This weekend, two of the three MountStar Sports Group soccer teams were victorious. El Paso Locomotive FC picked up its first home win of the season against Miami FC on Saturday night. The previous Friday night, FC Juarez Bravas traveled to Mazatlan seeking its second consecutive win, while the Bravos narrowly lost to the Colorado Rapids, eliminating them from the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup.

El Paso Locomotive gets first home win, but loses away

El Paso Locomotive FC fans breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday night as El Paso defeated Miami FC 2-1. The one-goal difference in the final score does not do justice to the Locomotive’s dominance en route to their first home win of the 2024 season.

The halftime score was 1-0, thanks to a goal by Robert Coronado in injury time (45+1). A corner kick landed on Coronado’s left foot and left Miami goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye in the goal. It was a first half that was completely dominated by the Locos. A lead of two or three goals would not have surprised anyone, El Paso had several close chances to score.

The second goal came in the 66th minute. A diagonal through ball found Amando Moreno, who sprinted at full speed towards the opponent’s goal. After he had the ball in his hands, he did not hesitate to shoot with his right foot and buried the ball just to the left of the right post.

The clean sheet was ruined for El Paso goalkeeper Jahmali Waite with seconds left when Luisinho scored from well outside the Locomotive goal area. The goal was an absolute cracker, a left-foot shot that has to be nominated for goal of the week.

After the game, Locomotive head coach Wilmer Cabrera said he felt like a piano had been lifted off his shoulders and his team. Cabrera dedicated the win to the fans and admitted they owed them a debt. On the team’s performance, Cabrera said, “The team was really solid. The team executed well what we practiced all week. We practiced being more solid with the ball, controlling (all aspects), and today we controlled the game.” El Paso is now on the road for three straight games in the state of California. They will not play any home games for the rest of August.

Last night, the Locomotive were beaten 2-0 by Sacramento Republic FC. Sacramento scored the first goal in the 31st minute through Kieran Phillips. El Paso managed to keep the game close in the second half, but in the final minutes, Republic’s Jared Timmer doubled the lead to give Sacramento three points. El Paso remains bottom of the Western Conference standings with 16 points. With the win, Sacramento is in sole possession of second place in the West, just four points behind New Mexico.

The Locos will play again in Southern California this Saturday night against Orange County SC. The second leg of the Western Conference quarterfinals will air at 8 p.m. MT on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Bravas knocks out Mazatlan on the way to a second consecutive win

Absolute dominance. There is no other way to describe FC Juarez’s victory over Mazatlan on Friday night in the state of Sinaloa. The Bravas destroyed Mazatlan with a score of 6-0, giving the Bravos their second victory in a row.

The Bravas scored two goals in the first half and four in the second. The almost two-hour delay at halftime due to weather had no effect on FC Juarez. Annia Mejia was the player of the match with two goals and plays as a defender for the Bravas.

The win moves the Bravas up to 10th place in the standings, two places and just 1 point away from the last playoff spot (8th place, currently held by Chivas with 7 season points). Juarez currently has six season points thanks to their last two wins.

The Bravas next host Monterrey at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium on Friday night. The game is scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. MST.

Bravos lose to Colorado Rapids and are eliminated from the Leagues Cup

FC Juarez narrowly failed last Friday evening, losing 3-2 to Colorado Rapids in arguably one of the best games so far in the 2024 Leagues Cup.

The Bravos took the lead in the 18th minute when Angel Zaldivar scored on a rebound. Ten minutes later, a childish mistake by Bravos captain Francisco Calvo led directly to the Rapids’ first goal. Colorado took the lead late in the first half (45th minute) when a handball was called against Juarez and the home team was awarded a converted penalty. Colorado led 2-1 at halftime.

The Rapids extended their lead in the 59th minute when a cross from a corner kick led to a smooth header that went between the legs of Calvo to make it 3-1. A penalty was awarded in the 70th minute in the Bravos’ favor when a Colorado defender brought down Aviles Hurtado in the box. Hurtado converted to make it 3-2.

The Bravos had chances including two shots on goal in injury time, but it was not to be as Juarez flew home in the round of 32 for the second year in a row.

The border team will now have to wait until Saturday, August 24, to return to action in Liga BBVA MX, when it travels to Auguascalientes to face Necaxa.