EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC announced today it had exercised its contract options on defenders Miles Lyons and Bence Pavkovics for the 2024 USL Championship season. The transactions are pending league and federation approval.

Lyons has played a crucial role for Locomotive FC this season, starting in eight of 17 matches and playing 873 minutes of a possible 1,530 across all competitions. The 20-year-old, who signed with El Paso midway through the 2022 season from the Barca Residency Academy, also recorded his first professional assist against San Antonio FC, setting up Luis Solignac’s equalizer to help Locomotive FC bring home a point against its Copa Tejas rival at Toyota Field in June.

“We are happy to have Miles’ contract extended for next year,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut. “We have seen his tremendous growth in these early stages of the season, and I am a firm believer that this is just the start of his high potential. I look forward to continue having him in our club in 2024 as he is an extremely important asset to our team and to develop a talented player who is coachable, a team first guy and is willing to do whatever it takes to get better.”

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Lyons played for the prestigious Barca Residency Academy between 2018-2022, where he helped lead the U-19 teams to back-to-back MLS Next Southwest Division Championships.

“My time in El Paso has been full of special moments with some of the best players and coaches that this league can offer,” Lyons said. “I look forward to continuing to improve and to help this team bring silverware to the city of El Paso.”

Pavkovics has been one of Locomotive FC top performers this season, playing every minute so far in the USL Championship regular season since joining the club this past January. He’s currently the team leader in defensive clearances (45) and successful passes (734).

“Bence is a staple in our backline who checks all the boxes, and it is important that we continue with him into 2024,” said Clarhaut. “He is an athletic, defense-first center back, but also an extremely good asset in building the game, which are traits that are hard to find. He is a pleasure to work with and is a top professional who adds to our culture and winning mentality. It was vital to keep Bence in our club and he will have continued success going into next season.”

The 26-year-old Hungarian moved to El Paso having previously made more than 100 appearances for Debrecen in his home country. Pavkovics had previously also competed at the youth international level for Hungary between U-17 and U-21 age groups.

“I’m glad the club appreciates me, and I would like to repay that trust,” Pavkovics said. “We have a great team with good spirit that wants to win a championship, so we will continue to work hard every day. I thank the club and the fans for their support.”