San Antonio FC's Season Ends in El Paso: Locomotive Win the Playoff Quarterfinal 2-1
Rubín and Alfaro scored either side of halftime and Diogo Pacheco's 84th-minute goal came too late, as the No. 6 seed went out in the first round for the second straight year.
San Antonio FC's season ended Friday night at Southwest University Park, where El Paso Locomotive FC won the Western Conference Quarterfinal of the USL Championship Playoffs 2-1.
El Paso struck first in the 14th minute: Alex Méndez threaded a through-ball to Beto Avila breaking in on the left, and his low cross was tucked home from close range by Rubio Rubín. San Antonio nearly leveled in the 28th minute, when Mitchell Taintor's effort off a corner kick was cleared off the line by Rubín himself.
Nine minutes into the second half, Tony Alfaro powered home a header off Robert Coronado's cross from a short-corner routine to double the lead. Emil Cuello nearly answered four minutes later, forcing Locomotive goalkeeper Abraham Romero to tip a long-range shot over the crossbar.
The visitors finally broke through in the 84th minute, when Cristian Parano's deep cross found Luis Paredes, whose controlled trap set up a first-time finish for Diogo Pacheco. The rally died there: Omar Mora hit the crossbar from eight yards a minute later, and Amando Moreno had an effort cleared off the goal line by Curt Calov as El Paso saw out the closing minutes.
The numbers flattered San Antonio, which logged more shots (14) and more shots on target (7) while Romero made five saves. For El Paso, the No. 3 seed, it was a first home victory over San Antonio since August 4, 2021 — a span of 1,913 days — and a first postseason win since 2020. For San Antonio, a second straight first-round exit makes for an important offseason.
