El Paso Locomotive FC fell 3-0 to Liga MX side FC Juarez on Saturday in the second exhibition meeting between the two clubs over the past week. The performance from the Locos saw chances go astray, while Head Coach and Technical Director Mark Lowry rested some players after a three-game week.

“We love playing against FC Juarez because they are a high-level team,” said Lowry. “They are a team in midseason, so they have the fitness and conditioning. When we play them, we have to push ourselves and raise our level. It feels like a normal game because of the competition and because they are a team in mid-season. That is good for us because the only way we get better is to compete and work hard against teams that are better than us and FC Juarez is a very good team.”

In what proved to be a true challenge against the Liga MX club, Locomotive FC put in a strong showing with a rotating squad of trialists and unfamiliar pairings. Getting off to the front foot early, El Paso kept the ball in the opposing half for the opening minutes of the game, however, it was FC Juarez that broke the stalemate just past the 20th minute with an opening goal. While Locomotive fought through the first half to find an equalizer, shots would end wide or blocked out by the Juarez defense.

The second half saw a slew of trialists enter the pitch for the Locos, keeping with the trend of resting players during the third game in seven days. The match returned to a tense and chippy back-and-forth through the midfield with Locomotive finding its best chance as a trialist picked up a through-ball behind the Bravos defense, only to ultimately be flagged offside. Shortly after going the other way, Bravos found its second goal, before topping the game off with a penalty kick in the 78th minute.