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The regular season is again on pause for the USL Championship and USL League One. And you know what that means: the USL Cup.

New Mexico United plays at El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday. 

Here are some things to note:

Free kicks

1. SURVIVE AND ADVANCE? The USL Cup group stage is coming to an end. Saturday marks the fourth and final match of this part of the tournament.

The seven group winners and one second-place club will advance to the knockout rounds that begin Aug. 12. And, so far, two of those spots have already been secured.

Colorado Springs clinched Group 2, the same group United and Locomotive are a part of. Tampa Bay Rowdies won Group 7.

Both United and Locomotive, however, can still earn the lone, coveted second-place spot鈥� put a question mark on that. Do clubs actually value continuing on in the event?

The wildcard to move on is decided by whichever non-group winner has the most points in the standings. If teams are tied, then the main tiebreaker goes to most goals scored, not goal differential. (A bit backwards, we know.)

New Mexico and El Paso have six points each, two of eight clubs with at least that many points. Although, some of how each would move on is rather vague.

United can advance with a 鈥渉igh-scoring victory in regulation as well as a regulation victory for either Charleston Battery or Charlotte Independence in Group 6.鈥� What a high-scoring victory means isn鈥檛 clear 鈥� at all.

Locomotive could move on should it come through with a 鈥渁 high-scoring win and a regulation victory for either Charleston Battery or Charlotte Independence.鈥�

So, yeah 鈥� do with that information what you will. 

2. F脷TBOL IS LIFE: If you鈥檝e watched 鈥�,鈥� you鈥檝e definitely heard that quote. You鈥檝e probably said it, too. After all, it became the catch phrase of Richmond AFC striker Dani Rojas.

Well, fans tuned into the United-Locomotive match might get to see Rojas 鈥� played by Cristo Fern谩ndez 鈥� on a real soccer pitch. The key word here being might.

Fern谩ndez was signed by Locomotive on May 12. 

The thing is, the forward has not appeared in a single match for El Paso, which has played eight contests since. But according to multiple reports coming out of Texas, Fern谩ndez could make his club debut Saturday.

3. TRYING TO LEAVE THE INFIRMARY: New Mexico hasn鈥檛 been dealing with too many injuries of late. But the club is still waiting on some notable contributors to return.

Forward Niall Reid-Stephen has missed the last three matches with an MCL sprain, while forward/defender Jake LaCava has been out since May 30 with a broken toe. Reid-Stephen is United鈥檚 leader in regular-season goals with three.

Manager Dennis Sanchez did not provide a timeline on their return other than to say if New Mexico was playing for a USL Championship title, 鈥渋t would be a different story.鈥� But Sanchez also doesn鈥檛 see a reason to rush the two back with the club on a six-match unbeaten streak. 

United did, however, get midfielder Valentine No毛l back for last weekend鈥檚 2-1 win over Oakland Roots SC. No毛l missed four matches with a hamstring issue.

4. OH, RUBIO: As has been the case the first two times United played Locomotive this season, limiting Rubio Rub铆n offensively will be key.

The forward leads El Paso with eight of the club鈥檚 25 regular-season goals, good for sixth in the USL Championship. He鈥檚 tacked on another two in the U.S. Open Cup. 

Rub铆n has also scored twice against United 鈥� in Locomotive鈥檚 4-0 rout in the U.S. Cup on April 1 and the clubs鈥� 2-2 draw on May 6.

Key matchup

United forward Dayonn Harris vs. Locomotive keeper Abraham Romero

Harris has been getting quite a few chances to score recently. He just hasn鈥檛 always been successful in finding the back of the net. The forward has two regular-season goals in 13 appearances. The USL Cup is a different matter. Of United鈥檚 three matches, Harris has scored twice. Romero, meanwhile, has saved just 39% of the shots he鈥檚 faced.

Player of the match

United keeper Kris Shakes

It鈥檚 a single-match week for United, so that means Shakes is the likely candidate to start in goal. (Sanchez has been known to swap keepers defending on the importance of the match with Shakes giving way to Raiko Arozarena.) El Paso, though, can score. The club鈥檚 25 regular-season goals are tied for second in the league. Shakes has four regular-season clean sheets.

By the numbers

4: United鈥檚 winless streak against Locomotive. New Mexico鈥檚 last win in the series was March 22, 2025.

6: United鈥檚 goals scored in the USL Cup. El Paso has five.

2-3-2: Locomotive鈥檚 home record across all competitions.

0: The number of consecutive road matches United has won this season. The club last won on the road on June 20.

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .