San Antonio FC Opens the Playoffs Friday Night at El Paso, a First Postseason Meeting With Its Copa Tejas Rival

San Antonio FC kicks off its postseason campaign Friday, Oct. 30, traveling to face El Paso Locomotive FC in the USL Championship Western Conference Quarterfinals, according to the league's official match preview and the club's own release, both read in full this cycle. Kickoff at Southwest University Park is set for 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET) on ESPN+. It is the Copa Tejas rivals' first-ever postseason meeting, after the two sides split their regular-season series this year.

No. 6 seed San Antonio (11-7-12, 45 points) earned a second consecutive trip to the postseason under head coach Carlos Llamosa on a defense that conceded only 30 goals in 30 regular-season matches, with goalkeeper Joey Batrouni recording 10 shutouts and 70 saves. The attack scored 32 goals and only three in the final five games after playmaker Jorge Hernández was sidelined, but the 2022 title winners sealed their berth with a 2-1 final-day win over Orange County, in which defender Emil Cuello — named to the league's Team of the Week for it — opened the scoring. The league preview also names forward Santiago Patiño, whose eight goals in nine career playoff appearances rank fourth in league postseason history, as San Antonio's player to watch.

No. 3 seed El Paso (15-10-5, 50 points) earned its highest Western Conference finish since 2021 in head coach Junior Gonzalez's first campaign, powered by Rubio Rubín's 16 goals and Alex Méndez's nine goals and four assists for an attack that ranked second in the West with 48 goals. This season San Antonio won 3-2 in its early trip to El Paso on a late Cristian Parano winner, and El Paso answered with a 3-0 win at Toyota Field in August. El Paso is seeking its first postseason win since its run to the 2020 Western Conference Final.