El Paso is a club that has consistently been in the playoff hunt since its founding, so second-year head coach Brian Clarhaut is adamant about keeping it that way. In a recent interview with Protagonist, he discussed that simply finishing in the top 8 and qualifying for the playoffs is no longer the goal. “We need to be a top 4 team in the West and have a home game in the playoffs. We need to be more dominant in how we play. We need to be more successful in the West. We need to compete for trophies.”

This year, he’s revamped the roster and is hoping to rectify some of the issues of last season, specifically the lack of goalscoring. But after losing back to back preseason matches without scoring (Louisville City and Detroit City), there has to be some concern. After a practice session on Tuesday, he expressed confidence in the process. “I was super happy with our performance against Detroit. We changed the teams up at halftime. Probably should have put 4 away against Detroit, but [shrugs] it will come…well set the focus on the final third, but the opportunities were there. I was super pleased with the Detroit game.”

Brian Clarhaut with the Locomotive faithful. *Image courtesy of El Paso Locomotive*

Clarhaut doesn’t sweat the losses in the preseason, focusing more on the where the club is headed. “You want to keep a winning culture, I’m big on that. But, for me, the biggest things in the preseason are to set our game and not get injuries.” That attitude helps keep the club’s mindset in the right place, regardless of their record. It certainly paid off for Locomotive last season when the team replaced a season-opening 3-match losing streak with a 12-match unbeaten streak. Short-term memory in soccer can certainly be a good thing, where a match can be decided by a single mistake. There’s a reason so many players and coaches talk about taking a season one match at a time.

The club is prepping for its home-opener on March 9th and Clarhaut is still adding to his roster. Just yesterday, the club announced the loan of goalkeeper Ramon Pasquel from FC Juarez in Liga MX. Clarhaut highlighted the experience of the 27-year old Mexican keeper in the club’s press release: “He’s a goalkeeper with vast experience in Mexico, who is a fantastic shot-stopper and is good with the ball at his feet.” Pasquel bolsters a Locomotive goalkeeping crew led by recent acquisition Jamahli Waite, who is also serves the backup for the Jamaican National team.

The squad looks prepped and ready to go and with three home matches to kick off the season, Locomotive have to feel that getting off on the right foot will set the tone for the rest of the season. With three weeks to go till that match, there’s still work to be done to be ready for Hartford.

- Dan Vaughn