June 26, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rhode Island FC News Release
After shattering records with a historic 5-2 win vs. league leaders Louisville City FC, Rhode Island FC returns home from an unbeaten two-match road trip for the first time this season. As the Ocean State club prepares to host El Paso Locomotive FC on pRIde Night at Beirne Stadium, here is everything you need to know ahead of RIFC’s second midweek matchup of the season and first home match since June 8.
AT A GLANCE
Date | Wednesday, June 26
Kickoff | 7:30 PM ET
Location | Beirne Stadium, Smithfield RI
Theme | pRIde Night
Broadcast | NESN+, ESPN+
Radio | SiriusXM Channel 157
Social | @rhodeislandfc (X, Instagram, Facebook)
Match Hashtag | #RIvELP
EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Ramon Pasquel, 13-Javier Garcia, 23-Jahmali White
DEFENDERS (11): 2-Brandon Craig, 4-Lucas Stauffer, 5-Eder Borelli, 14-Gonzalo Pelua, 15-Noah Dollenmayer, 16-Miles Lyons, 21-Bolu Akinyode, 24-Javier ‘Yuma’ Monsalvez, 31-Nick Hinds, 93-Tony Alfaro, 99-Javier Nevarez
MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Eric Calvillo, 8-Luis ‘Lalito’ Moreno, 19-Arun Basuljevic, 20-Jeremy Gray, 27-Petar Petrovic
FORWARDS (5): 9-Justin Dhillon, 10-Amando Moreno, 11-Joaquin Rivas, 17-Ricardo Zacarias, 18-Tumi Moshobane
Change at the Helm
Although El Paso Locomotive FC sit at the bottom of the Western Conference table with a 3W-10L-3D record, a midseason coaching change has given the Western Conference club a reason to be positive. Following his appointment on May 20, 19-year coaching veteran Wilmer Cabrera got off to a quick start after taking over as head coach, delivering the then-unbeaten Charleston Battery its first loss of the season in his first match in charge. The win snapped Charleston’s 11-match unbeaten run against an El Paso team that went 1W-8L-2D to start the season. Under Cabrera, El Paso is 2W-1L-2D and has put together a stretch of multiple positive results for the first time this season. The Texas club has scored first in four of Cabrera’s five matches in charge and earned its second shutout of 2024 at San Antonio.
Looking for Momentum
After taking four points from back-to-back matches for the first time all season, and earning seven of its 12 total points in its last five matches since Cabrera’s hiring, El Paso is slowly but surely collecting points as the club looks for a midseason revival. The recent momentum was temporarily halted in its last match, however, when El Paso fell 2-1 on the road to Oakland…