where he played with FK Senica. With these two signings, El Paso Locomotive FC’s roster is officially five players signed with more announcements to come.

Head Coach, Mark Lowry has brought two players from Jacksonville Armada thus far and said, “Having worked with Josh this past season, I was eager to continue our work together. He is a very exciting young player; he is an extremely hard worker, comfortable receiving under pressure and has that extra bit of creativity in the final third that is hard to teach. He will be a great asset to the group. I am very excited to see where we can go on this journey because he has a lot of talent and is far from his full potential.”

With over ten years of professional experience playing in Europe, N’toko brings with him invaluable experience and knowledge of the game.

“When building a winning team, I believe the center backs are a critical piece, and no stone was left unturned in our pursuit to bring the right one to this Club. In Chiro, we have a center back who is comfortable building our possession from the back and is aggressive and athletic enough to defend in the manner with which we plan to play this season. His experience and character are second to none. Playing at the highest levels in Holland he has been drilled on playing out from the back; he is a born winner and will be a great leader for us on and off the field,” said Mark Lowry.

On Wednesday the city of El Paso got some pretty exciting news. Mountain Star Sports group made an announcement today that they will bring a United Soccer League team to El Paso in 2019. The city was awarded one of the expansion teams for 2019. The team is currently know as El Paso USL.

So what is the USL? Major League Soccer or MLS is where the big time professionals play, the United Soccer League is only one step under that. This is Division 2 professional soccer. The USL is the fastest growing league in the United States. With more than 100 million dollars being invested in 2016. They currently have a partnership with world wide leader in sports, ESPN. They also have a partnership with Sirius XM radio.
The league has doubled in size since 2014. With four expansion teams set for 2019 including:

Birmingham, Alabama

Austin, Texas

Memphis, Tennessee

El Paso, Texas

Apart from league play, the USL also regularly features international exhibition games against Premier League, Liga MX, and the Bundesliga clubs.

The schedule is highlighted by a regional approach to create rivalries. The USL has a western and eastern conference. At the end of each season, the top 8 teams from both conferences make the playoffs. In the next 4 weeks are used to crown a champion.

This is a list of the current teams:

With two teams set to join after the 2019 expansion. Chicago in 2020 and East Bay in 2021

•    Atlanta United 2
• Bethlehem Steel FC
• Charleston Battery
• Charlotte Independence
• Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
• FC Cincinnati
• Fresno FC
• Indy Eleven
• LA Galaxy II
• Las Vegas Lights FC
• Louisville City FC
• Nashville SC
• New York Red Bulls II
• North Carolina FC
• OKC Energy FC
• Orange County SC
• Ottawa Fury FC
• Penn FC
• Phoenix Rising FC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Portland Timbers 2
• Real Monarchs SLC
• Reno 1868 FC
• Richmond Kickers
• Rio Grande Valley FC
• Sacramento Republic FC
• Saint Louis FC
• San Antonio FC
• Seattle Sounders FC 2
• Swope Park Rangers
• Tampa Bay Rowdies
• Toronto FC II
• Tulsa Roughnecks FC

Fans for the United Soccer League fall under two major categories. 64% are ages 18-44, and 79% are male. This falls perfect with the demographic of El Paso, Texas with a median age of 32 in the Sun City.

The USL has a partnership with the MLS since 2013 designed to enhance the development of professional players in the United States.

The name, the colors and the mascot is still to be determined but El Paso is as excited as ever. Fans in the Sun City proved that the Chihuahuas was a perfect choice for the city. USL shouldn’t be any different.
El Paso are you ready for 2019?

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Author – Diego Sanchez – Special to the Herald-Post