El Paso Locomotive FC continued its winning run Saturday, defeating Louisville City FC 2-1 at Lynn Family Stadium.
It was the seventh straight win for El Paso (13-7-4, 43 points), moving the club into first place in the USL Championship’s Western Conference.
For LouCity (9-9-6, 33 points), the loss drops the club to sixth place in the East.
El Paso scored both of its goals in the first half, causing LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird to call it an “unacceptable first half.”
“Three minutes in we hadn’t secured the ball yet we were camped in our own half so it’s just a really poor start to the game,” Bird said.
A 24th-minute penalty kick gave El Paso the advantage, with Alex Méndez scoring past LouCity’s Ryan Schewe with a delicate, chipped finish.
Rubio Rubín doubled the lead, scoring what would eventually stand as the winning goal, completing a swift counterattack just before halftime in the 45th minute, nudging the ball past an oncoming Schewe with the outside of his right foot.
It was Rubín’s 14th goal of the season, tying him with Khori Bennett of Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC for the golden boot lead.
LouCity got on the board in the 77th, as Manny Perez used his head to redirect a Taylor Davila corner kick into the back of the net. It was Davila’s eighth league assist, pulling him even with Charlie Ostrem of the Tampa Bay Rowdies for the league lead.
“It was good individually (to score), but I think (we’re) still frustrated. It’s still too late. Still looking to get more out of the game collectively.”
Louisville pummeled the El Paso box with cross after cross, 37 in total, compiling 83 entries into the final third and 30 touches in the El Paso box, but LouCity generated just 0.66 expected goals from open play.
“The word that was mentioned a lot since Tuesday night was, don’t get complacent,” LouCity defender Amadou Dia said, referring to Tuesday’s Prinx Tires USL Cup semifinal. “And in the first half, (we were) too complacent, too slow, went down early. And by the time we finally got going in the second half, it took too long.”
LouCity will remain home this week, hosting Loudoun United FC on Saturday. The game will be Noche Latina, featuring authentic entertainment and cuisine, plus exclusive merchandise, as the club celebrates the Latin American community to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month.
For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/nochelatina.
Game Summary: Louisville City FC vs. El Paso Locomotive FC
Date: September 12, 2026
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium — Louisville, Ky.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 8,834
Scoring
Louisville City FC (0, 1, 1)
El Paso Locomotive FC (2, 0, 2)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
77′ Manny Perez (Taylor Davila)
El Paso Locomotive FC:
24′ Alex Méndez (penalty)
45′ Rubio Rubín (Amando Moreno)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 29 – Ryan Schewe, 3 – Jake Morris (45′ 15 – Manny Perez), 13 – Amadou Dia (c), 5 – Brandon Dayes, 4 – Sean Totsch (58′ 28 – Cameron Duke), 2 – Aiden McFadden, 8 – Taylor Davila, 31 – Kevon Lambert (77′ 21 – Quenzi Huerman), 25 – Jansen Wilson (45′ 14 – Tola Showunmi), 47 – Mukwelle Akale (45′ 27 – Evan Davila), 9 – Chris Donovan
Unused substitutes: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 7 – Ray Serrano, 32 – Kyle Adams, 99 – Cooper Conley
Interim head coach: Simon Bird
El Paso Locomotive FC: 0 – Abraham Romero, 93 – Tony Alfaro, 25 – Arturo Ortíz, 15 – Noah Dollenmayer (82′ 23 – Guillermo Diaz), 16 – Gabi Torres, 6 – Eric Calvillo (c) (82′ 8 – Carl Sainté), 30 – Robert Coronado (74′ 5 – Daniel Gomez), 2 – Nicolás Cardona, 10 – Amando Moreno (65′ 7 – Zyen Jones), 14 – Rubio Rubín, 19 – Alex Méndez (65′ 13 – Roberto Avila)
Unused substitutes: 29 – Kenneth Hoban; 4 – Pedro, 12 – Ricky Ruiz
Head coach: Junior Gonzalez
Stats Summary: Louisville City FC / El Paso Locomotive FC
Shots: 16 / 8
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Expected goals: 1.01 / 1.47
Possession: 53.2% / 46.8%
Fouls: 8 / 7
Offside: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 12 / 2
Discipline Summary:
Louisville City FC:
23′ Brandon Dayes (yellow card)
90+5′ Aiden McFadden
El Paso Locomotive FC:
90+6′ Rubio Rubín (yellow card)
Referee: Matthew Corrigan
