El Paso Locomotive FC took a 3-1 victory against Indy Eleven on Friday night at Southwest University Park as Amando Moreno, Eric Calvillo and Frank Daroma each found the scoresheet and Andy Cabrera notched his first two assists of the season to move to nine goal contributions this campaign.

The result moved Locomotive into a tie for first place in the Western Conference ahead of the rest of this weekend’s action and extended Indy’s winless streak in regular season play to seven games.

Here are three things we took away from the contest.

1. Early Trends Continue for Better and Worse

Going into Friday night’s contest, El Paso Locomotive was tied for the most goals (4) in the opening 15 minutes in USL Championship contests this season while Indy Eleven sat with the most goals conceded (4) over the same span. It wasn’t a surprise, then, that Locomotive grabbed an early lead when Amando Moreno struck in the 13th minute to up both totals and set the hosts on their way to another good night on home turf.

What might have been surprising, though, was the manner by which the goal came about. In some ways, it was of Indy’s own doing as a short-corner routine designed to set up Jack Blake to deliver either a shot or a cross into the penalty area was blocked by El Paso’s defense to send the hosts out on a two-on-one opportunity. As Andy Cabrera angled his forward run toward the right side of the box, earning the attention of the lone defender, it allowed space for Moreno to push forward in the left channel before delivering a precise finish to the bottom-right corner. The finish set the tone for the hosts in a manner that’s becoming familiar this season.

2. Calvillo, Daroma Put on a Midfield Show for Locomotive

One of the best traits about Locomotive’s style of play this season is the willingness to play in all parts of the field. At times that threatened to put the side into trouble on Friday night as some ambitious passes didn’t come off, giving Indy chances to capitalize the visitors were unable to take advantage of, but it also showcased the abilities of Eric Calvillo and Frank Daroma to keep the side moving while also rewarding each with a goal on the night.

An offseason addition, Daroma was sharp on the ball all night, completing 47 of 51 passes overall, while Calvillo made a case for Player of the Game as he both completed 46 of 49 passes and had one chance created but also won 4 of 4 tackles and 7 of 8 duels. What stood out most, however, was the energy each player showed in going from defense to attack, which saw them each score well-taken goals off assists by Andy Cabrera after arriving as a secondary runner into the penalty area. The moves that led to both goals were illustrations of the patience Locomotive has shown in creating clear chances this season, and moved the side to 19 goals in 10 league outings this season, only eight fewer than the side scored overall in the 2024 regular season.

3. Indy Pushes Late but Gets Caught Again

If you look at the raw numbers for Friday’s game, it will show you Indy Eleven outshot El Paso and had a substantial advantage in Expected Goals at a 1.73xG mark to Locomotive’s 0.64. The reality for the Boys in Blue was the majority of those chances came inside the final 20 minutes – accounting for 1.2xG on nine shots – as they threw more numbers forward in search of a goal and ended up getting caught with Daroma’s finish for the hosts before Edward Kizza found a late finish to keep the side from being shut out.

Indy’s slow starts aren’t new, but they’re a trait that must be improved if the side is going to live up to expectations this season. The Boys in Blue haven’t won a game after conceding first in almost a year at this point, have gained only nine points from losing positions since the start of the 2024 season, and are now on a seven-game winless streak in league play that’s the club’s longest since the 2022 campaign. With a tricky USL Jägermeister Cup game at One Knoxville SC next on the agenda, there’s work to be done to turn things in the right direction.