As if the prospect of facing a Tampa Bay Rowdies side that has won six out of its last seven games wasn’t enough, El Paso Locomotive FC might feel as though it’s battling another opponent on Saturday night at Southwest University Park.

For Head Coach Brian Clarhaut, the aftereffects of a hard-fought game against Copa Tejas rival San Antonio FC last Saturday started to show in the side’s 2-1 victory on Wednesday against Las Vegas Lights FC.

“I think you could see it in some of our guys, the hangover from San Antonio,” said Clarhaut. “Even in the first half a bit, some at the end of the first half, some misplaced passes. I think it took us a little bit to get into the game. We conceded early again. And you can see at the end of at the end of the second half, we had some really high fatigue levels and some mistakes that are a bit uncommon with certain players.”

The hosts were made to work by Lights FC, which recorded 13 crosses and nine shots in the second half alone while holding a notable edge in possession. The center back duo of Erik McCue and Bence Pavkovics combined for 14 clearances, while goalkeeper Benny Diaz had five saves to keep Las Vegas at bay as it pushed for an equalizer.

Because of that, Locomotive FC emerged again with all three points, giving it eight victories in its past nine games to move level on points with Sacramento Republic FC at the top of the Western Conference standings going into this weekend’s games. It’s a run that – like its active streak of 13 consecutive games with a goal, the longest in club history – has returned Locomotive FC to a place of prominence in the Championship after the struggles of a season ago.

A new arrival this offseason, McCue brings prior experience of facing the Rowdies when the teams meet on Saturday night for the second time in their respective histories. In 2021, he started a late-season contest against Tampa Bay for the Charleston Battery while on loan from Houston Dynamo FC, and while some of the faces have changed from the Rowdies’ lineup that day, McCue knows what he and his teammates will be up against as they wrap up a stretch of three games in eight days.

“They’re always a good team,” said McCue. “They’ve been on a really good spell of form, and like I said about [Las Vegas], you know, no matter who you are in the league, we’re going to respect the things you’re good at. We never think that we’re going to come in and walk over anyone because every team has quality. Every team wants to win. So, I think that we’re just going to focus on recovering as much as we can, and then come back here was full force to try and get another win, and hopefully keep a clean sheet as well.”

Locomotive FC’s fuel tank may be running low, but with a bye week to follow, it could leave everything on the field in the pursuit of what would be another significant victory.