El Paso Locomotive on the slate for Phoenix Rising playoff opener

Phoenix Rising is getting set to hit the road as the USL Championship playoffs get underway.

Their first postseason test will be a clash against El Paso Locomotive, the Western Conference’s 4th seed.

Three games, three draws

There’s been very little to pick between Phoenix Rising and El Paso Locomotive in 2025.

“You’ve had two games where both teams made an unbelievable comeback,” Rising assistant coach Vikram Virk said. “It’s open. Both teams are going for it. Both teams want to score goals. They want to get on the ball. They want to play a brand that excites fans.”

In the second week of the season, Rising came from behind to rescue a 4-4 draw on the road. Later, El Paso would come from behind in Phoenix to rescue a 3-3 draw after the hosts were reduced to ten men.

“If you watch that game back in week two, we’re not the same team that we were there,” Virk said. “We’re not the same team that we were in week 22. It’s the same for them. They’ve changed a couple of things, and I think they’ve grown as the season has gone on as well.”

The two sides shared one other encounter, with yet another draw between the sides, in a Jägermeister Cup clash.

“I think both teams respect each other in that sense,” Virk said. “For us, it’s now taking the lessons that we’ve learned from those games and throughout the season and showing the best version of ourselves.”

An Ex-Rising Man in El Paso

One common theme throughout all three of Rising’s encounters with El Paso this season has been former Phoenix man Gabi Torres.

“We always know that Gabi is a player that likes to get to goal,” said Rising assistant coach Darnell King, who played with and later coached Torres. “He’s a direct player, and I haven’t really seen that change from him. I’ve seen a little more freedom and fluidity in the game with the players that he plays around, so obviously it’s someone to keep an eye on.”

Torres has scored in all three of the team’s clashes so far in 2025.

“He’s got a lot of freedom,” Rising goalkeeper coach Cory Robertson said. “He’s enjoying how he’s playing football, where he’s playing football. He’s happy with his family. We’re very happy for him. I’m happy for him, tremendously. [It’s] not that he’s found a new ability or a new anything. He’s doing what we’ve known he could do.”

That success for Torres has come from the left side and linking up with Amando Moreno and Ricky Ruiz, and Rising may need to find a way to shut him down.

“He’s just a guy that’s getting to the right places and he’s an honest, honest worker on and off the ball. I think that’s a team that you can score goals with when you’re like that,” Robertson said.

FRom the Spot

Including in a Jägermeister Cup tie earlier this season against El Paso, Rising has faced three penalty shootouts. The team has won all three.

“Yeah, confidence from three penalty shootouts, but every penalty shootout is a gamble,” Robertson said. “I don’t think you can say just because you’ve taken three makes you any more prepared for that.”

If neither side is able to come out on top, as they haven’t all season, then the tie will be decided from 12 yards out after the 120 minutes of their own.

But Rising isn’t the only team that has had success from the spot, as El Paso has recorded two shootout wins of their own: over League One side Texoma and rivals New Mexico.

“It’s a different year for all teams,” Roberston said. “All teams have been through a lot of penalty shootouts this year. A lot of players that are playing in this league now have been in MLS NEXT Pro, where there was a lot of shootouts in there the past years. I’d say a lot of guys have taken a lot of penalties.”

When Rising won from the spot against El Paso earlier this season, the team was riding momentum from an equalizer just 10 minutes before time. Factors such as that could be key going into kicks from the penalty mark.

“I think the biggest determiner of how you’re going to do at a penalty shootout is how the game went,” Robertson said. “How’s your confidence ending the game?

“What’s different now than Jäger Cup is you’re playing another 30, so that definitely puts a little more strain on each player. Puts a little strain on your depth because you’re not playing for penalties after 90. You’re playing the 30, so subs coming in are important to that 30, not necessarily the penalty shootout.”

The Other Dugout

The last time that Phoenix Rising suffered defeat from a penalty shootout was in 2021, as the top-seeded side crashed out of the playoffs at home against RGV. The coach for the visitors that day was Wilmer Cabrera, who now occupies El Paso’s technical area.

“I’ve never classified Wilmer as an underdog in any game I’ve played against him,” Robertson said. “Stats are stats, rankings are rankings, but he’s always got a good team, and he puts his team up for a fight no matter where they go. You still see that to this day. That hasn’t changed with his teams.”

Across all competitions, Rising has won just three of its ten matches against a Cabrera-lead team, with five resulting in draws.

“Wilmer is an experienced coach and he’s shown that in every way,” Robertson said. “I think this [smaller] field [at Southwest University Park], he’s really adapted the way he wants to play. But it’s not kick it long and expect for something, some second ball. He’s adapted his players to play in this environment, and he’s got the right players, too.

“I think at RGV, he had a little bit of a leash on him with Houston at times early on, and then obviously with them close to folding a couple of times, I think that hindered him a little bit. He’s got Gerson [Echevrry] with him in as assistant coach, and the players he has… I think it fits him perfect, and now his son coming up with him too, he’s looking fantastic for them as well.”

Five years ago…

While Wilmer Cabrera may have gotten one over Phoenix Rising in their last playoff meeting, the same can’t be said for El Paso Locomotive.

In 2020, Phoenix hosted the Western Conference Final against El Paso, in front of a capacity-restricted home crowd.

“We went through a lot that year,” King said. “We became so close, and we had a good support system from around.”

Rising took the lead first through a deflected Jordan Schweitzer goal in what would prove to be the midfielder’s last professional match. Bryam Rebellón equalized for Locomotive, sending the match into extra time.

“They had some opportunities, but [Zac] Lubin came up big on some big saves there,” King said.

Ultimately, it was decided from the penalty spot. All four of Rising’s penalty takers — Joey Farrell, Corey Whelan, Santi Moar and Jon Bakero — successfully converted. Nick Ross saw his effort saved by Lubin for the visitors’ second kick, before Aaron Gómez missed the net to secure a Western Conference title for Phoenix.

“Everyone was against us, but we were very together in that moment,” Robertson said. “I think anybody that threw anything against us, even El Paso, no matter what they threw in the game, I felt like we had already dealt with so much that we were going to be able to withstand anything in that moment.”

Top image: El Paso Locomotive FC/Ivan Pierre Aguirre