SACRAMENTO, Calif. — El Paso Locomotive FC’s season ended Saturday night one round short of the conference final, as the third-seeded Locos dropped a 2-1 West semifinal on the road against No. 2 seed Sacramento Republic FC, a tough finish for El Paso, Texas, fans.
Sacramento struck first in the 14th minute, when Cal Jennings ran onto a through ball and beat goalkeeper Abraham Romero. El Paso leveled it seven minutes later after a Sacramento clearance bounced back into the penalty area and Alex Méndez swept it into the left corner. The match was 1-1 at halftime. Before the break, Amando Moreno nearly put El Paso ahead with a curling shot that Sacramento keeper Danny Vitiello kept out.
Michel Benítez put the hosts back in front in the 57th minute with a first-time shot from the middle of the box. El Paso pressed for the tying goal, and Vitiello turned away tries from Méndez and Noah Dollenmayer. In the final seconds of stoppage time, Méndez hit a long-range shot off the left post, and the whistle blew moments later.
The Locos held the ball for about 60% of the night and put six of their 16 shots on target but could not find a second goal in front of a sellout crowd of 11,569 at Heart Health Park. Méndez closed the year with 10 goals in all competitions, the second-highest total on the team.
The run marked only the third time El Paso has reached the conference semifinals and its first trip that deep since 2020. Sacramento, unbeaten in 15 straight games, advances to the Western Conference Final next weekend in New Mexico.
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