
EL PASO, Texas – The wild, wild west road swing for Birmingham Legion FC rolls on with a trip to the border to take on El Paso Locomotive FC this Saturday. On paper, the upcoming meeting should be a refreshing change of pace for The Three Sparks who go from a pair of consecutive matches against conference leaders to facing a team at the bottom of the table. However, as Locomotive FC proved last weekend in handing the Charleston Battery its first defeat of the season, there is no rest for the weary and no team can be taken lightly in the USL Championship.
“This league has proven time and time again that any team can win on the day,” said Legion FC coach Tom Soehn. “El Paso showed us that its last time out, so we can’t afford to go into this game and expect a win just because of their record. We have to continue to build off the things we’ve been doing to get a good result.”
MATCH INFO
- USL Championship | Matchday 12
- Birmingham Legion FC (4W-4L-3D) at El Paso Locomotive FC (2W-8L-2D)
- Saturday, June 1 – 8:00 p.m. CT
- Southwest University Park – El Paso, Texas
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: ESPN+
El Paso has been keeping the USLC news cycle busy in recent weeks, beginning with the departure of Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut on May 17, the subsequent hiring of Wilmer Cabrera and it all culminating with a signature victory over The Battery in the new coach’s debut. But even before the staff change, The Locos were beginning to show signs of life, with five goals and both of its wins this season in the last three matches after scoring just six total goals in its first nine of the campaign.
Forward Amando Moreno has been the main goal threat for El Paso, with the El Salvador international bagging five of the club’s 11 goals this season, highlighted by a brace to secure the victory against 10-man Charleston.
“We have to show up and make sure that we are ready to go from the first whistle,” said Enzo Martinez who is tied with Stefano Pinho for a team-high four goals across all competitions this season.
“We have the gameplan, so we know what they are going to try to do, but now it’s about us executing that gameplan and being prepared to handle what they show us.”
Meanwhile, Birmingham has its sights set on notching its first win in three matches and knows that it has to find the back of the net for that to be achieved. In its draw at Sacramento Republic FC and its loss to Charleston, Legion FC had more total shots and a higher expected goals metric in both matches, but was unable to convert those chances into goals.
The mood around club is that it will take just one converted chance to unleash an avalanche of scoring and the hope is that it will come this weekend against an El Paso defense that has allowed 17 total goals at a 1.4 per match average this season.
“It’s a process,” said Tyler Pasher, “Anyone that’s played in this game long enough knows that as soon as you score, (the goals) just start rolling. It just takes some time, but we’re getting there. It’s fine margins because it could have easily been a 3-0 game (at Sacramento). At some point the balls will start hitting the back of the net and we’ll start putting up even more points on the board, so it will come with time.”
Dodson ‘Flawless’ in Debut
Derek Dodson didn’t have much time to settle in with his new club before getting thrown into the thick of things. Joining Legion FC on a season-long loan from MLS side Minnesota United just a few days prior, the defender was immediately thrust into the starting eleven against Sacramento and put in a shift that was instrumental in keeping a clean sheet.
“He was flawless,” Soehn said of Dodson, who had been a stalwart on the backline at Charleston last season before parlaying that into a move to Minnesota.
“I really respect the fact that he came in, only had a couple of days with the team and understood tactically what was expected of him. He’s an intelligent player that fit right in.”
Playing the full 90 minutes, Dodson provided a sense of calm both in defense and in possession on the backline with a team-high three clearances, to go along with two interceptions, while also finding pockets to push forward down the right side and fire in four crosses. Now with a match under his belt, Soehn hopes to see even more good things as the chemistry continues to build.
“When you get a guy of his quality in the locker room, that’s real important,” explained Soehn. “He fits in with this squad quite well and he also brings it on the field. It’s been a seamless transition so far.”
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