El Paso Locomotive FC held off a late San Antonio FC push to claim a 2–1 victory in USL Championship action on Friday night. Rubio Rubín opened the scoring in the 14th minute, while Tony Alfaro doubled the lead early in the second half. Diogo Pacheco pulled one back for San Antonio in the 84th minute, but it proved too little, too late.

Rubín gave the hosts the lead when he finished off a pass from Roberto Avila, putting El Paso in control inside the opening quarter-hour. The match quickly turned scrappy from there. Santiago Patiño was booked for San Antonio in the 30th minute, and the cards kept coming — El Paso alone picked up seven yellows across the 90 minutes, with the visitors collecting four of their own.

The first half grew increasingly fractious, with Arturo Ortíz, Ricky Ruiz, and Roberto Avila all cautioned for El Paso before the break. San Antonio's Lucio Berrón was also booked during that stretch.

El Paso reasserted themselves nine minutes into the second half when Alfaro headed home — or otherwise converted — from a Robert Coronado delivery to make it 2–0. Alfaro himself was later cautioned in the 74th minute.

San Antonio found a lifeline with six minutes of normal time remaining. Pacheco latched onto a Luis Paredes pass and beat the goalkeeper to cut the deficit to one. The visitors pressed for an equalizer in stoppage time, but El Paso's defense held firm despite the constant threat of further disciplinary trouble.

The result gives El Paso Locomotive a valuable three points as the regular season nears its conclusion, keeping their postseason ambitions alive.